Several sports involving Southern Highlands teams have been postponed in the face of new COVID-19 restrictions.
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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced a raft of new lockdown measures on Saturday with stay-at-home orders for people in Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour until 11.59pm on Friday July 9.
Additionally, anyone who has been in the above areas on or after June 21 must follow the stay-at-home orders for a period of 14 days after leaving.
For regional areas, the following rules apply:
- Masks will be compulsory in all indoor non-residential settings, including workplaces, and at organised outdoor events.
- Drinking while standing at indoor venues will not be allowed.
- The one person per four square metre rule will be re-introduced for all indoor and outdoor settings, including weddings and funerals.
- Outdoor seated, ticketed events will be limited to 50 per cent seated capacity.
So, what does that mean for sport in the Southern Highlands?
Some sports, like rugby league, are heavily affected due to clubs in their competition being from the Greater Sydney and Illawarra.
Here's what we know so far, keeping in mind the situation can change daily.
Football (UPDATED)
Local competition has been suspended for the weekend of July 3-4.
This includes all AAM, AAW and all Joint Cup competition and Youth Grade games involving Highlands Soccer Association teams.
In a statement, the HSA said they were putting the safety of members first.
'With our Association bordering the Greater Sydney, Wollongong and Shellharbour regions and with many of our football community working, living or having visited these areas since June 21 the decision to cancel football this weekend is made in the interest of safety and wellbeing of our football members and the community.'
The Football Holiday Clinic has been postponed with participants to be contacted.
Rugby League
All three Southern Highlands clubs are affected despite being in different areas.
Mittagong Lions are out of action until at least Friday, July 9. Group 6 is classed as being part of the Greater Sydney Area due to clubs being located in the Wollondilly and Macarthur regions.
Robertson Spuddies and Southern Highlands Storm are part of Group 7 which is classed as a Regional League by NSW Rugby League and can technically still go ahead with appropriate restrictions in place.
However, Group 7 has been postponed until further notice due to the proximity of clubs to Wollongong and Shellharbour.
Rugby Union
Bowral Blacks were able to play their Round 12 match against Vikings on Saturday, a 31-21 win.
However, like the league clubs, Bowral plays in the Illawarra Rugby Union, which also includes teams from Campbelltown and Camden.
Illawarra Rugby are yet to make a formal announcement but it is expected that games won't resume until at least the weekend of July 10-11.
Australian Rules
AFL South Coast has cancelled their July 3 fixtures meaning the Southern Highlands Hawks are next scheduled to play against Figtree Kangaroos on July 11, restrictions permitting.
Hockey [UPDATED]
Local competition has been cancelled for the next two weeks. This includes training.
If restrictions for the Greater Sydney and regional areas are lifted the competition will resume on Saturday July 12.
The Under 13 State Championships is due to be held in Parkes and Grafton on July 2-4 and 9-11 respectively.
Hockey NSW has announced all associations from the Greater Sydney and Central Coast, Shellharbour, Blue Mountains and Wollongong areas will not be able to attend if the Championships do go ahead.
The Southern Highlands will send teams if the Championships proceed.
Netball
Local competition has not been cancelled or postponed.
The Junior State Championships has been postponed until September 24-25.
It was scheduled to be held in Penrith and Baulkham Hills on the weekend and will now be split across four courts.
The Southern Highlands, who are in Division Three, will travel to the Inner West Netball Association in September.
Basketball [UPDATED]
Local competition has not been cancelled or postponed. Competition is paused during school holidays so it is not affected for the time being.
Moss Vale Magic had their Waratah Youth League match against St George cancelled over the weekend in line with other sports.
The Waratah Youth League games set for July 3-4 are also postponed.
The skills clinic scheduled for June 28 will go ahead but with some restrictions in place. Masks are mandatory and only one spectator per participant will be allowed entry due to the basketball stadium being an indoor area.
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