Cork Senior A Hurling Championship

The Cork Senior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Senior A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork SAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Associationfrom 2020 for the second tier hurling teams in the county of Cork in Ireland.

Cork Senior A Hurling Championship
Current season or competition: 2020 Cork Senior A Hurling Championship
Irish	Craobh Iomána Sinsearach A Chorcaí
Code	Hurling
Founded	2020 (2020)
Region	Cork (GAA)
No. of teams	12
Sponsors	Co-Op Superstores
Official website	Cork GAA

The series of games are played between the spring and autumn months, including a summer break, with the county final being played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in October. The championship includes a round robin followed by a knockout stage.

History

Development

On 26 March 2019, three championship proposals were circulated to Cork club delegates after an expensive review process of the entire Cork championship system. A core element running through all three proposals, put together by the Cork GAA games workgroup, was that there be a group stage of 12 teams, as well as straight relegation and promotion.[1] On 2 April 2019, a majority of 136 club delegates voted for Option A which provided for one round of games played in April and two more in August – all with inter-county players available.[2] The decision meant that, for the first time since 1887, the top tier of Cork football was going to be split in two into the Cork Premier Senior Championship and the Cork Senior A Championship.

Beginnings

The inaugural championship was scheduled to begin in April 2020, however, it was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic in Ireland.[3] When the championship resumed, time constraints led to a revision of the format, with the play-offs for the second best and third best third placed teams being abolished. The knockout stage was further reduced, with the two best-ranking teams from the group stage receiving byes to the semi-finals and the other four qualifying teams contesting two lone quarter-finals. The very first match eventually took place on 31 July 2020, with Fr. O'Neill's claiming a 3-16 to 0-18 victory over Kilworth. Declan Dalton scored the very first championship point before Billy Dunne scored the championship's first ever goal.[4]

Regular format

Group stage

The 12 teams are divided into three groups of four. Over the course of the group stage, which features one game in April and two games in August, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed at least three games. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the group stage table by points gained, then scoring difference and then their head-to-head record. The top two teams in each group qualify for the knock-out stage.

Knockout stage

Play-off: The second best and third best third placed teams from the group stage play off for last quarter-final place.

Quarter-finals: The play-off winner and the seven top-ranking teams from the group stage contest this round. The four winners from these four games advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals: The four quarter-final winners contest this round. The two winners from these four games advance to the semi-finals.

Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.

Promotion and relegation

At the end of the championship, the winning team is automatically promoted to the Cork Premier Senior Championship for the following season. The three bottom-placed teams from the group stage take part in a series of play-offs, with the losing team being relegated to the Cork Premier Intermediate Championship.

Participating teams

Team	Location	Colours
Bandon	Bandon	Yellow and white
Ballymartle	Riverstick	Green and yellow
Bride Rovers	Rathcormac	Green, white and yellow
Charleville	Charleville	Red and white
Cloyne	Cloyne	Red and black
Fermoy	Fermoy	Black and yellow
Fr. O'Neill's	Ballymacoda/Ladysbridge	Green and red
Kanturk	Kanturk	Green and yellow
Killeagh	Killeagh	Green and white
Kilworth	Kilworth	Red and white
Mallow	Mallow	Red and yellow
Newcestown	Newcestown	Red and yellow

Sponsorship

Co-Op Superstores were unveiled as the title sponsor for all of Cork GAA's hurling championships in July 2020.[5]

Managers

Managers in the Cork Senior A Championship are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the individual club committees. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and a backroom team consisting of various coaches.

List of finals

Year	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Score	Winning captain	Venue
2020

References

1. Cormican, Eoghan (26 March 2019). "Here's a breakdown of the proposals to restructure the Cork county championships". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
2. "Cork clubs vote down radical restructuring proposals". RTÉ Sport. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
3. "Cork GAA Statement 18/03/2020". Cork GAA website. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
4. O'Callaghan, Therese (31 July 2020). "Cork hurling: Fr O'Neill's big guns fire against Kilworth despite a red card". The Echo. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
5. O'Connor, Colm (27 July 2020). "Cork GAA ink hurling sponsorship deal with Dairygold Co-Op Superstores". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 July 2020.