Kerry county board secretary Peter Twiss has responded to the much-publicised criticism regarding the recent fixture pile-up in the county.

According to the Irish Examiner, Twiss will address the issue in his report to the annual convention, which takes place next Monday in Killarney, and believes that not enough consideration is taken into account when it comes to what is involved in scheduling games.

Twiss writes: "In relation to our local fixtures, while we have great competition running throughout the year, there is no doubt that the sheer number of games and the dependency on the availability of inter-county players for our championships games can lead to problems. This was highlighted this year when the entire round three of the SFC had to be postponed due to the Kerry-Cork Munster senior football final replay.

"While all Kerry followers jumped for joy as Fionn Fitzgerald snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat, the consequence from a fixtures point of view only emerged after the All-Ireland final when the CCC (Competitions Control Committee) were left with the unenviable task of trying to complete the games programme in time for Munster club championships and to give district boards an opportunity to complete their championships before Christmas.

"By and large, this challenge was met and my thanks to the members of the CCC, to the clubs and the players for their co-operation.

"In relation to the furore that was raised in the aftermath of the drawn SFC final regarding club fixtures, while welcoming debate and constructive criticism, I felt a lot of the comment was lacking in balance and displayed an alarming lack of understanding of the complexities involved in fixture planning."

In the report, Twiss also gives his support towards the recommendation of GAA director general to change the minor grade from U18 to U17.

"This will have a very positive impact on our overall fixtures programme, which is to be welcomed and even more importantly from the players and their parents' viewpoint, more space is created for those players sitting the Leaving Cert exam," he wrote.

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