It Itaewon Pool League Resumes... kind of
The Itaewon Pool League will resume on April 22nd.
Thank you so much for your cooperation and patience during this ridiculous social upheaval.
The Korean government has extended social distancing for two more weeks, but they have relaxed them quite a bit.
They've relaxed shutting down for churches, clubs, institutions, and indoor gyms, but they have to follow disinfection guidelines.
What they require is wearing masks, no contact, good ventilation, temperature checks, and sanitizers.
The Executive Committee has decided that the best course of action is to cancel the playoffs, tournaments and banquet and simply add 5 more weeks to the season. There will be no awards or trophies, just people getting into the rhythm of Wednesday night pool again.
So, here is the plan.
This week, April 22nd, the Week 7 matches that have not been played will be scheduled. If your team has already played the Week 7 matches, then you will have no scheduled match on April 22nd. You may, if you choose to, play those matches again, but the scores will not be changed.
April 29th, Week 11 matches will be scheduled
May 6th, Week 12
May 13th, Week 13
and so on until Week 19 is played on June 24th
Week 8, Week 9 and Week 10 will be cancelled.
The important thing to remember here is that no one will be forced to play if they don't want to. Scores will be entered, just for individual statistics. Forfeits and team wins and losses will not matter, since there will be no awards, trophies or otherwise.
Because of no awards, tournaments or banquet, we have no expenses for this season. Therefore, we will be offering teams refunds on the ₩350,000 team fees, or the option of having the league hold the money for next season.
Since our plan includes no pressure, incentive or punishment for participation or non-participation, if you or anyone on your team does not want to play, there is no pressure or need for you to play. Forfeits will not hurt individual players or teams, so please choose whatever you are comfortable with.
As we begin league night this Wednesday, here are a few guidelines, requests and suggestions:
1) Please be responsible regarding coronavirus prevention.
Wear masks, give people space, pay attention that you are drinking your beer and not someone else's, and PLEASE stay home if you feel any symptoms.
2) Don't pressure players or teams to play. Please respect people's choices if they aren't comfortable coming out.
3) Coordinate with the captain of your upcoming opponent. Please confirm a day in advance if you will play or not. We ask that you inform the Executive Committee as well.
4) Since standings and playoffs are a non-factor, there is no penalty for having less than 6 players. Show up with however many you can, and work out the lineups with the opposing captain to allow everyone who shows up the chance to play. If you need advice on manipulating challenging lineup scenarios, please contact one of the Executive Committee members for assistance.
5) Please show Sportsmanship and cooperation during this strange season.
6) Captains will be able to make additions or changes to their rosters, but all scores will need to be entered by the Executive Committee. Please send a photo of your scoresheet immediately after the match is finished.
7) Spend money in the bar. We have suffered psychologically because of no pool league, the bars have suffered financially. Let's all help to heal each other.
8) Speaking of bars and financial damage, some bars have reduced their business hours. Home team captains need to make sure that their home bars will be open on Wednesday nights.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.
Let's stay smart, safe and healthy.
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- Written by Lenny Erickson
- Category: Announcements
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Temporary suspension of play for the Itaewon Pool League
All matches scheduled for March 4th and March 11th are cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus situation.
As you are probably aware of, the Korean government has requested that all group gatherings, including political and religious gatherings, be suspended for the time being. Since I am your president (political) and many of you worship pool (religious) and ALL of you worship me in a kind of "cult of personality" way (religious), the Itaewon Pool League Executive Committee has decided to suspend the league for the next two weeks.
We will reassess the situation after March 11th. Depending on the coronavirus status, we will determine whether to continue with the suspension of matches, go back to making matches optional, or resume regular league business as usual.
Mid-season tournaments and captains' meeting will be postponed until sometime in April, as well.
Thank you for your understanding, and we will keep you updated here on the website and through your captains.
Stay safe out there, and we hope to see you all again soon.
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- Written by Lenny Erickson
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The League Will Resume in April
Dear Itaewon Pool League Family
Thank you for your patience as we navigate these uncharted waters.
After polling the captains, it turns out that 10 teams would prefer to suspend matches for now.
Therefore, we have decided that all matches will be suspended until the end of March.
Unless there is an explosion of new cases, or there is an outbreak in the Itaewon area, we will resume the normal league schedule starting April 1st.
Weeks 8-11 will be skipped on the schedule. Week 7 (February 26th) matches will either be made up on the 20th week (or another date of the teams' choice), or an average score will be awarded.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you all, especially to bar owners. Once things resume, please drink massively (but responsibly) at your bars.
Please stay safe, and let's keep this nasty virus out of our league.
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- Written by Lenny Erickson
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Korean version of the rules are now available
Thanks to Darryl Dawson (for arranging the translation) and Bernard (for uploading it onto the website), there is now a Korean version of the IPL rules available on the website under the "Rules" menu. In order to access this file, you will need to have the site set to Korean language. Hopefully, this will make it easier for our Korean speaking members.
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- Written by Lenny Erickson
- Category: News
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