Both the Goulburn Geckos men's and women's teams have been catapulted into their respective finals series after Hockey ACT declared the regular season complete late last week.
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The announcement, made on Thursday, September 2, followed the extension of the Canberra lockdown until September 17, which was past the cut-off of September 13 that Hockey ACT had put on a return to training.
"In line with dates shared with Clubs and Members last week; it will not be possible for participants to return to training on or before Monday 13th September," Hockey ACT said in its statement.
"As a result, HACT have declared the regular season complete. This means that no further round games will take place for the 2021 winter season.
"HACT are disappointed with this outcome but in realistic terms we no longer have sufficient time to complete any round matches. We cannot stress enough our disappointment that we aren't able to complete the regular season. It has been our aim all year to complete the season, and we have worked through all challenges presented to date, but unfortunately do not have sufficient time to overcome this challenge."
The Goulburn men's and women's sides finished fourth and third on their respective ladders, and will now set their sights on the finals series scheduled to begin on September 24.
In a previous statement, October 10 was set as the deadline for all Hockey ACT competitions. Should the finals start as planned on September 24, that leaves a three-week window in which they can be played.
However, there is as yet no confirmation as to whether the finals will take place over three weeks or be truncated and played over a fortnight.
Any resumption of play, Hockey ACT added, would be in line with advice from ACT Health.
All clubs have already been advised as to which teams will progress to finals should they go ahead.
This solution is far from what Hockey ACT had hoped for, but it said its first priority during the lockdowns has been to protect the public health.
"Apologies that our news couldn't be more positive," Hockey ACT said.
"It is incredibly disappointing that the season has come to this point. But our concern first and foremost is the health and wellbeing of our membership."
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