Clare’s GAA clubs have voted not to start the 2018 Senior Hurling and Football championships until after the county team finish their provincial campaigns at the earliest.
Delegates at last nights county board meeting opted not to play any rounds in April which has been designated as an exclusive club month under new directives from Croke Park.
The special structures meeting was held ahead of schedule to plan for the new season due to the new format of the Munster Hurling championship and earlier start date of the National Leagues in 2018.
Delegates decided that playing championship games in April would leave too much uncertainty for subsequent rounds, and instead voted to wait until the county teams have exited the Munster series before deciding on a date for the start of the senior championship.
It’s envisaged that April will be a busy month for Cusack and Clare cup action, with chairman Joe Cooney stating they will work with both clubs and the county management to ensure county players will be available for as many of these games as possible.
There were also calls on the night for the leagues to be finished sooner in the calendar year while a motion to bring forward the start date of the U21 football championship was also passed.
Delegates will reconvene for the 2017 Convention on Thursday December 14th