Netball Australia Reveals Return To Netball Guidelines

Netball Australia has released its Return to Netball Guidelines to provide a minimum baseline of standards for state and territory member organisations to bring a safe return to community netball.

The guidelines were developed in line with the AIS Framework for Rebooting Sport, with a focus on a return to training, with consultations with member organisations and medical advisors.

The guidelines aim to provide the entire netball community across Australia with clarity about what type of netball activities can resume and how best to create a safe training environment depending on the differing levels of restrictions by state and federal governments.

Netball Australia CEO, Marne Fechner, said Netball Australia’s top priority is to preserve public health by working to minimise the risk of community transmission as netball resumes.

“It’s exciting to be preparing for the return of community netball across the country,” Fechner said.

“Netball plays such a key role in the lives of more than one million Australians and we’re delighted that training, and eventually matches, will be beginning to take place around Australia in the coming weeks.

“We’ve been focused on ensuring that any return to play is safe and in line with state and territory government restrictions, and that associations and clubs across the country feel well supported as they start to return to the courts.

“We all have a role to play in ensuring we limit the spread of COVID-19 as we return to sport, and these guidelines provide a solid framework for associations and clubs,” she said.

In the core of the Return to Netball Guidelines are four key areas, education to all participants about COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies, assessment and preparation of the netball environment, assessment of participants prior to the resumption of netball training and competition, and deliver and ongoing management of netball training and competitions.