BRUSSELS/TURNHOUT - The Belgian billiards world is divided on the point of view whether three cushion competitions for teams should be stopped immediately. The persistent uncertainties over the Corona virus, as a result of which billiard cafes remain closed for a long time and billiard players have to stay at home, has led to an overall and final stop of all competitions in the Netherlands. That decision, which was announced this week, has been postponed by the Belgian federation to May 1, despite pressure from a number of clubs and players. The current leader in the league, Biljart Express from Turnhout, wrote an urgent letter to the federation.
The chairman Benny van Goethem, to whom the writing is addressed, responds with a statement from the board. ''We have unanimously decided to keep the weekend of May 2 and 3 as the deadline. For the time being, we will still keep a small chance open, but of course, we have the feeling that it can change very soon. We are first bound to the authorities en also to the international federations with our decision.''
The Belgian Cup, scheduled for mid-May, has already been cancelled and may be postponed to September. "We can not yet make a statement about that." The team competition has been stopped at least until May 1, in the days after, the final decision will be made. "We have to be realistic," says Benny van Goethem about the situation. ''It's too simple to make a poll and ask players: do you want to finish the competition or go on? There is no one who can predict what will happen in the next weeks. Yes, obviously players want to continue playing, just like cyclists would have liked to ride the Tour of Flanders and football players who want to play the European Championship. We all want to play billiards very soon, but to be honest: what to do if the billiard cafes have to keep closed the doors for a month or two months longer on May 1? I say it again: we want to be flexible and postpone the decision, but please be realistic.''
The most important content from the letter that the board and members of Biljart Express wrote to the Federal President:
''We would like to convey concerns about continuing the competition in May or June. The majority of our club belongs to the risk group and has already announced that they no longer want to play. The 'Turnhout three-cushion league', with over 200 members and 7 teams in Biljart Express, will certainly not play anymore before 1st of August. We therefore ask you, speaking for our KBBB members, to make a decision as soon as possible about completely stopping the competitions for this sports year.''
Guy van Litsenborg, owner of Biljart Express where many league games are played every day, fully supports that position. ''My first team players definitely don't want to continue playing. The Belgian federation should do like the Netherlands and make a decision immediately." Marc Verhaegen, owner of Op de Meir: "The season may end for me now, they must dare to make a bold decision and better focus on the new season. Our own tournament, scheduled for July and August, is unlikely to escape from the situation either. And for next months, August or September, it's only important that everyone can stay healthy.''
Benny van Goethem replied: ''We can understand all the opinions very well and try to do what we can. The Belgian federation is estimating the situation almost daily with about ten people in video conferences. The decision we will make, will be for the sake of all our 2,500 billiard players.''
One of Belgian's top players, Peter Ceulemans, asked for a response, stated: ''I really want to play, because I miss the competition. But I do realize that it will be more and more difficult to get it back on track again. There are the World Cup in Porto, the European Cup and the European Championship in Berlicum, of which we really don't know whether they will be played. That is very questionable. I can understand that some federations want to wait and postpone the decisions. Personally, I have no problem to continue in the summer months, but my vacation (two weeks in July) with my family is definitely given priority. Then I am not available to play.''
The decisions of the German and French billiards federation concerning the competitions will also be announced very soon.
Belgian chairman Benny van Goethem: ''We do the best we can for the sake of our 2.500 players.'
Peter Ceulemans: we all want to play, but it's gonna be more and more difficult.