Play on: Goulburn Murray Cricket returns on Saturday and Sunday. Photo: Steve Huntley
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steve Huntley.
A host of local sporting leagues have decided to forge ahead with their seasons amid the growing Omicron outbreak, including the Goulburn Murray Cricket and Campaspe Tennis Association.
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With the CTA’s return to tennis on Saturday perched precariously, a Zoom meeting of the league executive and its clubs on Wednesday night determined that enough personnel were on hand to go ahead with round eight.
“We spoke about the current situation and determined that things are probably going to get worse before they get better,” CTA president Ryan Byrne said.
“There’s probably no point delaying or cancelling rounds. Cancelling one or two weeks would have a flow-on effect.
“I think everyone’s turn is going to come where they can’t field a team due to isolation requirements, so it’s just about playing where we can and working around it.”
Back and swinging: Erik Holt-Crossman’s Rich River Rebels will be back in action when Goulburn Murray Lawn Tennis Association competition resumes on Saturday. Photo: Rodney Braithwaite
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Rodney Braithwaite
Byrne conceded that teams were likely to be affected at some point during the remainder of the season — including three sides this week — but declared that teams affected by isolation requirements would split points with the opposition as opposed to having the fixture ruled a forfeit.
However, Byrne is encouraging those taking to the court to observe appropriate COVID-19 safety protocols where possible.
“It’s almost a get in, play, get out scenario,” Byrne said.
“We’re going to cancel arvo tea for the time being and just encourage teams to stay outside where possible, limiting exposure where they can.
“But I think everyone was just in agreeance on forging ahead. Clubs are pretty keen just to keep playing where we can.”
Meanwhile, Goulburn Murray Cricket has also opted to forge ahead with its round seven games, after 13 clubs were affected by player shortages in the lead-up to round six last Saturday, forcing the postponement of the first round of 2022.
GMC operations manager James Stokes confirmed up to 90 players last week had been ruled out through infection or as a close contact but cited a drastically reduced case number as the impetus behind the decision to resume the season.
“Last week we had cases in 13 of the 16 clubs, which was totalling close to 90 cases,” Stokes said.
“This week we have maybe 10 cases.
“Because of the way isolation is set up, it’s only a week; most (players) have come out Sunday and Monday.
“We made last week’s decision because it was going to destroy the integrity of the competition in the fact that clubs were going to have to forfeit lower grades — that’s not what cricket’s about.
“It’s certainly not how we want to conduct it.
“This week, alternatively, it’s the opposite way around; with 10 cases, clubs can manage that, and they have all indicated to us that they are right to go.”
Stokes is confident the league can safely navigate through the season but hasn’t ruled out further forced changes in an “ever-changing landscape”.
“We’re confident enough that we’ll get through,” he said.
“However, it’s an ever-changing landscape so you can’t back it in completely.
“Obviously if we have a couple of clubs that get themselves into some trouble with cases, we’ll need to look at how we schedule that and how we best manage it to get us through the season.”
The GMC confirmed the layout of this weekend’s A-grade round, a double-header consisting of one-day games on Saturday and Sunday.
B, C and D-grades will also return on Saturday, while A-grade women will return to play on Sunday.
Goulburn Murray Lawn Tennis Association is also confirmed for a season restart on Saturday.
