Decision time for Leinster format

Delegates to tomorrow night's Leinster Council meeting in Portlaoise must decide whether to opt for a straight-forward draw for the 2001 provincial championship, or one which seeds this year's four semi-finalists in the second round.

Originally scheduled to take place last Sunday night, the provincial draws in all four provinces have been deferred until next Sunday so that the council can finalise its arrangements.

Although a number of proposals for the football championship will be put before delegates, the two finding most favour appear to be the complete open draw or the seeded one which would give first round byes to Kildare, Dublin, Offaly and Westmeath.

In previous years, the Leinster Council has operated a round-robin for the so-called "weaker counties", but the acceptance at the recent Special Congress to give teams a second chance means such a mini-league is no longer acceptable. Unlike the situation in the other provinces, the re-structuring will mean there are less football matches played in Leinster next year, as the six round-robin matches are now lost.

Leinster Council secretary Michael Delaney believes it will be a close call as to which option gets the nod from delegates.

No such complications arise in the case of hurling, where the round-robin competition will remain in place. Kilkenny, Offaly and Wexford are excluded from this phase of the competition and a decision will be taken as to which of the other National League Division One teams - Laois, Dublin or Meath - will also be given exempt status. The council will then decide on the make-up of the round-robin group, which is also likely to include the Kehoe Cup winners.

Meanwhile, it is believed that Jimmy Barry-Murphy's position as Cork hurling manager will be clarified at a county board meeting tonight. Despite having a year of his two-year term to run, there has been mounting speculation that Barry-Murphy is preparing to stand down because of family and business commitments.

The entry date for the AIB GAA Club of the Year scheme has been extended to November 24th following requests from a number of clubs for extra time. The scheme is open to all GAA clubs, regardless of size, with an award in each county for (1) a large urban club, (2) a medium urban club, (3) a large rural club and (4) a small rural club/new club.

The overall winner in each county will receive a £500 development grant. Provincial winners will be given a further £1,000 development grant and national winners another £5,000 grant.

Application forms are available directly from: Debbie Ui Mheasaigh, Croke Park, Dublin 3 (Phone 01-836 3222).