Kendal and District Table Tennis League     Newsletter – August 2020 

Here’s our current plan for restarting the League 

·         AGM for 2019-20 season:  We will hold this by Zoom meeting end of August/beginning of September 2020, details to follow asap.  I've canvassed the opinions of Management Team members and club secretaries about the AGM and there was no clear preference for face to face or for Zoom meeting.  Some cannot do Zoom meetings and others felt uneasy about face to face.  We have therefore decided to go for a Zoom meeting.  Apologies to those who will be unable to access this type of meeting.  Perhaps you will be able to find another member from your club to attend in your place.

·         KO Cup Final:  Hopefully we can play this in September or October and we are consulting the two teams involved, ie Grayrigg A and Dalton CC.

·         Outstanding matches from last season:  The consensus is to abandon these matches and make a reasonable assessment of the likely results.  So we will do this soon.

·         Gradual resumption of club play and practice:  Hopefully clubs can start up soon, say beginning of September.  This is now permitted, subject to certain precautions (see TTE guidance and link below) although some clubs will have problems with venues etc.

·         2020/21 season League matches start:  At the moment, we think perhaps early November.  However we need feedback from clubs about when they think they can start matches.  Some players will be more reluctant to start and venues may not be available.  For example, Natland and Oxenholme Village Hall is opening at the beginning of September, but Kirkby Stephen gym will not be available until the start of November at the earliest.  Please let us know your thoughts.

TTE Guidance on Covid 19 and Restarting Play

Table Tennis England have guidance on these matters on their website, see

 https://tabletennisengland.co.uk/ .  See also the poster below, (downloaded from TTE website). 

Precautions Likely to be Required for Restarting League Matches

·         Each club will need to produce their own schedule of precautions for safe play, and comply with any requirements imposed by the venue owner.  Advice is available from TTE and we also have examples of safety precautions from Natland and Crook.  Please get in touch if you require copies of these.

·         Visiting teams will need to agree to these before the match date.

·         Measures are likely to include hand sanitizers available, regular cleaning of balls and tables, door handles, chairs etc, no doubles, no changing ends, minimum court and venue size, no refreshments, spaced out seating, precautions for using toilets.  The attached TTE poster on the next page is useful.

·         The League will seek reassurance from Clubs that precautions are in place and actioned.

·         If your venue is not available or not big enough, can you share with another club or play all your matches away?

·         The League may have to consider a different format, for example two a side teams.

Best wishes to you all.

Mick Taylor    7 Aug 2020