San Francisco's Western Divisional Board hosts the 45th Annual North American County Board (NACB) GAA annual convention, at San Francisco's United Cultural Center on Friday evening and Saturday, November 14-15, 2003.

Delegates representing 100 GAA clubs - men's and women's football, hurling and camogie - from around the US are expected to attend this year's convention, which will be the most demanding for several years. Over 60 motions, the most ever, have been submitted, dealing with issues such as immigration, summer sanctions, inter-county transfers, player registrations and the national playoffs.

In addition, the election of officers for the 2004 season will be the most competitive in recent years as thirty two names have been put forward for various positions on the board. The election for the vice-chair position will be especially interesting as ten people have been nominated for that position. A full listing of the Motions and Nominations can be accessed at www.nagaa.org

Recommendations from a special Playoffs Review Committee contributed to the record number of motions on the agenda. The committee, comprised of several divisional officers around the county, was given the task of reviewing the annual NACB Playoffs and recommending a more efficient way to stage the huge annual event. The review resulted in a report summarized in the form of 25 motions. By far, the most significant change recommended by the committee is that the current player registration process be scrapped and replaced with a new system. The recommended new system, documented in detail for the delegates, is expected to eliminate the existing time consuming card inspection process now required before games at the playoffs.

While it is expected that the newly proposed player registration system may gain the overwhelming support of the delegates, a proposal to change the divisional structure of the NACB may not meet with the same level of approval. The committee believes that cities with just one club should not be considered a division, suggesting that the current divisional setup be changed to better reflect common interests and natural rivalries. The committee recommends that the existing eleven divisions that make up the NACB be reduced to eight divisions and that to be recognized as a division, a city or a specific geographical area must have a minimum of six affiliated teams.

Other motions from the committee include the following:
1) that all playoff draws be seeded to ensure the best match-up in the respective finals;
2) to improve the competitiveness of the senior football championship, that any of the four major cities, e.g., Philadelphia, San Francisco, that do not have senior football championships, be allowed to enter select teams into the playoffs at senior level;
3) that teams from any of the four major cities competing in the men's junior "B" football championship must have a minimum of three US born players on the field at all times during games;
4) that teams from any of the four major cities competing in the men's junior "C" football championship must be comprised of all US born players.

Following are the Officer nominations:
Honorary President
Paddy Keaney (San Francisco)
Mike Maloney (Chicago)
John Hehir (Boston)

Chair
John McDevitt (Boston)
Chris Knightly (San Francisco)
Tommy Dolan (Chicago)

Vice-Chair
Tommy Dolan (Chicago)
Chris Knightly (San Francisco)
Paul Keane (San Francisco)
Johnny Guirke (Boston)
James Grealish (Boston)
Ciaran Dwyer (Denver)
Eamonn Tohill (Philadelphia)
Anne Houston (San Diego)
Andrew Healy (Washington DC)
Malachy Higgins (San Francisco)

Secretary
John Keane (Seattle)
James Grealish (Boston)

Treasurer
Mickey Coyne (Boston)
Paul Keane (San Francisco)
Chris Knightly (San Francisco)
Pete Lavery (Chicago)

Registrar
Chris Knightly (San Francisco)
Bertie Penny (San Francisco)
Mary T Murphy-McGuirk (Chicago)
Mickey Grealish (Boston)
Eddie Walsh (Boston)

Public Relations Officer
Eamonn Kelly (Chicago)
Anita Carney (Boston)
Ciaran Dwyer (Denver)
Michael Gallagher (San Francisco)

Youth Development Officer
Tim Flanagan (Buffalo)
Tom Byrne (Chicago)
James Grealish (Boston)
Michael O'Connor (Boston)
Donie Kenneally (Boston)
Adrian Ruane (Chicago)

Central Council Delegate
NACB Chair
NACB Secretary
Mossie O'Connor (Chicago)
James Grealish (Boston)
Bernie Connaughton (Boston)
John Keane (Seattle)

The new board of officers will face a challenging 2004 season given that new clubs are expected to be competing in the various grades, continuing a huge increase over the past several years. In 2003, 51 Men's Football Clubs, 18 Hurling Clubs, 17 Ladies Football Clubs, 7 Camogie Clubs, and 7 Youth Football Clubs put teams on the field of play in the NACB area, a total of 100 clubs. In 2002, the NACB had a total of 88 clubs - 83 adult clubs plus 5 Youth clubs.

The NACB was founded in 1959 when it first affiliated with Central Council. The NACB area covers roughly 3.5 million square miles across the US, ranging from Boston in the US northeast, to Seattle in the US northwest, to San Diego in the US southwest, to Fort Lauderdale in the US southeast, an area that excludes only the New York city metropolitan area in all of the US. This year, there were GAA teams in 27 different cities in the NACB area: Akron, Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Burlingame, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Oakland, Orange County, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, South Bend, Syracuse, and Washington DC.

For more information, contact the Secretary, John Keane