Prenty slams counties for flouting 'burnout' rules
Thursday February 26 2009
COUNTIES have been accused of using "every trick in the book" to circumvent the new regulations on collective training which were introduced to prevent burnout among players.
Connacht Council secretary John Prenty believes that the attempt to curtail training at certain times of the year is being ignored by some counties, especially at underage level.
"I think it's fair to say that a coach and four have been driven through the regulations. Every trick in the book has been used to camouflage what's going on," he said.
The new regulations stipulate that collective training for county senior squads not take place in November-December, that training for U-21s doesn't begin until January 1, or for minors until March 1.
Prenty hasn't specified which counties are involved, but since he operates in Connacht it's natural that the finger of suspicion will point west.
"If I were naive I would think that there have not been any breaches in Connacht, but I'm not naive," he said.
However, he added that, to the best of his knowledge, it had not happened at senior level and says the problem is most likely to arise at minor level.
"There are various ways of getting around it, what with development squads and various other squads... and, while I know they are difficult to police, county officers must know what's going on," said Prenty.
Violations of the training ban carry sanctions, including losing revenue from the Allianz Leagues, but absolute proof that counties had broken the rules would have to be provided.
GAA president Nickey Brennan said he had only heard of Prenty's remarks yesterday. "We have made it absolutely clear that if we are made aware of people who have breached the rule they will be brought to account. We don't want to hear about innuendo, we want to hear about facts and if people broke the rule then we'll take the necessary action," he said.
While Prenty's remarks may put the focus on Connacht, there's anecdotal evidence that there have been violations in various parts of the country. Some senior managers have indicated privately that they were surprised by the level of fitness they encountered in certain opposition in the early rounds of the League.
Brennan declined to say whether Croke Park would seek specific information from Prenty.
Asked if he thought he might be mistaken in his view that the regulations were being broken, Prenty replied: "I'm not too tall so I must know what's going on at ground level."
- Martin Breheny
