Hockey Australia to push ahead with Country Championships in Cairns
Organisers are pushing ahead with a sporting event estimated to be worth $1.2 million to the Cairns economy.
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ORGANISERS are pushing ahead with an event estimated to be worth $1.2 million to the Cairns economy.
The Far North city is scheduled to host hockey’s Australian Country Championships from October 16 to 23.
Originally planned for August, the event was postponed two months due to border closures in response to Covid outbreaks and subsequent government restrictions across the country.
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The new October date is in doubt with New South Wales reeling from more than 400 cases per day, Victoria heading back into lockdown for a sixth time and small numbers of cases in other capital cities.
But, at least for now, Hockey Australia is pushing ahead with the event.
“In collaboration with our State and Territory Member Associations, we have reviewed our outstanding 2021 championships due to the constantly evolving Covid landscape,” said HA GM Commercial, Communications and Events, Tim Cherry.
“The rapid and unpredictable nature of regions going into lockdown and closing their borders makes forward planning and organising for national events near impossible.
“We have also had to take into consideration the timing of community hockey, so these are the best and most sensible scenarios at this time.
“We know how quickly things can change so we will continue to monitor the situations and border restrictions of each state and territory.”
The Australian under-13 carnival and under-21 championships, scheduled to be held in Tasmania and New South Wales respectively, have been postponed.
The under-13s have been postponed to November 11-17 and the U21s to February 2-9, 2022, in their current host cities with hope they can go ahead.
matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au
Originally published as Hockey Australia to push ahead with Country Championships in Cairns
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