Following the COVID-19 outbreak which began in Canberra roughly a week and a half ago, the Goulburn Tennis Club's decision to cancel its looming Junior UTR tournament proved wise.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The event was scheduled to begin on August 16, the same day the statewide lockdowns came into place across NSW.
But two days prior, local tennis coach and tournament organiser Dave Ridland announced the tournament had been called off due to concerns over the ACT outbreak.
"I called it off before the lockdown period because of the case in Canberra, because I thought it'd be the safest thing to do," Ridland said.
"And then the next day we did go into lockdown, so it was a bit of a bummer. We had a fair few Goulburn guys enter and there were a few from away as well."
Ridland does, however, consider himself lucky in spite of the new lockdowns, as he can continue coaching one-on-one and the tennis club is still open for bookings.
But he is concerned about the two tournaments the club was aiming to host later this year, in September and December respectively.
The tournament in December, known as the Goulburn Cup, was the biggest tennis event held in Goulburn in 2018 and 2019. It brought in roughly 150 players from across the state, some of whom were among the best in the country, for a three-day competition featuring high-level tennis.
It, along with many other AMT tournaments, was cancelled in 2020, and Ridlands is hoping to avoid that same fate this year.
"We're due to have the Goulburn Cup," he said.
"We were supposed to have 150 top-quality players come to that in December, so hopefully it'll go ahead but it's not looking great. Especially when people can't travel from Sydney or Canberra at the moment."
Though there are still health restrictions in place around tennis, Ridland encouraged the local community to take part in the sport as an alternative method of fitness and keeping connected within the community.
"Tennis is the best sport for cardio in the world, it's been proven to be one of the leaders in extending your lifespan," he said.
"We've got two-year-olds up to 80 or 90-year-olds still playing. That's probably the advantage it has over other sports."
Tennis is currently considered a form of exercise by the NSW government. Players can take part in singles against one person from outside their household, or can play doubles with three people from their household on a single court.
While you're with us...
Did you know the Goulburn Post is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up here.
