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As of Wednesday 2nd December when the 2nd National Lockdown finishes, we join many other areas and regions in Covid-19 Tier 2 which precludes us from restarting our 2 Person League Competition We had already taken the decision to remain closed until after Christmas and New Year in any case, to avoid starting and having to stop again. We will of course keep an eye on HM Governments Covid Notices and those of our Governing body Table Tennis England and will be ready to restart again when we are permitted and it is safe to do so.
With the announcement of an England wide Covid-19 Lockdown and the issue of their information sheet to that effect, we have no alternative but to suspend the ADTTL League program. By a consensus of opinion on the timing of the suspension and with the lack of new guidance from Table Tennis England as yet, we have decided on a clean break on Monday 2nd November 2020 to avoid some teams playing next week and others not. It is hoped that we can resume the League Competition when we are able.
The League carried out a survey with all clubs to see what players preferred to do for the 2020/21 season during the Covid-19 Pandemic. 75% of players wished to commence playing as soon as possible, but some encountered a problem regarding those that they hire premises from, who must follow guidelines issued by HSE and ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) which are both costly and onerous to achieve, before they can hire their facilities to others. Schools and Colleges also have to follow Governmental and HSE advice regarding Covid-19 lettings and hiring’s, and many are declining to allow other organisations use of their premises during the Pandemic to safeguard their pupils and students. This has caused a delay in planning what we can offer under the current circumstances.
I have since sent an email to all our League Clubs mainly geared to finding out those clubs who still have premises that they can or wanted to use and those who do not, and know many using village halls Church Halls Community Centres and Schools are struggling to secure their Table Tennis premises. We know that Victoria Hall Ash and F/Tennis who have achieved Covid-19 requirements are likely to have some additional space and if other League clubs do not have somewhere to play we may be able to integrate those into the two venues in some way. To do this we may have to consider alternative playing formats than in the past and possibly over a longer or shorter season, and we may not have as many as 4 divisions. The goal is to accommodate as many of the 75% of League players who wanted to play now as we can.
We will keep you updated with the progress of running a 2020/21 League program as soon as we are able.
With the premature culmination of the 2019/20 the following options were given to the full ADTTL Committee to vote on, and the votes are as recorded below:
Option 1: We play the outstanding fixtures when it is safe to do so : 2 votes
Option 2: We declare the season null and void: 8 Votes
Option 3: We agree a formula for calculating the league tables for this season : 6 Votes
I would therefore record that the 2019/20 be declared null and void, but most members agree that it would be good to start off a new season (if we can) with the finals of the 2019/20 Cup competitions as they are already up to the Finals stage.
All Aldershot League & Cups suspended due to increasing Corona risk. Committe will advise further when a decision has been made as to the fate of this season
As someone recently got lost I have been asked to pass on the full address of the Bentley venue. It is Bentley Memorial Hall, Alton Road, Bentley, GU10 5NB.
I have just got a new supply of balls in for the coming season. TSP CP40+ 3* (packs of 3) or JOOLA PRIME 40+ 3* (packs of 6)- price is £2.70 for a box of 3 and £5.40 for box of 6. Let me know if you want any.
