GDHA postpones season in response to COVID-19 pandemic

This follows the recommendation from Hockey NSW, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which is sweeping the country.

GDHA president Nadine Ward said though it was tough to accept, it was the right call and the association's members were "pretty understanding."

The date specified by Hockey NSW, May 2, is up for contention as it is not yet clear exactly how long the coronavirus threat will last.

However, Ward said the association was considering several options to allow its members to play as much as possible once the pandemic is over.

"We do have some options, either to extend the season or have a shortened season," she said.

"It just depends on what the general community wants."

Along with the local season, Goulburn's representative season playing in the Canberra leagues has also been called off after some thorough discussions with Hockey ACT.

"Prior to [the weekend], they were still going ahead," Ward said.

"So we were trying to figure out how that would work because our teams can't train here, they can't do their home games here."

Though Goulburn offered to withdraw from the competition had it gone ahead, Hockey ACT announced on Sunday that it would postpone its season indefinitely.

Though there will be no play for the foreseeable future at the Goulburn hockey arena, the association operates on privately owned land and its membership fees are critical to its overall operation.

As it cannot charge its members without knowing whether or not the season will go ahead, the GDHA is currently in limbo. But in the meantime it is looking at alternative means of acquiring funding.

Should the season begin late, it will leave little turnaround time between the outdoor and indoor season, a complication of which Ward is wary.

"Generally we have a four or five week period where we could use the facility," she said.

"But if we extend the season we won't have those few weeks."

That short interval is crucial in terms of giving players time to recuperate from the outdoor season and train for the different skills required in indoor.

Despite the many difficulties now facing the GDHA, Ward and the rest of the committee have pledged to do what is right by their members.

"There's nothing we can really do about it, it's not a situation where we're going to proceed to put our members' health at risk," Ward said.

"It is a financial hit for us because we are running on a privately owned facility, so it might be a little bit worse for us financially than others.

"But our members' safety is our number one priority, above all else. So while [postponing the season] is not what we want to do, we'll always do what's best for our members."

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