The Roundup - 13th to 27th April 2020

The Itä v Länsi game will not be held in Pori this July
Photograph from Itä-Länsi Facebook
The big stories
Itä v Länsi (East v West) game postponed until 2021
The news broke last week that the East v West game scheduled for 3-4th July 2020 in Pori has been cancelled. The Pesäpalloliito (Pesäpallo governing body) announced whilst I was writing this post that the games will be rescheduled for 2021 instead. 

It is such a shame that Pori will not host this year’s equivalent of the all-star game, but i am pleased that they will be able to host it in 2021.

Finnish Government’s rules on gatherings and the impact on the season
The Finnish national government has outlined steps to lift the ban on the “10 person maximum” for gatherings and increase it back to 500; however this step will not be taken anytime soon and as a result, the Superpesis season has now been postponed again to no earlier than 1st July 2020. The prospect of a total lockout for 2020 remains an option, but this would spell disaster for so many clubs. Equally, the propose to of playing behind “closed doors”  (without spectators) is also an option that would spell ruin for many clubs. 

The Pesäpalloliito are due to meet again on 3rd May 2020 to discuss options and a strategy for the season.

Photograph from SiiPe website (c) Siilinjärven Pesis 2020
Juha Leskinen appointed as Content Creator/Social Media Co-ordinator for SiiPe
Siilinjärven Pesis announced on 20th April that Juha Leskinen had been appointed as content creator for their social media channels. As part of SiiPe’s expansion following a successful (and dramatic) campaign to remain in Superpesis, SiiPe are looking to increase engagement with fans by Social Media. During the current lockdown situation, the season cannot get underway and many fans are having to stay in touch with their clubs through different ways. SiiPe have had a steady use of social media, but the appointment of Juha opens the door to more exciting and creative ways to engage with the team, especially fans who live outside of Finland.

Juha has applied for and received funding himself for the role and has shown how much the team means to him and others. Juha is 28 years old and has trained n the media industry. In addition, Juha has a vast amount of experience as a photographer for various sports, travelling all around Finland. 

“SiiPe has for some time been looking for content producers to make the club a social media content and I'm glad Juha According to the Accession of the team. Even if we are living in a challenging time now, we must dare to look ahead and develop our activities so that normal club work can continue when the exception periods end. Juha is initially involved in the exceptional circumstances thanks to the support he has applied for and received, and we are looking for ways to make it possible for SiiPe to keep Juha with him for a longer period of time” explains Marko Heikkinen , SiiPe's CEO (Translation via Google)

Sasu Toikka of KPL loses semi-final in the Liiga ePlayoffs
Despite a valiant effort Sasu bowed out of the ePlayoff title race, losing to HIFK on 22nd April and sadly losing out on bronze in a tight game against HPK on 25th April. It has been fun to follow Sasu in the ePlayoffs and it has no doubt brought joy to so many Liiga fans who were facing the end of an exciting season without the prospect of closure.  

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