Coronavirus crisis having grassroots impact

The Illawarra Rugby League will continue to take the advice of the NSWRL but, with some junior grades due to start this weekend, general manager Chris Bannerman says a postponement of competitions until after Easter is a distinct possibility.

With competitions ordinarily on hiatus over the Easter a postponement until after the long weekend is a possible outcome, but Bannerman said the league will continue to take its cues from NSW Rugby League HQ.

"At the moment we'll be guided by the advice from our governing body and I'm happy to say I've had some consultation with them in person [on Monday]," Bannerman said.

"It's obviously ongoing in regards to their meetings and consultations with medical authorities but I think there's every chance they're going to make some sort of ruling that may impact or delay the start of our competitions but I think most people would only see that as a good thing given the circumstances.

"Given the indications I've received today it may well be that period between now and Easter becomes a no-go zone and we look to delay the start of competitions until after that Easter period if that's the advice from the NSW Rugby League."

Any directive is expected to be state-wide and apply to senior and junior levels following last year's merger with the Country Rugby League, creating a single governing body.

"If there's a directive that comes out I think it has to apply across the board," Bannerman said.

"Health concerns are health concerns regardless of age or level of football. It's a bigger issue than the game of rugby league. It may well be we have to slowly modify the draw after Easter if that's the view of the NSWRL. If that's the advice we would have to comply with that."

The Illawarra Premier League is also due to kickoff this weekend and is expected to go ahead, with Football South Coast chief executive Ann-Marie Ballina saying the league will continue following directives from the FFA.

"Within this current environment things are moving daily so all we can do is consult with our governing bodies, be on top of the information that they're issuing and then determine how that applies to our local competitions," Balliana said.

On Monday, Football Federation Australia CEO James Johnson said football - including at grassroots level - would continue to be played across Australia "at the moment".

"But it must adhere to not only the government directions, but we will go further and introduce some stricter guidelines that come into effect [on Monday]" he said.

"We've taken the position in the interest of our community. The feedback from our community is that we must go a step further to what the government has advised."

Johnson said FFA's stricter guidelines included a focus on actions before playing, the way in which football activities are organised and how to stop the virus's spread through good hygiene and social distancing.

He added that FFA recommended that only essential participants should attend football. These include players, coaches, match officials and volunteers.

In an email to members on Monday, Basketball Illawarra said it had taken advice from Basketball Australia and Basketball NSW to immediately cease games and training at the Snakepit.

"Basketball Illawarra has been following the information and advice from the Australian Government, Basketball Australia, BNSW and NSW Health authorities on the situation with Covid -19," the email read.

"The Basketball Illawarra Board and management will continue to consult with BNSW to assess the situation and update our Members as required.

"In the interests of our members health and safety and also the uncertainty of attendance numbers we have decided to cancel all local competitions, rep training, development programs and close access to the Snakepit until further notice."

Cricket Illawarra confirmed on Monday that this week's grand finals are scheduled to go ahead as planned, while South Coast Cricket vice president Ty Barton said that, based on the latest advice from Cricket NSW, the competition's semi-finals will be played.

"Everything's still going ahead at the moment," Barton said.

"On the back of what other sporting bodies have done and the information coming from Cricket NSW, as of today, gatherings of 500 plus people are not allowed.

"We won't get those sort of people to a semi-final, so there is no point putting us on hold. Everything's status quo going forward, the semi-finals are on and moving to the grand finals next week, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, the landscape is always changing."

AFL South Coast's junior and senior competitions are also set to get under way as scheduled in the coming weeks, with football operations coordinator Dave Johnson saying: "as of this morning, it's business as usual.

"But it's an ever changing environment, as we know, and we're taking advice obviously from AFL nationally and from our central office in Sydney.

"The season is going ahead as normal but that could change at any time - it's a wait and see approach at the moment. March 29th is the starting date for juniors and April 4th for our seniors."

Elsewhere, the Illawarra Rugby Union won't kick off until June after Rugby Australia and its member unions unanimously agreed to postpone all community rugby for six weeks.

"The group acknowledges that this decision is a more conservative approach than has currently been recommended by the Australian, State and Territory governments," RA said in a statement.

"However, it has been made to provide clarity to the rugby community in a challenging and disruptive time."

The Illawarra first-grade competition will commence on June 27 with each side to play each other once in a nine-round season. The finals will be played as normal.

With Rugby Australia suspending all rugby activities, teams are not able to commence training until the first week of May.

A decision on structure of junior competitions will be made in the coming period.

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