As of August 19, sporting organisations throughout the state were asked to adjust their calendars to adhere to new COVID-19 recommendations released by the NSW government.
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Announced in an open letter to all state community sports organisations from NSW Health's chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, five updates to the current regulations were made.
There were:
- Cease activities that result in the mixing of participants and staff from different regions, for example by ceasing zone, regional or state championships or competitions
- Cease any activities that result in overnight stays (e.g. multi-day training camps) due to increased risk of COVID transmission in residential-type settings with shared facilities
- Cease face-to-face social activities relating to community sports (e.g. award ceremonies, end-of-season social gatherings, post-training group dinners)
- Avoid carpools or bus travel with people from different household groups where possible
- For local activities, limit spectators to one parent only, where the child requires parental supervision during the sporting activity.
The new recommendations have already had an impact on local sport, after the Goulburn District Netball Association announced it had cancelled its State Titles preparation, and the Goulburn Bears announced their senior men's team was withdrawing from competition.
What further impacts these measures will have on local sport is yet to be seen, as there are a number of amateur competitions which require players and teams to travel regularly between local regions.
Though the updates are stringent, Dr Chant said in the letter that they were made in order to allow local sport to continue as safely as possible.
"These updated recommendations will help us to meet the NSW Government's aim of achieving no community transmission in NSW and will support community sports to continue operating safely," Dr Chant said.
To have an impact, she estimated that the guidelines will need to remain in place for six weeks, at which point Dr Chant promised to provide an update.
The response from state governing bodies has, by large, been pragmatic. Football NSW promised to comply with the state government's recommendations, and issued its own list of updated COVID measures to be followed by players.
"We ask that all participants continue to adhere to the protocols that have been put in place and we assure you that everything that can be done, is being done to keep football safe," Football NSW said in a statement.
Similarly, NSW Rugby League released a statement saying it has "always placed the utmost importance on the health and safety of our stakeholders and we have emphasised compliance with Public Health Orders so as to limit the possible spread of coronavirus across the state."
Comparable statements have been put out by a number of the state governing bodies, promising widespread compliance.
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