Community Sport Cancelled 20/8/21

Dear AFL Barwon Affiliates,

This evening the Victorian Government has announced a shutdown to Community sport for the upcoming weekend.

Therefore effective 11.59pm tonight, all community football and netball matches, training and Auskick will not be permitted to take place in Victoria during this time, as per State Government restrictions.

The following statement has been sent by the Ministers Office:

“In the last few days, we’ve seen the latest COVID-19 outbreak emerge as a serious challenge in regional Victoria.  We have new cases and wastewater detections in Shepparton, which means that there is a very high likelihood that we’ll see new cases in the regions over the coming days. That’s why, in the best interest of our participants and the local community, we are asking that all community sport is cancelled this weekend. In recent days we have seen evidence of this virus spreading to very young children. This is evidence yet again that the Delta variant is more infectious and deadlier than anything we’ve faced as a community.“

“We have a responsibility to protect the health and wellbeing of the families and communities that we support. While no community sport this weekend will be a blow to many of you, it is so important that we take every step to protect children in our community. We’ve seen how quickly the Delta variant of this virus can spread and regional Victoria has worked incredibly hard to keep this virus out of its communities.”

“By reducing the movement of people and keeping children as safe as we possibly can, we reduce the risk this outbreak spreading between communities in regional Victoria and protect the children that are central to the community sport we enjoy every week.”

We will continue to work closely with the AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria and will be guided by advice from the Government and health authorities.

We will update stakeholders with any new information regarding restrictions and protocols for community football and netball, when available.

The health and safety of the community remains the highest priority.

Kind Regards,

Sean Atkinson

Acting Region General Manager

AFL Barwon