Hockey, sailing, Sydney Sevens cancelled due to Covid-19, NBL on, NRLW moved

The NRLW has been moved to 2022, the NBL is forging ahead but more sports - including a big international event in Sydney - have been forced to cancel due to Covid-19.

Community sport has been hit hard by surging numbers.

Hockey Australia has called off the Australian Country championships and Under 13 Carnival due to pandemic restrictions.

The Country championships were scheduled from October 16 in Cairns but the current Covid restrictions, lockdowns and interstate border closures has meant it cannot go ahead.

The Australian U13 Carnival, due to be played from November 11 in Tasmania - which has already been delayed once - has also been removed from this year’s national hockey calendar.

It is the second year in row that both events have been cancelled.

Asaeli Ratuvoka of Fiji is tackled during the gold medal playoff of the last Sydney Sevens.

MAJOR RUGBY SEVENS EVENT CANCELLED WITH SYDNEY SEVENS AXED

The Sydney Sevens have also fallen foul of the pandemic with the event canned in 2022.

The Sevens Series schedule is due to resume in 2022 but both the Sydney and Hamilton legs have been cancelled.

Officials said Australia and New Zealand rugby will look to establish several regional Oceania Sevens tournaments ahead of the upcoming Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2022.

In other news Australian Sailing announced the cancellation of the 2021 Youth Sail NSW due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

The event was scheduled to take place from September 29- October 4, incorporating a coaching clinic and the NSW State Youth Championships.

Other bid events like the 2021 Australian Short Course titles in Melbourne and the Sydney to Southport yacht race had been axed earlier.

NRLW 2021 MOVED TO SUMMER 2022

The National Rugby League (NRL) confirmed the NRLW will be held early in 2022 in a move that has angered many players.

Six teams were to have contested the women’s premiership this month before it was moved.

Now two NRLW Premierships, a State of Origin, the women’s World Cup and and state leagues will all be played in one year.

Former Sydney Kings coach Adam Forde is the new head coach for the Cairns Taipans in the NBL 2021 season.

NBL FORGING AHEAD WITH PLANS AFTER DATE CHANGE

As other sports fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic, the National Basketball League is forging ahead with plans to start on November 18.

The delayed competitions will involve NSW teams, the Kings and the Wollongong Hawks.

“Based on expert advice and based on our own experiences from last season, delaying a month gives us more flexibility and most importantly, it provides fans a much better chance of attending more games in Australia and New Zealand as the number of people vaccinated against Covid increases towards the end of the year,’’ NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said.

Lawn Bowls has cancelled major events.

MAJOR AUSTRALIAN NETBALL EVENT A VICTIM OF COVID 19

Netball Australia has announced the Marie Little Shield has joined a long list of sporting events cancelled in 2021 due to spiralling Covid-19 numbers.

The Marie Little Shield is an national annual event for netballers with an intellectual disability but swill not go ahead this year.

The event was scheduled to be held at Netball Central at Sydney Olympic Park in late September.

“Unfortunately, the unpredictability and instability of the coronavirus pandemic isn’t going away and our priority is always the safety of our participants,’’ said Netball Australia boss Kelly Ryan.

BOWLS AUSTRALIA CANCELS MAJOR TOURNAMENTS

Bowls Australia is the latest sport to cancel four major events due to the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing issues with border closures.

The sport on Tuesday canned the Australian under 18 championships, Australian Multi-Disability championships, Australian senior sides championships and Australian sides championships.

Two qualifying events have been postponed with the Australian Champion of Champions and the Australian championships moved to April 2022, at Broadbeach Bowls Club on the Gold Coast.

Brisbane Blaze and NSW Pride players in last season’s grand final.

HOCKEY ONE LEAGUE START DATE CHANGE

Hockey NSW revealed season 2 of the Sultana Bran Hockey One League has been pushed back and will not begin as scheduled due to the current Covid-19 situation.

The comp was set to start on October 1 and run until mid November.

However, it will not start until October 29 at the earliest.

The list of cancelled events gets longer by the day.

BLOW FOR FOOTBALLERS IN NSW

Football NSW have cancelled of its competitions.

The Football NSW Competitions affected by this decision are:

NPL NSW Men’s, NPL 2 NSW Men’s, NPL 3 NSW Men’s, NPL 4 NSW Men’s (U20 & 1st Grade);

NPL NSW Women’s, NPL 2 NSW Women’s (U14, U15, U17, Res & 1st Grade) and Girls’ Conference League (U14, U15, U17);

NPL NSW Youth (U13, U14, U15, U16 & U18) and Association Youth League (U13, U14, U15, U16); and

Skill Acquisition Program (U9, U10, U11, U12) & Girls’ Skill Acquisition Program (U10, U11, U12, U13).

No Premiers or Champions titles, trophies, medals or prize money will be awarded for any of the 2021 NSW Competitions.

MIXED NEWS FOR RUGBY UNION PLAYERS ACROSS NSW

Rugby NSW cancelled all Sydney and Illawarra winter competitions, including the Shute Shield.

The competitions affected include Sydney Junior Rugby Union, NSW Suburban Rugby Union, Sydney Rugby Union which runs the Shute Shield, the women’s Jack Scott Cup, regular Schoolboy competitions in term three and the lllawarra Zone Junior and Senior competitions.

NSW Rugby boss Paul Doorn said regional zones in NSW are still hoping to get more matches in.

Hamilton Island race week was a popular event for NSW sailors but has also been canned.

NSW RUGBY LEAGUE CANCELS MAJOR EVENTS

The five major competitions - NSW Cup, Jersey Flegg, Ron Massey Cup, Sydney Shield and NSW Women’s Premiership - were cancelled first.

The came the news the NSWRL Board had accepted the “heartbreaking reality” that Community Competitions will have to be abandoned in the Greater Sydney Region, along with Central Coast, Illawarra and Group 7.

In relation to Regional Competitions outside Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Illawarra and Group 7, NSWRL said it will monitor health advice and liaise directly with Leagues to consider recommencement options.

BAD NEWS FOR AFL PLAYERS

The AFL NSW/ACT also cancelled its NAB AFL Auskick programs across Greater Sydney and AFL Sydney Seniors, AFL Sydney Harbour Juniors, and AFL Sydney Western Sydney Juniors.