Pool League donates to charity

By John Redmond

Contributing writer

Members of popular expat pool organization, the Itaewon Pool League, held their winter/spring season banquet offering another sizable donation to charity, last Saturday evening at the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon.

Speaking at the function, Swiss National Pool League President Bernard Condrau explained how the funds, collected from team memberships, are divided.

The league donates every season, two seasons per year, between 1 and 2 million won. In the Winter/Spring 2010 season, it donated 1 million won to Unicef Haiti earthquake relief fund.

“The amount which goes to charity depends on the previous season balance to transfer into new season and the number of teams which sign up to the new season, as we keep the team fees per season at 300,000 won no matter how many teams sign up,” Condrau said.

The pool league comprises of some 30 teams involving players from over 10 nationalities, shooting pool in pubs on a Wednesday night in the areas of Itaewon and Haebangchon.

The league was founded in 2001 and grew from an original eight teams to somewhere around 30 teams. This means 300-400 active players, 20 weeks of regular season with one match for every team every week on Wednesdays, followed by a four round playoff.

“We do two tournaments during the season, one in the middle and one at the end of the season. Players sign up and pay a participation fee, and winners money and/or trophies are paid out to the players,” said Condrau in an interview with The Korea Times.

As for the charity aspect, Condrau stated that it is a group decision.

“The league is run by four league officials (president, vice president, treasurer, secretary). All of us can make proposals as to which charity the money should go, and we decide on mutual agreement (at least since I'm the president, I don't know how it was done in the past).”

Condrau left Switzerland in 2001 for Hong Kong and came to Korea in early 2003 for his previous company to take care of their Korean start-up joint venture.

He currently is president and CEO for Durr Korea, a subsidiary of German-based Durr GmbH, the leading provider of paint shop facilities to the automotive industry. He is 50 years old, married, and has two grown-up children who live in Switzerland.

Asked about his views on Korea, he stated, “I like to live in Korea, like the food, and found many good friends, both foreigners and Koreans. In my free time, besides taking care of the Pool League, I love to play pool, go hiking, socialize, and spend time with my wife.”

For more information about the Itaewon Pool League, visit the web site at www.itaewonpool.org