The Northland secondary school athletics competition held last week will be last NSSSA sport event we see for a while, Bay of Islands College's Laetin George seen here in the long jump. Photo / File
The Northland secondary school athletics competition held last week will be last NSSSA sport event we see for a while, Bay of Islands College's Laetin George seen here in the long jump. Photo / File
More Northland sporting events have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As reported by the Northern Advocate yesterday, many local events and sporting codes were in jeopardy after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced gatherings of 500 or more people held outdoors or indoors should be cancelled to slow thespread and reduce the number of people infected.
Below is an updated list of more events which had been cancelled, postponed or put at risk. The events/codes from yesterday's article not included today were either unable to be contacted or had not changed their position.
Northland's school sport had been a major casualty of the threat of coronavirus.
In an announcement made yesterday, the Northland Secondary School Sports Council and Sport Northland cancelled all Northland Secondary Schools Sports Association events until the end of term one (April 9).
Adam Blair rugby league competition semifinals and finals (today/March 25) Senior volleyball finals in Whangārei (March 24) Three futsal competitions: under-16 boys, under-19 boys and mixed in Whangārei (today, tomorrow and Friday) Clay target series event one in Whangārei (March 21) Surfing series event two at Sandy Bay or Ahipara (March 26) Equestrian combined training in Kaikohe (March 27) Stand up paddleboarding in Kerikeri (March 28) Football officiating course in Whangārei (April 6) Tennis singles in Whangārei (April 6)
The decision would be reviewed before the start of term two. It was possible the events would be rescheduled. Sport Northland also cancelled three primary school ki-o-rahi events due to be held prior to the school holidays.
As Sport Northland's Jennian Homes Bay of Islands Run/Walk event was not scheduled until May, the event's future would be decided closer to the time.
The announcement came after all events on the School Sport New Zealand national calendar were suspended by the national organisation on Monday.
Northland Sports Awards:
Sport Northland also made the decision yesterday to cancel the annual Northland Sports Awards, set for April 3.
The Northland Sports Awards will not go ahead this year, Northland sport legends Sid Going (left) and Pero Cameron seen here at last year's awards. Photo / Langwoods Event Photography
Sport Northland chief executive Brent Eastwood said the decision to cancel the event, which would have attracted about 400 people to Whangārei's ASB Stadium, was based on the Government's announcement regarding mass gatherings.
Eastwood emphasised he was exploring other ways to appropriately celebrate the achievements of Northland's athletes.
Maunga Mayhem Mud Run:
This Saturday's annual Maungatapere School fundraiser, the Maunga Mayhem Mud Run, has been postponed based on the Government's directive concerning mass gatherings.
The event, which was expected to attract about 600 people, would be rescheduled to November 14 as not to clash with the winter sport season.
"It's disappointing but it is what it is, there's certainly a lot of people who are worse off," event head organiser Hayley Taylor said.
"We looked at other options but at the end of the day, we need to respect and support the health and safety of our community."
The event raised $22,000 for the school last year. Taylor said this year's postponement would not interfere with the school's activities as the funds raised had been earmarked for a covered outdoor learning area.
For those who could not attend the revised date, Taylor said tickets would be refunded through iTICKET.
This weekend's Northland Horse Trials were cancelled yesterday morning due to the Government's directive concerning mass gatherings.
Eventing Northland president Dion Watts said there was little choice in cancelling the two-day event, which would have attracted about 600 people, but he said most people were supportive of the decision.
"There's lots of disappointed people but in saying that, so far everyone seems to be pretty accepting of what's had to happen," he said.
"We don't believe that we would have been far enough under 500 people to warrant going ahead but realistically, we rely on a lot of volunteers and people have got to be comfortable with turning up."
Watts said he would wait for further instruction from the sport's national bodies before attempting to reschedule the event.
Rugby League Northland general manager Phil Marsh said conversations were ongoing regarding the future of Northland's rugby league competitions.
While nothing had been decided yet, Marsh said he would have discussions with general managers from other regions in the next few days.
The 12-week local junior rugby league programme kicked off on Sunday which featured about 200 people at the Otaika Sports Park. Marsh said a decision on whether this Sunday's games would go ahead would be communicated to clubs by tomorrow at the latest.
Decisions are yet to made about Northland's premier rugby league season, won by Takahiwai last year. Photo / File
Hockey:
Hockey Northland chief executive Grant McLeod said upcoming competitions would go ahead as planned, but was subject to advice expected from Hockey New Zealand last night or this morning.
Seven senior grades were set to start from tomorrow, Friday and Saturday which would feature a total of about 650 players. Northland's premier hockey grades did not start until late April and junior competitions did not start until May.
The Mangonui JMB Rugby Union's committee cancelled its rally day scheduled for April 4 in an announcement yesterday.
The decision was said to be due to the Government's announcement regarding mass gatherings. The announcement also stated the official JMB rugby start date of May 2 would remain but was dependent on further developments.
Netball:
An announcement was made by Netball New Zealand late yesterday that an advisory was delivered to all affiliated netball centres and competition organisers with a decision to postpone all winter competitions until at least Saturday, May 2.
The advisory includes the postponement of pre-season programmes, tournaments, workshops and other community competitions, including social leagues that were currently in progress.
As of 5pm yesterday, the Whangārei Netball Centre was preparing a statement regarding the announcement and could not comment further.
Netball Northern's under-18 and open women's cluster programmes had also been cancelled after the national announcement. Trainings for the cluster started last year and had been held weekly until now. The programme is held to prepare players for national competitions in July.
Parafed Northland:
In an announcement yesterday, Parafed Northland postponed its remaining sports development programme sessions scheduled for the rest of term one.
The sessions included four weekly sessions of youth development wheelchair basketball. Parafed Northland's Sharon Carroll said the sessions would be held at a later date and were cancelled to ensure the health and wellbeing of participants.
The decision came as the Healthvision Festival of Disability Sport in Tauranga on March 28-29 was cancelled. A Northland wheelchair basketball team was set to attend the event.
Northland is rich in talent in wheelchair basketball. Photo / File
Swimming:
Swimming Northland has cancelled this Sunday's Last Chance Carnival in Whangārei due to the cancellation of national swimming events.
Carnival organiser Sharon Carroll said the carnival's purpose was to allow swimmers a chance to swim qualifying times for the National Age Group Championships and New Zealand Division II Championships in April and May respectively.
However, because both had been cancelled, Carroll said it would no longer be in the best interests of the community to hold the local event in the current climate.
The NZ Herald reported yesterday that New Zealand Rugby League, New Zealand Rugby, Netball New Zealand and New Zealand Football had reportedly been in discussions about a "collective response".
It also reported the sporting bodies were awaiting more information from the Government and were expected to release more information yesterday around community sport.
