London & Southern Counties Regional Championship 2021 Cancelled
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Statement issued today (February 1) by Kevin Williams, London & Southern Counties Regional Secretary:
"It is with deep sadness and regret that the London & Southern Counties Regional Committee have decided unanimously to cancel the 2021 Regional Contest that it hoped to hold this coming June.
After lengthy discussions, the Committee agreed that the COVID-19 situation may not have been sufficiently resolved in time for an event to be held safely, and so took the agonising decision to cancel the contest for a second successive year. We fully appreciate the difficult situation many of you find yourselves in at this time, and we wish you well during the coming months and with the hope that we can all get back to banding as soon as possible.
"The 2020 provisional grading tables will remain unchanged with no promotion or relegation this year, and so the aggregate totals from 2018 and 2019 will be carried forward to the 2022 contest. The Committee will now liaise with Kapitol Promotions Ltd. detailing their proposals about how bands should be considered for an invite to the 2021 National Finals in September and October.
It's obviously a very sad day for all concerned, but the health and safety of everyone involved at a contest, whether they be the performers, adjudicators, administrators, press, traders, audience and stewards etc has to be the number one priority. Despite the wonderful advances being made within the medical profession in tackling the COVID pandemic, the current uncertainties surrounding the Government position and potential for contracting the illness in and around the bandroom is still far too great for me to take any chances and put anybody at risk.
Hopefully 2022 will offer us the opportunity to resume normal operations and get back to the banding we all love and enjoy so much."
