Netball NSW has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 HART Junior and Senior State Titles.
Due to concern relating to the potential community spread of COVID-19, the organisation received advice from NSW Health to “avoid large, inter-regional championships”. Accordingly, Netball NSW has determined that it would be irresponsible to proceed with the State Titles at this time.
The largest events on the Netball NSW calendar, the Junior and Senior State Titles bring Associations from all corners of the state together to determine champions in numerous underage and opens age categories. Both are important elements of the Netball NSW pathway, which showcases the strength of grassroots netball right across the state.
In 2020 six Associations (Penrith District, Hawkesbury City, Parramatta Auburn, Baulkham Hills Shire, Eastwood Ryde and Blacktown City) were due to host the 2020 Junior State Titles from 3-5 October, while four other Associations (Campbelltown District, Camden & District, Bankstown City and Fairfield City) were set to welcome the Seniors on the same weekend.
Netball NSW CEO Carolyn Campbell said the health of the wider community had to come first in 2020.
“Players, coaches, umpires, officials and parents would all be well aware that Netball NSW has held on to the hope of conducting the State Titles in 2020, maintaining an air of positivity that the re-scheduled October dates would enable the competitions to proceed,” she said.
“Regrettably the time has come for us to concede that this won’t be possible.
“On Wednesday 12 August Netball NSW participated in an all-sport briefing with the NSW Government and received the latest information from NSW Health.
“We also received feedback from many Associations in recent weeks. While a variety of options were considered, including localised competitions or limited age groups, the fact is that any version would require an element of travel which NSW Health are trying to avoid.
“Furthermore, the less teams competing the less the event bears any resemblance to a true State Titles competition.
“It goes without saying that this was not a decision taken lightly and we feel deeply sorry for those who had been planning for, and working so hard towards this year’s event, but we look forward to 2021 with renewed hope and will focus all our efforts on that going forward.
“For now, we are fortunate that regular competitions have been able to commence and we thank the netball community for their ongoing commitment to the health and safety protocols those competitions are running under.”
Netball NSW would also like to thank HART Sport, naming rights partners of both the Junior and Senior State Titles, for their continued support of community netball across the state.
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