"I can't, for the life of me, put players back on the field for Rugby when the businesses that have always supported us are struggling."
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These are the words of Bowral Black president Mark Freund about the decision to cancel the 2020 Illawarra Rugby competition.
Freund said he did not think it was right that the sport would return to the field when some of the major supporters and sponsors such as pubs and clubs had suffered such a financial "kick in the guts" due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The Bowral Blacks is one of 11 clubs impacted by the decision to cancel the Illawarra Rugby competition in 2020.
Freund was a driving force behind the decision, which he said was needed as a show respect for the many struggling businesses that had been long time supporters of the competition.
"It is not all about footy, it is also about what is happening in the community," he said.
Freund said it was also prompted by the need to ensure the longevity of the competition.
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He said he submitted a report to the Illawarra board identifying how unrealistic it was to start the senior competition in 2020.
"By the time we could start a full competition we wouldn't get a full round in before the semis were due to begin," he said.
Freund said that while details regarding COVID-19 restrictions and sport in general were still vague, it was expected that rugby teams could not return to the field until late July.
"We begin our semis at the end of August," he said.
The expected limit of 100 at a game would add further challenges.
"With 45 members per club, plus officials, there wasn't any provision for spectators, a bar or a canteen," Freund said.
"There would be a lot of money going out and nothing coming in.
"Some clubs are struggling more than others. That could break them and they wouldn't be able to return for a full competition next year.
"I also didn't see that it was right for us to be able to have up to 100 at a game when some of our major sponsors - pubs and clubs - were restricted to just 10, and more recently 50 customers."
Freund said he was also concerned about putting players on the field and risking injury and potentially their ability to work.
He said feedback from the players was that they had already written off this year's competition.
"They are concentrating on work," he said.
"Many haven't been able to work for a while, some don't have work, so those that do have work don't want to get an injury on the field that stops them from having a job. They need to protect what they've got."
Freund said the club would look to do something for the junior players later in the year.
However, he said that also posed logistical problems at the moment.
"We struggle to get enough volunteers at the best of times, but we would need more volunteers to police the current regulations if we ran anything for the juniors," he said.
"For starters parents can drop off their children, but they aren't allowed out of the car, which means we need to provide more volunteers to supervise the young players."
