Complete guide to impacts on QLD sports coronavirus

Surf Life Saving Queensland has announced the suspension of the state’s Nipper program in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, on the back of other local sports cancellations. See the full guide here.

As several national and international sporting events shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak, local sports face the difficult prospect of deciding whether to cancel their own events.

Keep track of all potential closures and the leagues that are going ahead here.

The list will be updated throughout the week with timestamps indicating the latest updates on each sport.

The latest NRL specific content can be found here.

The latest AFL specific content can be found here.

The latest cricket specific content can be found here.

Local sporting leagues and organisations will face some tough decisions this weekend.

AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL

■ THE AFL is still working through its next move in the coronavirus crisis, after the AFLW was played without spectators over the weekend.

“As of Saturday March 14 … AFLW matches will only host players, coaches, essential club officials, umpires, AFL officials, broadcast teams, media & required venue staff with no supporters permitted to attend,” the league said in a statement on Friday March 13, with rumours around a shortened women’s competition also quashed over the weekend.

Developments around the 2020 AFL season are expected on Monday night and Tuesday morning, as players and clubs meet ahead of the season opener between Richmond and Carlton on Thursday.

The AFL moved ahead of the government’s advisory to cancel mass gatherings of more than 500 people from Monday March 16 onwards.

Meanwhile, AFL Queensland CEO Dean Warren says the governing body was taking a “calm but proactive” approach with their community and schools football but pre-season training for juniors and seniors and Auskick programs were proceeding as normal, for now, albeit with an extra sense of caution.

“We are working through the different scenarios and developing strategies to put in place but as we speak, it is business as usual for us,’’ Warren said.

“We are in constant communication with clubs and other stakeholders in the game to ensure everybody is taking the appropriate precautions to limit any exposure.

“Things like community umpires not training together or limiting travel unless it is absolutely urgent are things we are looking at. Community football clubs are community meeting places so we may have to look at measures such as postponing the start of our season.

“But we will proceed as normal and we will be guided by the AFL and other bodies such as the Department of Education and their expert advice.’’

Of the 900 Auskick centres in Queensland, 700 operate out of schools.

Guests at the Brisbane Lions season launch on Wednesday March 11 had to use hand sanitiser before entering the function that had a “no handshake” policy while guests were also asked to wash their hands regularly and cover their mouths if coughing or sneezing.

Invited guests who felt ill in the build-up to the event were encouraged not to attend.

– Greg Davis, Andrew Dawson & Lauren Wood (Updated: 3.24pm, Monday the 16th)

BASKETBALL

■ BASKETBALL Queensland has suspended all programs, events and fixtures until further notice.

As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rises in Queensland, BQ said the decision to temporarily suspend all fixtures and events is an “appropriate measure to ensure the safety of our members”

“As an organisation, we believe the health and well being of our participants and members comes first,’’ a statement said.

“This is not a decision that we have taken lightly and we would like to thank everyone for their understanding and patience during this difficult time.

“Please be assured that BQ will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates over the coming days.”

– Greg Davis (Updated: 4.41pm, Friday the 13th)

■ THE Brisbane Capitals cancelled their fan day at Auchenflower Stadium.

The NBL1 club had invited “juniors, coaches and families” to attend the event from 11am.

– Greg Davis (Updated: 6.09pm, Friday the 13th)

CRICKET

■ Australia’s domestic cricket season is likely over after the final round of the Sheffield Shield was cancelled due to the coronavirus.

The three matches were on Sunday called off by Cricket Australia as the global pandemic spreads.

A decision as to whether the Shield final on March 27 goes ahead is yet to be made.

READ MORE HERE.

– AAP (Updated: 3.30pm, Monday the 16th)

CYCLING

■ THE Brisbane Cycling Festival is another casualty of the coronavirus crisis.

Having started last Thursday at Chandler’s Anna Meares Velodrome, the BCF – which was set to inject millions of dollars into the Queensland economy - has been postponed.

A call had already been made to shelve the Track Nationals, with the final blow coming on Monday when the marquee BCF events, the Tour de Brisbane and the Six Day Series final, were also called off.

“After the huge success of the Brisbane Cycling Festival in 2019, there has been excitement and hype building towards this year’s event,” a BCF statement said.

“However, following the recent advice in regards to COVID-19 virus and mass gatherings, we have had to make a difficult decision in regards to the continuation of the festival.

“This decision is based on the advice received from the Federal Government, and with the health and wellbeing of the cycling community in mind.”

Organisers hope a new Tour de Brisbane date can be found.

Fans who had bought tickets for Six Day Series final next month will be refunded.

- Marco Monteverde (Updated: 5:55pm, Monday the 16th)

■ The 2020 Cycling Australia Junior Track National Championships have been cancelled while the Elite and Under 19 Track National Championships have been postponed to a date to be determined.

Both events were to have been held in Brisbane.

- Jeremy Pierce (Updated: 3:58pm, Monday the 16th)

FOOTBALL

■ THE FFA announced on Monday that they will push ahead with the A-League season, W-League final and grassroots games, in a bid to not be stopped by the coronavirus crisis.

A new A-League fixture is expected to be released on Tuesday the 17th.

All games are expected to be played behind closed doors.

READ MORE HERE.

– Tom Smithies (Updated: 3.34pm, Monday the 16th)

GOLF

■ Golf Australia has advised of key changes to several planned tournaments.

In light of national and ongoing COVID-19 concerns, GA chairman Andrew Newbold reluctantly confirms the scheduled Australian Junior Championships in April, both for girls and boys, has been cancelled.

In addition, the subsequent girls’ and boys’ Australian Junior Interstate Series – also scheduled for South Australia and the ACT, respectively – has also been cancelled.

The Australian Interstate Series, scheduled for Sydney in May, has also been cancelled.

The South Australian Amateur Classic and Rene Erichsen Salver competitions, scheduled to start at Glenelg Golf Club tomorrow, have been postponed to a date to be fixed.

“These decisions are not taken lightly,” Newbold said.

“We will work with everyone in South Australia in an attempt to reschedule this week’s events, hopefully later in the year.

“But regrettably, the national competitions will not run in 2020, which I’m sure is a tough pill to swallow for all those who looked forward to competing in such time-honoured events.”

- Golf Australia press release (Updated: 3:59pm, Monday the 16th)

NETBALL

■ NETBALL Queensland, the Queensland Firebirds and Sunshine Coast Lightning issued a joint statement saying their highest priority was “the health and wellbeing of its athletes, staff, the netball community, members, fans and all other stakeholders”, with the Firebirds officially cancelling their Sunday Fan Day.

Some activities and events could be postponed or cancelled with “additional precautionary measures to reduce the risk of the spread of the virus” to be put in place should events go ahead.

Physical contact with the players along with photos and autographs could be banned.

“We will keep you informed of the status of scheduled events. As information on the virus continues to evolve each day, it is possible that some events may need to be cancelled/postponed at short notice,’’ the joint statement said.

“All three organisations continue to monitor the situation carefully and take advice daily from Netball Australia, each organisation’s medical staff, government representatives, venue managers and many others.

“We appreciate the ongoing support and understanding from you all during this challenging time.”

– Greg Davis (Updated: 1.26pm, Friday the 13th)

■ THE Downey Park Netball Association advises the opening two rounds of fixtures on March 28 and April 4 have been suspended.

– Andrew Dawson (Updated: 4.44pm, Friday the 13th)

■ FOLLOWING Federal Government advice, the Suncorp Super Netball league’s official pre-season tournament, the Suncorp Team Girls Cup, has been cancelled due the risk associated with COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

The pre-season tournament was due to take place at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney from 27-29 March, bringing together all eight Suncorp Super Netball teams, including all athletes, team staff, umpires and officials, as well as club and league administration.

Suncorp Super Netball CEO Chris Symington said the health of all stakeholders involved in the event was at the forefront of the decision to cancel.

– Netball press release (Updated: 6.01pm, Friday the 13th)

RACING

■ FOR now, racing will continue in southeast Queensland, but like other sporting events around the country, the public will be excluded from tomorrow until further notice.

Racing Queensland is set to meet with the chairs and chief executives of southeast Queensland race clubs in Ipswich on Monday, where the coronavirus pandemic will be top of the agenda.

READ MORE HERE.

– Nathan Exelby (Updated: 3:38pm, Monday the 16th)

RUGBY LEAGUE

■ ROUND 2 of the NRL is expected to go ahead at this stage, after the New Zealand Warriors agreed to stay in Australia one extra week to help the 2020 season survive.

It is unclear at this point what will happen past Round 2 however, with the Warriors unsure how long they will be able to stay away from their families.

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said on Monday that the governing body is assessing all the information daily and would be guided by health experts.

The NRL will be played behind closed doors, as will Round 2 of the Intrust Super Cup.

The Intrust Super Cup season is also ongoing, after the PNG Hunters agreed to set up camp on the Sunshine Coast for the timebeing.

The junior footy season is yet to begin.

“There’s no cancellations at this stage,” said QRL chief Rob Moore said last week.

“We are keeping an eye on all our events but until we receive further advice from authorities, our junior league games and Intrust Super Cup games will go ahead.

“It is a critical day for everyone and we are waiting for a response from medical experts and the governments.

“It’s a day by day thing, we have a working group set up here, we are linked to the NRL with their working groups.

“We are doing everything we can but we will be guided by the medical experts.”

– Rikki-Lee Arnold, Travis Meyn and Peter Badel (Updated: 3:43pm, Monday the 16th)

RUGBY UNION

■ A code-wide shut down of club and community rugby, from novice six-year-old kids to first grade, is now in force across Australia until May 2 to help stem the coronavirus scourge.

Rugby Australia’s proactive call to suspend all sanctioned community rugby competitions extends to a no-training edict.

In southeast Queensland, the blackout applies to the opening five rounds of the Premier Rugby competition, from first grade to Colts.

“Following a meeting (today) of the National Development Panel, Rugby Australia along with the State and Territory Member Unions have unanimously agreed to postpone all Community Rugby until the first week of May, effective immediately,” a Rugby Australia statement said.

“This recommendation covers rugby matches, rugby training and face-to-face rugby education courses. “Although this decision has not been made lightly, it has been made with the interests of the participants, families and the broader community as the priority.

Read full story here

– Jim Tucker (Updated: 5.015pm, Monday the 16th)

■ SUPER Rugby bosses are investigating an emergency redraft of the competition with domestic derbies only which would limit the financial turmoil for teams.

Whiteboard plans are in the formative stage but it would mean the Queensland Reds, NSW Waratahs, Melbourne Rebels, ACT Brumbies and Japan’s Sunwolves, currently based in Australia, only playing matches among themselves.

READ MORE HERE.

– Jim Tucker (Updated: 3:46pm, Monday the 16th)

ROWING

■ THE Head of the River rowing competition between GPS schools is planned to go ahead at this point, with organisers suggesting they are “99 per cent sure” it will be happening.

– Mike Colman (Updated: 12.17pm, Friday the 13th)

SURFING

■ THE ironically named Corona Open Gold Coast event this month has been cancelled due to escalating coronavirus fears. Read the full story here.

– Eliza Reilly (Updated: 9.58am, Friday the 13th)

SURF LIFESAVING

■ FOLLOWING updated advice from health authorities, Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) on Friday announced it will be cancelling the 2020 Queensland Youth, Seniors, and Open Surf Life Saving Championships.

The decision comes after government recommendations today that all non-essential public gatherings of more than 500 people be cancelled in the interests of safety.

The championships were scheduled to be held on the Sunshine Coast over two weekends, from March 20-22 and March 27-29, with more than 3,000 surf lifesavers expected to line up across the six days of competition.

SLSQ sports manager Stuart Hogben said the safety of members was the number one priority in making the decision.

“While we’d obviously love the competition to continue, it’s important to note the health and wellbeing of our members, volunteers, and officials remains paramount, and is the number one priority for us at all times,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the updated advice coming from health experts this afternoon left us with no other option but to cancel this year’s championships in the interests of safety.

“We thank all competitors and clubs for their understanding, and we’ll continue to provide further updates as required.”

– SLSQ press release (Updated: 5.01pm, Friday the 13th)

■

Surf LIfe Saving Queensland has announced that regular weekend Nipper programs have been suspended until further notice. As well as the Nipper classes, barbecues, presentations and break-ups will not go ahead. A further update will by provided to clubs by May.

“The decision was not made lightly, and comes after extensive consultation and discussion ... While disappointing, the health and well-being of members remains our key priority at all times.”

— SLSQ statement (3pm, Friday March 20)

SWIMMING

■ No Catholic Secondary Schoolgirls’ Sports Association (CaSSSA) fixtures have been cancelled at this time, although the association was monitoring the latest advice from Queensland Health.

– Jim Tucker & Andrew Dawson (Updated: 1.15pm, Friday the 13th)

WATER POLO

■ Over the weekend, Water Polo Queensland received advice from Water Polo Australia that effective from Monday March 16 the Australian Waterpolo League (AWL) and the 2020 WPA National Championships will be cancelled, while the Open Championships due to be held on the Gold Coast in early May will be postponed (date to be confirmed).

Following consultation with key stakeholders, BWPI and WPQ made the decision to also cancel the remainder of the 2019/2020 BWPI Summer Competition (including the Women’s and Men’s competitions on a Monday and Tuesday night).

“We appreciate our community have invested a lot of time, effort and resources into preparing teams and that coaches and players will have been looking forward to continuing to participate in the BWPI competition, especially as we approach the finals series,” a press release from Water Polo Queensland said.

“However, we feel that it is important that we play our part, as the water polo community, in reducing the spread of COVID-19 out of respect for all Australians and the health care system.”

The BWPI Junior competition will be deemed completed as per Saturday March 14, which was the final round of the competition.

Minor Premiers will be released as per the updated table on Wednesday March 18.

Trophies and medals will be available for collection from the WPQ office week beginning the March 23.

- Water Polo Queensland press release (Updated: 3:56pm, Monday the 16th)

YACHTING

■ Queensland Cruising Yacht Club Inc. (QCYC) as the organising authority for the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race is releasing the following statement with respect to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Accordingly, QCYC advises that preparations for the 2020 race are well underway. At present, there is no indication, nor governmental advisory that the event should either be cancelled or postponed. QCYC though is continually monitoring official governmental sources of information including the advisory at https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov (and through Queensland Health). It will take any proactive steps as it may be required to do, as a responsible organising authority, in the overall interests of public health and safety, should relevant advisories change.

In terms of actions to prevent any health risks to the public caused by the COVID19 Pandemic, QCYC is also in close contact with the various stakeholder groups, particularly those which will have responsibilities managing events where crowd gatherings may occur. QCYC is also reviewing and updating all necessary procedures of its own, to meet public safety standards.

QCYC will disseminate any specific information to competitors, sponsors and the general public as necessary, as and when information comes to hand, in line with any changes to the situation, and in consultation with its sponsors and event partners.

Finally, because of the unique nature of a Yacht Race start and its conduct, the public can safely view the event from home (scheduled to commence 10am (EST) on 10 April 2020) via the free public live streaming (proudly supported by Gladstone Regional Council) which will be available through the Race website:

www.brisbanetogladstone.com and on Facebook. Also it may be easily and conveniently viewed by digital online subscribers to The Courier-Mail, Daily Telegraph and their various other Eastern Seaboard mastheads.

– QCYC Statement (Updated: 5:20pm, Monday the 16th)

MORE TO COME