Today Netball NSW, and all community sports across the state, received the news we were hoping for when the Acting NSW Minister for Sport Geoff Lee announced that all sport could resume on 1 July, not just 18 and under.
We thank Minister Lee and the State Government for listening to sporting organisations, community Associations and Clubs, players, coaches and administrators by aligning the starting dates for both juniors and seniors.
A special thank you also goes to our army of Netball volunteers and players who continued to push for a return to play. At Netball NSW we have been doing everything in our power to push for today’s outcome, but it is the assistance of the masses which really makes a difference. Strictly following the stand-down requirements, abiding by return-to-training guidelines and contacting local Members of Parliament have all contributed to this decision.
Today’s announcement provides certainty for all senior competitions including Premier League, Metro League, Regional Leagues, Senior State Titles and Masters.
It is important to note that there has been no immediate change to the Public Health Order or restrictions which are currently in place. That means all Associations and Clubs must continue to adhere to the 10-person training limits, social distancing and hygiene requirements. Remember that it is your ongoing adherence to these regulations which has enabled the State Government to provide us the certainty we wanted on a start date, so please continue to follow the guidelines.
It is our expectation that the State Government will soon release full details on what the return-to-play regulations will be, so we ask you to be patient while we wait for that guidance. Last week we made a suite of resources available on the Netball NSW website to assist Associations and Clubs to plan for the re-start.
Some of these documents may need slight amendments when we receive the State Government regulations and we will make those changes and communicate to you as a matter of urgency.
We will also provide regular updates on all senior competitions via the Netball NSW website and direct communication to Associations.
We are not out of the woods just yet. The shutdown period has hit Netball NSW, Associations and Clubs very hard. We still have a huge challenge on our hands financially and we continue to call on the State Government to provide financial recovery assistance urgently.
Netball NSW is still not back to full operational capacity and we know that volunteers at Clubs and Associations have a huge amount of work in front of them. But we are here to help.
Once again, our sincere thanks to the entire Netball community for your ongoing patience and support. We can’t wait to see you out on the court again soon.
- Louise Sullivan, President - Netball NSW
- Carolyn Campbell, CEO - Netball NSW
