All England Bar Billiards Future Planning Statement – UPDATE JUNE 2020 – COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Dear friends,

I hope you are all keeping well given the current, very challenging circumstances.

It has been such a long time since we have been able to meet, socialise and enjoy our wonderful game. We are thrilled that many of you have remained engaged with the Virtual Opens. The engagement has been fantastic to see and you can be assured that we will continue to run these types of activities for as long as we remain restricted and we’d love to see more people get involved.

Since the last statement much has changed, restrictions have loosened however many people are still impacted by the immediate and severe threat of the virus. Our local venues will soon open but with changed ways of working and we are yet to understand the implications for our league and our game.

In March, we cancelled seven of our events and postponed a further two. This difficult decision was centred around the principle that, as an association, we will support local and regional associations in their resumption of activity first and then host AEBBA events where possible whilst retaining the integrity of our national competitions. We remain committed to this principle.

It is still unclear how county associations will resume their event activity but we want to ensure we support them by offering every possible opportunity to host their events with adequate calendar space. A such we have taken the decision to free up further opportunities for counties and leagues with further cancellations of AEBBA events.

The following events have now been cancelled for 2020:

• AEBBA ‘Off the Spot’ Open Championships
• AEBBA Alternate Rules Open
• AEBBA Team Championships
• AEBBA Special Ladies Championships
• AEBBA County Championships
• AEBBA Mixed Pairs
• AEBBA Under 30’s Event
• AEBBA Over 50’s Event
• AEBBA Over 60’s Event

The following events remain postponed at this stage:

• AEBBA Challenger Championships
• AEBBA 4-Pin Open Championships
• AEBBA Grand Prix

In making the changes above we have worked very hard to strike the best possible balance between retaining the most important events for the national game whilst prioritising the support for county and league associations with alternate dates if they become required.

The only AEBBA events now scheduled and prioritised are the AEBBA Individuals Championships. The Challenger Championships events remain highly desirable and the AEBBA ‘4-Pin’ Open Championships will only take place if the Northants Open goes ahead.

The AEBBA Grand Prix has also been earmarked for cancellation if required or not viable – a final decision regarding this event will be taken in September.

Whilst significant and disappointing, we feel strongly that this is in the best interest of our association members to take these decisions.

To be clear, once it becomes apparent that a resumption of activity does not put any member at undue risk, we will seek to do so. This may mean that we devise some new approaches to the game which will enable, as far as possible, social distancing. Whilst these changes may alter how match events feel, they may be necessary to preserve our activity and so we consider any measure taken to be an essential element for the safeguarding of our future.

As previously stated, prior to any resumption of events, we will be regularly monitoring and taking direction from Public Health England, World Health Organisation and government advice as we are aware that the coronavirus situation is constantly developing.

The full revised schedule can now be seen in the forthcoming events page.

As ever, we would like to urge all members to take care of one another and your families. Stay in touch regularly with your teammates and friends within our local league community. With our social interactions extremely curtailed, make use of technology to stay in touch and keep a close eye on our news page for updates to stay informed.

With very best wishes,

Lorin

 

COVID-19 advice

Information about the virus

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It’s caused by a virus called coronavirus. The incubation period of COVID-19 is between 2 and 14 days. This means that if a person remains well 14 days after contact with someone with confirmed coronavirus, it is unlikely that they have been infected.

Symptoms

The symptoms of coronavirus are:

• a cough
• a high temperature
• shortness of breath
• loss of smell or taste

However, if you have these symptoms it does not necessarily mean you have the illness. The symptoms are similar to other illnesses that are much more common, such as cold and flu.

You must stay at home if you have coronavirus symptoms

Stay at home if you have either:

• a high temperature – you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
• a new, continuous cough – this means you’ve started coughing repeatedly

Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you’re staying at home.

Testing for coronavirus is not needed if you’re staying at home.

How long to stay at home

• If you have symptoms, stay at home for 7 days
• If you live with other people, they should stay at home for 14 days from the day the first person got symptoms

If you live with someone who is 70 or over, has a long-term condition, is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, try to find somewhere else for them to stay for 14 days.

If you have to stay at home together, try to keep away from each other as much as possible.

Read the NHS advice about staying at home.

Use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service if:

• you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home
• your condition gets worse
• your symptoms do not get better after 7 days

Use the 111 coronavirus service

Only call 111 if you cannot get help online

Anyone who has been confirmed as being in close contact with a confirmed coronavirus case will need to speak to their Local Health Protection team to confirm if they also need to self-isolate. Please visit the .Gov website for the contact details of your Local Health Protection team.

How it is spread & preventing the spread of infection

The spread of COVID-19 is most likely to happen when there is close contact (within 2 metres) with an infected person. These are some of the things you can do to help stop viruses like coronavirus spreading:

DO

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze.
• Put used tissues in the bin immediately.
• Wash your hands with soap and water often – use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.
• Try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

DON’T

• touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean.