WHILE the impact of COVID-19 on football clubs has been widely reported, there are two sides to that coin in regional areas.
Football and netball clubs go hand-in-hand and in the case of Western Border, you can not have one without the other.
That was clear in the early league discussions regarding the coronavirus pandemic, with incoming Western Border Netball Association president Jo Gibbs stating the two committees worked together in the initial decision-making process.
“We worked with the board and followed their lead,” Gibbs said.
“It is important that we are seen as being united and one will not work without the other really.”
Gibbs said in the early stages the association looked to its governing bodies for assistance, but in the end it came down to the verdict of the football.
“Initially we looked to Netball SA and Netball Australia for some guidance, but they were pretty slow to come forward with what they would suggest we do,” she said.
“They offered questions and answers, but they did not actually give a directive as such.
“Even if they had, we would have still gone back to the (football) board and had a discussion with them and made sure we were working together.”
As it unfolded no football or netball competitions had a choice on the matter, with the decision handed down from SANFL putting a stall on season starts until at least May 31.
For Gibbs – who has taken over the presidency role from Jodie Johnston – it is far from the ideal start in her new position.
However, she remains hopeful the 2020 season will be played in some format.
“We really hope we get to the point where we can start the season,” Gibbs said.
“I think some season is better than none.
“We are really keeping our fingers crossed that by the end of May we will be looking to get on track – even if it is only for a shortened period.”
Gibbs said to have no season at all would be detrimental to not only clubs and players, but to the community as a whole.
While there still remains hope for the 2020 Western Border season, there has already been one casualty for the netball calendar.
“I guess the most disappointing thing, apart from not being able to start the season, is there will be no country champs on the June long weekend,” Gibbs said.
“It is always a great weekend and it is a pathway for our kids.
“Obviously they will have to create other pathways and things like that, but it is pretty disappointing.”
Adhering to the initial social distancing restrictions was far easier for netballers with the smaller squad sizes and until last week Gibbs said players were most likely catching up at the gym to remain social and train as a team.
However, as the Federal government continues to tighten up its protocols that has since become unavailable and players will now be restricted to individual training or activities with one other person.
That will obviously have an impact on the social side of the game.
“All Western Border clubs are pretty social,” Gibbs said.
“Some people wait for the season and then their social life kicks into the next gear because you have training once or twice a week and then you catch up on Saturday and you might have functions to go to – that is all on hold now.
Another worry Gibbs has is the financial impact the pandemic will have on the association.
“I think it will be extremely stressful on a lot of clubs,” she said.
“Obviously they are not spending any money at the moment, but they are still not bringing money in.
“You just hope everyone recovers and recovers well.”
However, as has been said countless times before, there is little to be done other than abide by the social distancing rules put in place to help prevent the further spread of the virus.
“It is what it is – we seem to be saying that a lot lately,” Gibbs said.
“We just have to keep everything crossed that things take a turn and we are able to get on with it in May or June.”
