Hello e-leaguers!
As you are all no doubt aware, with COVID lockdowns, fire breaks and restrictions, changes have been made to our lives and this include archery and the e-league. The UK government recently announced a lock down for England, which started today and lasts a month. There are also firebreaks in place in Wales (from 23rd Oct-9th Nov), a circuit break in Northern Ireland (4 weeks starting 16th October) and new tiered restrictions are in place in Scotland which may in turn become a full lockdown in the coming weeks. We’ve been trying to keep appraised of all the changes in the last week and working out how this effects the e league.
Given that a large number of universities (in England) will be unable to shoot during the month of November, and many additional universities outside of England in some form of restriction for the month, we had a suggestion sent in to change the e league dates for this year so that we can allow more chance for scores to be submitted for the first leg given that November is going to be difficult for most archers in the UK to get to the range. After giving much consideration to this idea, we have decided to change the e league this year to the following structure:
Round 1: All scores shot in September, October, until the end of 14th November, assuming it is legal to do so in your area. Deadline for submissions extended to 21st November.
Round 2: Scores shot from 14th November in areas where it is legal to do so, plus scores shot in December and January
Round 3: Scores shot in February*
Round 4: Scores shot in March
**Dependent on future lock downs, firebreaks and circuit breakers.
Why are we doing this?
We want to make sure that each e league round is competitive and representative of the archers across the UK. We also want to make sure we are fair to all archers and give opportunity whenever scores are shot throughout the year. Given that this year archers have already got limited access to facilities, the lack of beginner’s courses running across the country and most universities only being back just over a month, we were expecting a significant down turn in the number of September/October entries. We are hoping that by extending to first deadline for scores to be shot to half way through November (14th Nov), will allow more archers to compete in the first round of the e league. We are also keenly aware to try to not give extra time to certain regions of the country, as they go in and out of fire break and lockdowns. For example, Welsh unis, would not have been able to compete in this time frame, but may have some time to do so between the 9th and 14th November. Similarly, English university students may have shot scores at the start of November but not for the rest of November. We want to make it clear that we do not wish to put any archer off submitting scores or disenfranchising them, based off their regional lock downs.
Therefore, if it is LEGAL and COVID safe in your area, and you are able to shoot, then scores for Round 1 of the e league will be accepted until the 14th November. The deadline for the scores to be entered into the system is the 21st November. Round 2 will start on the 15th November. and continue until the end of January. Round 3 and 4 will of course be dependent on future lockdowns, but for now, we hope that they will represent the months of February and March, respectively.
Stay safe, and happy shooting
