WAGGA Touch Association (WTA) is hopeful a NSW Touch Football request to be exempt from a 200-participant limit imposed on community sport will be approved.
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The state government's roadmap for the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, which began on Monday, states anyone who is fully vaccinated is able to compete in community sport, with those guidelines to ease further for the non-fully vaccinated from December 1.
However the number of participants allowed for outdoor community sport has been capped at 200, a decision which threatens to impact sports which use multiple fields or courts at once like touch football, softball and netball.
A number of sports had requested the Office of Sport adopt a 'density' limit, for example one person per four square metres, instead of a specific number.
WTA president Marc Lawrence said if NSW Touch Association (NSWTA) is granted an exemption it would make their process to start their season infinitely easier.
As it stands WTA hopes to begin seasons on Tuesday, October 26. Participants who are fully vaccinated aged 16 years and over, children 15 years or younger and those with a valid medical exemption (medical certificate required) are able to take part.
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NSWTA released as statement on Sunday stating they lodged an submission looking to gain an exemption from the 200 limit.
"While the NSWTA understands NSW Health's position of capping at 200 people, we feel as though this has been brought in with a view of community sport operating on one or two fields at a venue, not centralised venues with multiple fields as per our sport," it said.
Lawrence is hopeful common sense will prevail.
"NSW Touch have lodged a submission for an exemption and there's probably no reason why it can't get up," he said.
"If not we'll have to sit down and re-evaluate how we'll run our competitions running forward. Whether we split up the larger venue into a few smaller venues, options like that.
"Cutting it to 200 is more in line with sports like cricket who only have one ground they operate out of, whereas in sports like touch and netball there's a lot of centralised fields and courts."
Wagga Softball Association treasurer Prue Adams said they will discuss the guidelines at a meeting on Thursday before a season start on November 6.
Adams works at Wagga Hospital in the emergency department, and her personal opinion is people should be fully vaccinated to participate.
"Personally I would like us to do what Victoria is doing, and the blanket is if you want to play sport you have to be vaccinated. It saves everyone the headache and there's a lot of work involved," she said.
"As a parent, I have a daughter (Alex Maiden) who plays touch and I'm more than happy to drop her off (and leave).I want the kids to be able to play."
Wagga Futsal plans to begin its season on October 27, with water polo to commence in early November.
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