The concluding stages of the Westmeath football and hurling championships are upon us and supporters are set for plenty of drama in the coming weeks, but amid all that excitement, the importance of planning for next year and trying to improve the current formats should not be forgotten.
In Westmeath, there are five rounds of the football championship and dual players are being stretched to the limit to squeeze them all in to a tight window.
Five rounds of football championship, and whether that is the best format, is certainly worthy of debate at this stage. One should also remember that a team from Group 1 could possibly get through to the quarter-finals with one win, as nearly happened with Garrycastle this year (only a couple of late Caulry frees against Mullingar Shamrocks prevented it).
