OMICRON is beginning to get a foothold in Wagga, but NSW Touch Association general manager Dean Russell is confident their track record in running the Junior State Cup - Southern Conference during the COVID era will ensure a successful event.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The tournament, to be held at Jubilee Park from February 18 to 20, is one of the biggest sports events in the city each year, attracting thousands of visitors and injecting millions of dollars into the economy.
Wagga retained hosting rights for the next two years, with the venue's ability to cater to COVID protocols a big reason.
Last year it forced teams to play all their games in batches before being asked to leave the venue, with other teams then filtering in.
Spectators were also restricted to one parent per player and while some restrictions will still be in place, Russell is hopeful they will be eased as vaccination rates and density limits for outdoor events improve.
"We're tracking pretty well at the moment. We're obviously keeping an eye on the Omicron situation and how that might impact our delivery," he said.
"With the public health orders, density limits for outdoor events no longer exist so so that's of assistance. Last year we had to fence the venue and have ticketed 'in and out' sessions and that won't necessarily be the case this time, but we may need to review how we manage numbers and make it as safe as possible for people to interact.
"It won't be like we had pre Covid where there was 10-12k people at the venue at one time. We're confident the plan we can put in place will be pretty adaptable."
Wagga beat bids from Dubbo and Wollongong to keep the event, which they have hosted for the past three years and attracts around 10,000 players and spectators.
Russell is hopeful spectator limits will be less restrictive next month.
"We managed last year with one parent per child and while it was accepted in the circumstances, people probably weren't overly happy about it," he said.
"The beauty of Wagga was there was only three fields you couldn't see inside the venue. We want to get the parents to get back and watch, but we may have to run sessions again and people going in and out of the venue.
"You just have to look at the case numbers across NSW to know it's going to touch everywhere, it's about being sensible in how we run our events.
"Outside venues are less likely to have as many transmissions, but it doesn't mean we can go free for all either."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters