Now that the dust has settled on the 2011 season, thoughts turn to 2012. The Open Competitions Commitee has now confirmed the league structure for next season, and the leagues are listed below.
A good few questions have been asked over the last year, as to how the OCC comes up with the leagues for the following year, so below is list of FAQs (thanks to Michael Sharp for providing the answers)
1. Q. Can the eight team divisional structure be varied ?
A. Unless and until a general meeting of clubs decided on something different, the OCC is committed to this structure. However since the total number of teams may not be a multiple of eight, some of the lower divisions may contain seven or nine teams.
2. Q. In what order will the OCC consider matters ?
A. The Committee will start at Division 1 and work downwards. Normally relegation from a league will be considered before promotion from the league below.
3. Q. What happens when a team from a particular club finishes in the bottom two places of a division and the next club team finishes in the top two of the division below ?
A. Technically one team replaces the other but in effect it means the club concerned will still have a team in each division and will probably list them 1sts, 2nds etc. accordingly.
4. Q. Where the situation described in 3 above occurs does this mean that in effect only one team will be promoted and one relegated or will the team finishing third in the lower division be promoted ?
A. It will be one up, one down. Promotion of a team outside the top two is a separate issue and is dealt with in 9 below.
5. Q. If a team finishes in the top two places and it already has a team in the division above, what happens ?
A. Neither team moves but also see 6 below. This also has the effect that only one team is relegated from the division above. As in 4 above the issue of third team promotion is not normally considered.
6. Q. If a team finishes in the bottom two places and the club already has a team in the division below, what happens ?
A. Unless the team in the lower division finishes in the top two places (see 3 above) both teams will be relegated.
7. Q. Where the situation described in 6 above arises and the team in the lower division has finished above the bottom two places, will the team finishing second last escape relegation ?
A. Normally yes.
8. Q. Can more than two teams be relegated from a division ?
A. Highly unlikely. Could possibly arise if a club was volunteering that one of its teams be relegated but even so, the situation would probably be addressed within the two team down system.
9. Q. In what circumstances might a team outside the top two places be promoted.
A. This would be quite rare but if the difference in percentages between second and third placed teams is small and the structure can accommodate it, it will be considered. It could also happen if a club has a team in the lowest division and wants to enter another.
10. Q. In what circumstances could a team be promoted more than one division ?
A. If the team has won the league by a substantial distance. Also where it is not the club’s first team, the position of the higher team(s) will have a bearing.
So without further ado, here is the league structure for 2012. The addition of ten new teams in 2012 (Adamstown 2, Balbriggan 3, Cabinteely 1, Clonee 1, Clonee 2, Dundalk 2, Greystones Cricket 1, Leinster 8, Ring Commons 1 & Swords 1) as against the loss of just one Civil Service team, has meant that all divisions now have eight teams, with the exception of Divisions 7-12 which are nine team divisions.
Division 1. Railway Union 1, North County 1, Merrion 1, The Hills 1, YMCA 1, Clontarf 1, Terenure 1, Leinster 1
Promoted from Division 2 - Terenure 1 & Leinster 1
Other ins and outs - none
Division 2. Phoenix 1, Pembroke 1, Malahide 1, Rush 1, Cork County 1, The Hills 2, Leinster 2, Dublin University 1
Relegated from Division 1 - Phoenix 1 & Pembroke 1
Promoted from Division 3 - Leinster 2 & Dublin University 1
Other ins and outs - none
Division 3. North County 2, Old Belvedere 1, Balbriggan 1, Pembroke 2, Clontarf 2, Civil Service 1, Merrion 2, YMCA 2
Relegated from Division 2 - North County 2 & Old Belvedere 1
Promoted from Division 4 - Merrion 2 & YMCA 2
Other ins and outs - none
Division 4. Malahide 2, Oakhill, Railway Union 2, Phoenix 2, North Kildare 1, Mullingar 1, Laois 1, Pembroke 3
Relegated from Division 3 - Malahide 2 & Oakhill
Promoted from Division 5 - Pembroke 3 (Railway Union 3 not promoted as Railway Union 2 already in Division 4)
Other ins and outs - none
Division 5. Railway Union 3, Malahide 3, Merrion 3, Leinster 3, North County 3, Clontarf 3, Laois 2, Dundrum 1
Relegated from Division 4 - Malahide 3 (Laois 1 not relegated as Railway Union 3 could not be promoted)
Promoted from Division 6 - Laois 2 & Dundrum 1
Other ins and outs - none
Division 6. Phoenix 3, Terenure 2, Clonee 1, Rush 2, Old Belvedere 2, Sandyford 1, Merrion 4, YMCA 3
Relegated from Division 5 - Phoenix 3 & Terenure 2
Promoted from Division 7 - YMCA 3 (Merrion 5 not promoted as Merrion 4 already in Division 6)
Other ins and outs - Civil Service 2 moved down at the request of the club. Clonee 1 enter the league to replace them
Division 7. Merrion 5, The Hills 3, North Kildare 2, Bagenalstown 1, Knockharley 1, Wexford Wanderers 1, Leinster 4, Pembroke 4, Civil Service 2
Relegated from Division 6 - The Hills 3 (Merrion 4 not relegated as Merrion 5 won Division 7)
Promoted from Division 8 - Pembroke 4 (Leinster 5 not promoted as Leinster 4 already in Division 7)
Other ins and outs - Civil Service 2 enter Division 7 to create a nine team league
Division 8. Malahide 4, Leinster 5, Merrion 6, Wicklow County 2, Balbriggan 2, Clontarf 4, Ireland Women 1, Halverstown 1, Dundrum 2
Relegated from Division 7 - Malahide 4 (Leinster 4 not relegated as Leinster 5 finished second in Division 8)
Promoted from Division 9 - Halverstown 1, Dundrum 2
Other ins and outs - In order to make Division 8 a nine team division, Cricket Ireland Women not relegated to Division 9
Division 9. Dublin University 2, Adamstown 1, North County 4, Mullingar 2, Terenure 3, Civil Service 3, YMCA 4, Greystones 1, Dundalk 1
Relegated from Division 8 - Dublin University 2 (Cricket Ireland Women not relegated to preserve nine team division 8)
Promoted from Division 10 - Civil Service 3 & YMCA 4
Other ins and outs - Greystones Cricket 1 newly entered in league. Dundalk 1 promoted from Division 11 after convincing display in 2011. Nine team division
Division 10. Phoenix 4, Sandyford 2, Pembroke 5, Leinster 6, Wickow County 3, Malahide 5, Cabinteely 1, Rush 3, Ring Commons 1
Relegated from Division 9 - Phoenix 4 & Sandyford 2
Promoted from Division 11 - Rush 3 (Dundalk 1 promoted to Division 9)
Others ins and outs - Cabinteely 1 and Ring Commons 1 newly entered in league. Nine team division
Division 11. North Kildare 3, The Hills 4, Knockharley 2, Railway Union 4, Bagenalstown 2, Laois 3, Clontarf 5, North County 5, Swords 1
Relegated from Division 10 - The Hills 4 & North Kildare 3
Promoted from Division 12 - Clontarf 5 and North County 5
Other ins and outs - Swords 1 newly entered in league. Nine team division
Division 12. Old Belvedere 3, Civil Service 4, Merrion 7, Phoenix 5, Wexford Wanderers 2, Ballyeighan 1, Pembroke 6, Dundalk 2, Clontarf 6
Relegated from Division 11 - Old Belvedere 3 & Civil Service 4
Promoted from Division 13 - Pembroke 6 & Clontarf 6
Other ins and outs - Dundalk 2 newly entered in league. Nine team division
Division 13. Sandyford 3, Balbriggan 3, Rush 4, Leinster 7, Dublin University 3, Railway Union 5, Halverstown 2, Knockharley 3
Relegated from Division 12 - Sandyford 3 (only one team releagted as Division 12 was a seven team division)
Promoted from Division 14 - Halverstown 2 & Knockharley 3
Other ins and outs - Balbriggan 3 newly entered in league. Eigh team division
Division 14. Wicklow County 4, Clonee 2, Merrion 8, Leinster 8, Dundrum 3, Adamstown 2, Clontarf 7, Mullingar 3
Relegated from Division 13 - Wicklow County 4 (only one team relegated as Division 13 was a seven team division)
Other ins and outs - Clonee 2, Adamstown 2 and Leinster 8 newly entered in league
Cup structures (both full and mid-week) will be announced over the next few weeks, with details such as how many games certain clubs are playing being confirmed before fixtures are made in the new year