To all Kent Hockey Clubs

Aligning with England Hockey and the South Hockey League, and pending confirmation from East Hockey of their intention;

In light of current and anticipated Covid-19 measures in the South East and beyond;

With a view to protecting the integrity of league positions at the end of this season, in preparation to move into the new South East & London league structures next season;

And noting the financial difficulties that some clubs may be experiencing;

For all men’s and women’s Kent Open League matches, the following approach will be taken.

• All Kent Open League divisions will be settled by a half-season of results, i.e. teams will play each other once rather than twice – note that the same approach will be adopted for SHL matches in Kent Area & Kent/Sussex divisions;
• Results from match dates to 31st October will stand and, along with the results from games due to be played on match days 18-22 (from 20th February to 20th March for men; from 27th February to 27th March for women), will count towards league positions;
• All games necessary to complete the half-season must be played by 1st May, which will mark the end of the season;
• If hockey resumes before 20th February, clubs are encouraged to play intra-club games or friendly matches against ‘local’ clubs, as appropriate, in readiness for a league resumption on 20th February;
• If hockey resumes after 20th February, match days will be rolled back successively, as a block, up to and including 1st May;
• If the resumption is after 20th March, alternative plans will be necessary to resolve league positions – we will have to cross that bridge if/when we come to it;
• For games that were not played on match days up to 31st October (i.e. postponements), rearrangements should be agreed between the respective fixtures secretaries – note that these must be after the resumption of hockey, and must not take precedence over games scheduled for match days 18-22;
• Where appointed umpires are normally used, clubs should expect the relevant Umpire Association to appoint to scheduled fixtures in the normal way (subject to adequate umpire availability); but, for rearranged fixtures, the home club should contact the relevant Umpire Association’s Appointments Secretary as part of the fixture discussion prior to agreeing a new date/time.

Fixtures Live will be updated to reflect the structure outlined above;

By the end of the season, some teams will have played more home matches than others – apologies, this is just the luck of the draw;

With available playing facilities at a premium, clubs are encouraged to work together to ensure that games are played – if this means playing a ‘home’ match at the ‘away’ venue, fixtures secretaries should sort that out between them;

Of course, future decisions by Government may overtake events, at which point we will issue further instructions.

Any queries should be referred to the respective League Secretaries – Nicola Wilkes for Ladies’ Hockey; Mark Newman for Men’s Hockey – or your local club rep (i.e. Mark Newman, Kay Parsons, Karen Stevenson or Lindsay Hancox).