Opinions sought on men’s lower league structures

Opinions are being sought by the Munster Branch of the Irish Hockey Association (MBIHA) from players in the Munster men’s Divisions 3 and 4 regarding the structure for their leagues this coming season. Varying gaps in standards and fluctuaions of the relative strength of teams at this level in recent seasons has seen a number of structures tested in a bid to find a satisfactory solution.

MBIHA men’s fixtures secretary Alan Wolfe has found during his consultation process with the teams involve that opinion is split regarding whether Divs 3/4 should be combined or separate leagues, and as such is seeking player feedback on the following proposal via Southern Fried Hockey, with a deadline of September 4th. NOTE: Only comments left with a name and legitimate email address will be published. Anonymous comments will not be published. Should you wish to make your opinion known privately, please email Alan Wolfe on alanwol(at)gmail.com Proposal: *The current 7 teams in Division 3 (Bandon C, Belvedere, Cath Inst B, C of  I D & E, Harlequins D & Midleton) would play each other once = 6 matches *The current 4 teams in Division 4 (Ashton B, Harlequins E, Limerick B & UCC C) would play each other twice = 6 matches *After this the bottom 3 teams would play with the Division 4 teams once = 6 matches *The remaining 4 teams in Division 3 would play each other twice more = 6 matches. *All points from Round 1 will carry over *At the end of the season, the highest placed of the original Division 4 teams will be promoted & the lowest ranked of the original Division 3 teams will be relegated. *The original 7 teams in Division 3 will play in the McLean Cup *The original 4 teams in Division 4 will play in the Barber Cup We feel that this will make Division 3 more competitive as teams strive to be in the top 4 and also alleviate the boredom in Division 4 of playing the same opposition 5 times (including cup matches) in the season in a split league or the weaker being beaten by large scores in a combined league. As there will be a reduce number of league matches we will introduce a combined cup to be played for (by those teams wishing to) at the end of the season. The draw will be seeded on final league placings. The names of the Leagues will change to Division 3 Section 1 & Section 2. Please let us have your views by  September 4th. The team winning Division 3 this season will be promoted the Division 2 for the following season.