County Committee celebrating another hugely successful county 60×30 championship season in Wexford
Another hugely successful county 60×30 championships season was completed at the weekend amid widespread acclaim from players and clubs alike. The new championship format continues to be ‘bedded’ in and the additional games provided by the league type programme has generated huge activity throughout an extended season as a result. The new grading system whereby a players’ intercounty grade is his/her county grade has also ensured a level playing field for all participants and does away with the anomaly which saw a player being allowed to win, junior for instance, as often as he/she could in Leinster, without moving up to intermediate unless he/she went on to win the All Ireland. The same player while at the same time being promoted to the higher grade within the county, on winning junior in Wexford. That old system had players operating at a different levels depending on where they were playing and was reducing the quality of the ‘home’ grades as a result.
The new system has ensured that the best players will contest and win the finals and this years championship again bore that out. Also it surely can be no coincidence that Wexford players who done well in the county championship are dominating the provincial championship as well. That is a relevant statistic and vindicates what is going on in Wexford.
13 of the 15 registered clubs took part in 33 championships (Davidstown and Oulart being the exceptions), 11 of those won at least one championship and only Horeswood and New Ross went away empty-handed. The full breakdown of honours per club were as follows;
Castlebridge (7 titles), Kilmyshall (5 titles), St. Mary’s (5 titles), Ballyhogue (3 titles), Ballymitty (3 titles), Coolgreany (3 titles), St. Martins (2 titles), Templeudigan (2 titles), Barntown (1 title), Bridgetown (1 title) and St. Josephs (1 title).
Clubs with 60×30 courts won 27 of the 33 championships emphasizing yet again the importance of these clubs to handball in the county.