Planning Ahead for 2020-21

The following advice was sent out to all clubs on July 11th.

None of us can see into the future but all of us can speculate. Some may be looking on the bright side and be thinking that things will quickly get back to near normal by the end of September whilst others may be resigned to not being able to resume bowling before Christmas (or even later). We all crave more certainty, but we just do not know how things will pan out. We remain dependent on government guidelines and those who manage the venues we use before we can plan a safe way ahead.

So, what should we do?

We can of course all continue to sit tight and “wait and see” or we can plan for the new season as if it will go ahead as normal.

The Association has as usual already agreed and published the dates for our Inter-County games and our other competitions and these appear on the website diary. Once we know the reality of the situation, we will be able to adjust these or cancel them, as necessary.

It is probably wise that leagues and clubs should adopt the same approach. If leagues go ahead and issue their fixture schedules to their clubs (if not done so already), the latter can do all the work necessary to agree home and away dates with their opponents on the assumption that venues will be available on the normal days. Like the Association, these can then be modified nearer the date.

The NYSMBA does not wish to interfere with the independence of the leagues who must of course make up their own minds regarding their future planning and indeed may already have done so. Our guidance however is not to wait for every “i” can be dotted and every “t” crossed before taking any action.

Be prepared!

R Green (Secretary)