Local sportsmen and women will be able to take to the fields again from the start of July, after the NSW government recently announced its intention to ease COVID-19 restrictions.
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From July 1, junior and senior community sporting competitions, training and contact activities can resume.
On June 11, NSW acting Minister for Sport, Geoff Lee, announced the resumption date and thanked local communities for their patience after most local competitions were cancelled in March.
"Sport is the lifeblood of our community and it gives me great pleasure to say adult sports can return to their competitions at the same time as 18 years and under," Lee said.
When the pandemic was declared earlier this year, cases spiked in NSW, particularly in Sydney.
Local sporting fixtures were among the first gatherings to be cancelled as lockdown laws came into effect in an effort to stem the number of infections.
In the months since, the number of coronavirus cases in NSW has fallen dramatically, with only one new case confirmed from more than 75,000 tests in the last week.
Though he acknowledged communities will be eager to support their local teams again, NSW minister for health, Brad Hazzard, said crowds are not yet allowed to gather in the stands during matches.
"This is about a staged re-opening of the sports economy in a way that minimises the risk to the public. This makes a level playing field for sports stadiums, in line with the clubs and pubs re-opening to patrons," Hazzard said.
Goulburn Mulwaree Council deputy mayor, Peter Walker, was excited to see local sport return, but urged residents to strictly adhere to government guidelines.
"We need to be careful, we need to play safe, we need to confine our activities whether it's training or competition to what's recommended through the government," Cr Walker said.
He added that the biggest beneficiaries of the return of sporting competitions was likely to be the children.
"I think the biggest benefit is the mental health and camaraderie, especially for kids," Cr Walker said.
"The littler ones don't understand why they've had to be locked away."
For more information about COVID-19 guidelines for local sport, please visit www.sport.nsw.gov.au.
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