Bulletin’s weekly Junior Sport column with former Olympian Glynis Nunn
With the coronavirus pandemic creating great uncertainty around the world, sport has become less and less important, as Glynis Nunn writes in this week’s Junior Sport column.
Local sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The past few days have seen unprecedented decisions in relation to sport all over the world.
Australia is catching up with sporting events being held behind closed doors, postponed or cancelled.
The public health emergency that we are dealing with is unprecedented and the many announcements have not been taken lightly.
The Australian Formula One grand prix in Melbourne was cancelled and the NRL, the season started on Thursday night with further games continuing into the weekend.
The AFL season is due to begin tonight with no fans permitted to attend matches “for the foreseeable future”.
But what of the players’ lives.
Will they then return home to their families, or stay in isolation?
THE Australian track and field championships due to be held in the last week of this month have been postponed with the under-age competitions cancelled.
These along with other Olympic sports will hold selection trials for the Tokyo Olympics for July. A date is to be confirmed at a later date.
In the meantime, athletes continue to train and work hard with the possibility of selection and representation at the Olympics in Tokyo.
Swimming Australia and other swimming bodies around the world have either cancelled or postponed their national championships.
Cricket was held without spectators, horse racing held without punters at the course and the list goes on.
I must admit, I had to giggle when quickly clicking through the channels on TV over the weekend and saw that the rugby players followed the rule of not shaking hands but then went on to tackle the living daylights out of each other and also crunch each other in scrums.
Hmmm, not too sure about that one.
WE are all facing some tough times – social responsibility matters more than ever.
At this particular time, sport is less important – let’s put health and safety first.
There are many other events not involving sport that have been cancelled and have repercussions down the line.
The Board of the Gold Coast Academy met this week to discuss the imminent decisions that we face in relation to our sporting programs.
I am sure that you have all read the department of health guidelines in relation to the spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19.
To protect people most at risk and slow the rate of community transmission:
■ Avoid non-essential public gatherings (gatherings of more than 500 people outdoors and 100 people indoors are now banned).
■ Non-essential meetings or conferences of health care professionals and emergency services should be limited.
■ Reconsider if you need to visit residential aged care facilities and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
■ Since Sunday, all travellers coming into Australia must self-isolate for 14 days.
The deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said “it’s all about slowing the curve of the epidemic”. He indicated about 80 per cent of the people who get sick with this disease will have mild symptoms.
He also warned that “people over the age of 60 are more susceptible to this disease”.
There are also a large number in our community who will be more open to infection because of underlying diseases.
OUR sporting programs are conducted for athletes from the ages of 12 to 18.
The programs are generally small – that is, fewer than 50 and there are some programs which only number 10 to 12.
The programs are held either outside or in large rooms which means that participants will following the guidelines set down by the health organisation.
With all this considered, the board is happy for sporting programs to continue following closely the outlines below as closely as we can and under those outlines that we can control while the athletes are under our care (see list above).
We will continue to inform the GCAS family of the situation with programs, as the situation progresses.
We want to emphasise that all measures will be taken to ensure the health and safety of participants.
Of course, it is an individual decision for families to withdraw from current programs but we are certainly mindful of all regulations now in place.
NONE of us knows at this moment what the final outcome will be or how long this situation will last for, but let us all do out best to make our everyday life as meaningful as possible and bring some positivity into our lives and others.
Hopefully things will be back to normal in the not too distant future.
I hope that there will be no panic buying and that we will respect each other’s space and keep in touch with family and friends.
I am lucky because I love to be around animals in times of hardship and I have them at home.
It is also great to be around our loved ones which matter more than ever – even though we all need to keep our distance from each other.
Keep safe and look out for each other in the coming weeks.
■ The Academy is postponing the remaining sessions of its rugby union programs until the beginning of May.
This is due to the recent announcement by Rugby Australia which states: “Community rugby games and training across Australia have been postponed until the start of May due to the spread of coronavirus.”
We will be discussing with coaches the opportunity for the final sessions to be held once the health situation improves.
We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause but it is for the safety of everyone involved. The Academy wanted to clarify the position of the program with the latest discussion from major sporting bodies.
At this stage, the Academy is placing all programs on hold until further notice which is disappointing but it is the only responsible reaction to this health pandemic.
The IOC and the Olympic Organising Committee of Tokyo 2020 has repeatedly insisted that this year’s Olympics and Paralympics will go ahead despite the growing international outbreak and concern.
This is difficult to fathom when athletes worldwide are not being given the opportunity to compete, qualify and prepare for one of the most important sporting events in the world.
The impact on qualification of athletes from various federations around the world are uncertain and a “FAIR” system for athletes needs to be found.
I would imagine that many federations have asked the IOC for extensions to qualifying periods due to postponing of major lead-up championships.
The Olympic Games have not been cancelled since 1944 when the London Games could not proceed due to World War II.
However, COVID-19 seems to be threatening the delivery for Tokyo.
Whether this means a postponement is imminent only time will tell. It will not be a decision taken lightly but it is one that needs to occur to ensure the integrity of competition and fairness in the Olympic arena.
The COVID-19 outbreak presents an unprecedented challenge to sport and my thoughts are with those who are affected.
50 Qld prodigies you could be watching at 2032 Olympics
With the clock ticking down to the Brisbane Olympics, we’ve run our eyes over the state’s brightest young stars who could be centrestage come 2032.
‘Staring at the ceiling for a month’: BMX rider recalls shocking injury
From setting the best run in the history of the sport, to staring at a hospital ceiling in a foreign country for a month, to being crowned a national champion in his own backyard. Check out Brandon Loupos’ amazing rollercoaster journey.