Pool league raises funds for charity
By John Redmond
Members of popular expat pool organization, the Itaewon Pool League (IPL), held their end of year/season banquet, Saturday, at the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon.
With the usual agenda of awarding prizes, announcing funds to be donated and elections, the occasion was also a timely event to remember IPL founder Bob Denny, known to many as “Chicago Bob,” who passed away earlier this year at age 57.
The league was founded in 2001 by Denny 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.
In a sobering moment, Rod Veltman spoke about the passion and dedication Denny had for IPL.
Denny, who had a career with the U.S. military, had served in many of the world’s hot spots including in Vietnam during the Vietnam War to eventually end up in South Korea.
The inspiration behind the pool league was to unite the expat and local communities through an activity many share and forge closer links between businesses and charity organizations.
Denny worked tirelessly in this effort until he left for Florida two years ago.
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 for Haiti earthquake relief fund. Speaking at the function, Bernard Condrau, a Swiss national and president of Pool League, explained how the funds, collected from team memberships, are divided.
“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.
“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 and secretary). All of us can make proposals as to which charity the money should go to 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. Condrau, 50, has two grown-up children who live in Switzerland.
Asked about his views on Korea, he stated, “I like to live in Korea. I 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 IPL, visit the website at www.itaewonpool.org