What strange times we’ve been living through! We hope that you and your families have come through the last 3½ months of Covid lockdown safe and well and that any signs of the symptoms that you’ve had to endure have been minor. If any of you have lost loved ones to Covid, we send you our sincerest condolences.

A few people have been keeping in touch from time to time over the last months – thanks to them. But it’s quite understandable that many haven’t. Fortunately, the nature of my own work has kept me quite busy during this time (albeit with no meetings to rush back and forth to except virtual ones sitting here at my desk in my flat) but I appreciate that that can’t be the same for all of you. To those who have been furloughed, laid off, or simply unable to work because of the circumstances, I extend my empathy and hope that things will start getting back to the old normal for you soon.

As pubs and clubs are finally able to reopen this weekend, we hope that people won’t be rushing into getting as many things back to normal as possible! The guidance must still be followed and social distancing remains part of our lives and will do for some time to come.

A number of people have asked when pool might return and on what basis. The short and simple answer, of course, is definitely not yet! At this stage, we don’t even know if all TEN of our venues in the 2019/20 league season have reopened this weekend and certainly some of them couldn’t accommodate pool competition with safe social distancing even if they are permitting people to drink indoors and to have a game of pool. I am already aware of at least one venue that won’t be permitting any pool to take place at all in the first few weeks after reopening and there are probably some that will stay closed on quieter nights of the week anyway.

So please do not expect any pool to resume before the autumn at the earliest. Any restart will be done with full communication and co-operation with your venue landlords, managers and staff and also, of course, your Team Captains and we will almost certainly begin with an Officers and Captains meeting to consider a number of options that have been suggested about how we should restart and how we might still find a way of celebrating the League’s Golden Jubilee this year.

In the meantime, I urge everyone to stay safe, keep well, and keep your (social) distance!

Kind regards,

Simon

Simon Hooberman

League Secretary

Following the latest government guidance, on the instruction of the League Chairman, and because of the increasing likelihood that all pubs and clubs will shortly be instructed to close their doors completely, I hereby suspend all activities of the South East London Pool League with immediate effect until further notice.

In practice, we can be fairly certain that "until further notice" will mean at least until after Easter but in practice it could be much longer. 

A total of FOUR matches went ahead last night. There will be no penalties imposed on teams where matches were called off, in one case at quite short notice.

League Results and Tables will be updated on the website as soon as possible after last night's results have been provided by all teams and I will then send a further e-mail confirming they are there. Fixtures from next Monday will be counted as postponed but will not show as such on the League Table and Results pending decisions on exactly when we instruct that play can resume and how we deal with what is left of the current season which will be taken at a later date. 

I shall be in contact again as things develop. Meanwhile I hope you all stay safe and well in these strangest of times.

Kind regards,

Simon Hooberman

League Secretary

League matches commence on Monday 10th February – see the League Calendar and Fixture List.

Congratulations to Jake Chapman, Captain of Hero of Switzerland, for his victory in the Captains Cup on Monday 3rd February at the Hero of Switzerland (held there in accordance with our policy to hold the competition at the home venue of the previous season’s winner), after a convincing 2-0 win in the final. Commiserations to David Crocker, Captain of SVSSC Z (Streatham Vale Sports and Social Club), the beaten finalist, as well as all other competitors in what was a very strong competition.

We would like to wish all teams good luck for the new season.