SANFLW and Auskick halted until May 31, under 16s cancelled amid coronavirus outbreak
The SANFL women’s competition has been postponed until at least May 31 and the under 16s cancelled on the back of the league’s decision to delay the start of the men’s season amid coronavirus fears.
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The SANFL under 16 competition has been cancelled and the women’s season postponed at least until May 31 in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, the league said all women’s games would be put on hold until May 31 with an aim of rescheduling the remaining rounds later in the year.
The women’s 10-week season was set to enter round five this weekend, while the under-16 boys were preparing for their round three matches.
Glenelg SANFLW coach Jason Fairall said players were “pretty flat” but understood the decision.
“The girls have put in a lot of hard work … but the fact it’s postponed probably gives little bit of hope at the moment,” Fairall said.
“But the challenge is going to be whether it remains postponed or it gets cancelled.
“We have been advised not to train so we will do everything by the letter of the law.
“The players will have football programs and strength and conditioning programs they are expected to get through until we can get back together again.”
The SANFL’s Auskick, a program which teaches the basic skills of Australian rules to children aged between 5-12, will also stop until May 31.
The decision followed the league’s announcement on Monday that the men’s competition, which was set to kick off on April 3, would not begin until the end of May.
SANFL chief executive Jake Parkinson said the health and wellbeing of fans, players, umpires, officials and communities was been the number one priority throughout this decision-making process.
He said SANFL clubs were supportive of the to postpone the women’s competition.
The league would continue to review these decisions based on the changing circumstances and advice from government and relevant health authorities.