As most people will be aware, the current COVID-19 outbreak in Greater Sydney has not improved, which has led to the extension of the lockdown period and the tightening of some restrictions.
The most recent extension takes the lockdown period through until at least 11.59pm on Friday 30 July. The areas which the main restrictions refer to remain as being Greater Sydney (including Blue Mountains) and the local government areas of the Central Coast, the City of Shellharbour and the City of Wollongong.
Further restrictions now also apply to residents and workers in some of the worst affected areas of Sydney and Netball NSW urges all Clubs and Associations to do what they can to ensure members are safe and compliant. The NSW Government and Office of Sport have requested that all sporting organisations use their networks to reinforce the important health and safety messages currently being distributed. The most important message of all being that people should stay home unless absolutely necessary.
The restrictions in place mean 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. Exercise can now only be with one other person, unless from the same household, and must be within 10km of home.
Things are changing quickly at present with examples being specific rules for different areas, additional requirements for some workers and Government assistance packages for individuals and businesses. However, when it comes to community sport there has been virtually no change since the lockdown began. No sport is to take place in Greater Sydney and other affected areas.
The Office of Sport website is currently the best place to go for information about community sport. The site has been upgraded since last year’s COVID shutdown and is updated very regularly. It includes all details on what is and isn’t allowed, and differentiates between Greater Sydney and regional areas. All the information is on one page, with items to expand for further detail and links to other relevant pages. At this stage, we highly recommend that you bookmark the page at the link below and refer to it regularly:
NSW Office of Sport COVID-19 Latest Information
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.
With the competition still 10 weeks away, Netball NSW has not made any further decisions around the re-scheduled HART Junior State Titles at this time. As the COVID situation unfolds, we will advise accordingly.
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 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 must be followed. Importantly, all Clubs and Associations should now note the following mandatory requirements in the Public Health Order:
- All events being conducted as COVID-19 safe outdoor gatherings (ie. community netball) must have QR code check-in;
- 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 Associations and Clubs on the border of Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour, if you have players in your teams who are from Greater Sydney or those other named regions, those players are bound by the Greater Sydney rules and are unable travel to another region to play community sport. We ask Associations to work with and not penalise any teams who could be affected by this.
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.
Once again, the best source of information is the NSW Office of Sport COVID-19 Latest Information page. Memo’s and links are also uploaded to the Netball NSW COVID-19 Information page.
We will continue to provide updates as significant changes develop. As always, for any further information, please feel free to contact your Regional Manager, Association contact person or any Netball NSW staff member for assistance.
