Greater Sydney Restrictions Extended
On Saturday 26 June at 6.00pm the Public Health (COVID-19 Temporary Movement and Gathering Restrictions) Order 2021 (Public Health Order) came into effect. The NSW Government has today announced that the restrictions within that Public Health Order will be extended for a further week, through until at least 11.59pm on Friday 16 July.
The Public Health Order includes a range of restrictions, including a stay-at-home order for all residents of Greater Sydney. For the purposes of this Public Health Order, Greater Sydney is taken to mean Greater Sydney (including Blue Mountains) and the local government areas of the Central Coast, the City of Shellharbour and the City of Wollongong.
The NSW Government, through the Office of Sport, have expressly advised that no community sport (whether training or a match) in Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour may proceed at this time.
Regional areas (outside of Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour)
For regional areas, outside of those areas named above, community sport can continue however this must be in line with the requirements of a non-controlled outdoor public gathering, being conducted as a COVID-19 safe outdoor gathering. This means all requirements of existing COVID Safety Plans, including QR code check-in, must be followed. Additional restrictions imposed by the latest Public Health Order also include:
- Face masks must be worn at organised outdoor events, such as community sport (except for those people engaging in strenuous exercise, ie. playing or umpiring netball);
- The one person per four square metre rule is in place for all indoor and outdoor settings.
For the latest information specific to community sport and recreation in NSW, click here.
For the most up-to-date information on what you can and can’t do in NSW, click here.
The following reiterates much of what appeared in the previous COVID-19 Update (29 June). The NSW Government have indicated that additional information on what restrictions may look like from Saturday 17 July in Greater Sydney will be released in coming days. Netball NSW will provide a further update once this information is available and after any relevant advice from the Office of Sport.
Netball NSW Competitions
The Public Health Order has caused the closure of Netball Central and the temporary suspension of both Premier League and Metro League until further notice. The Netball NSW Competitions team is monitoring the situation closely and will communicate regularly with all affected Associations and teams as more certainty comes to hand.
Club & Association Netball
Greater Sydney and Surrounds
All Club and Association netball (including any training and / or games) in Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour must now cease until further notice.
Netball NSW will monitor the situation closely and advise when changes are made which affect participation in netball.
Regional NSW
Club and Association netball in regional areas (outside of Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour) can continue, provided COVID Safety Plans are being followed and the requirements to wear face masks and limit attendance to one person per four square metres are being adhered to.
For absolute clarity, face masks must be worn at all indoor and outdoor community sporting events in regional areas. This is a new requirement from previous health orders. The only exceptions are those people actively engaged in training, playing or umpiring netball. All participants should also arrive and leave wearing a face mask.
There is also a request from NSW Health for the number of people at community sporting gatherings to be limited where possible. This is not a rule stating that spectator numbers must be limited to a certain number per player, but a request for common sense to apply. Netball venues have a huge amount of open space (roughly 500 square metres per court) however the spectating area can be quite confined and physical distancing between spectators from different households is strongly recommended. Face masks for spectators are mandatory.
We will continue to provide updates as significant changes develop. For any further information, please feel free to contact your Regional Manager, Association contact person or any Netball NSW staff member for assistance.
