Let adults play too: Netball’s call to government

Return to sport announcement from the NSW government has been labelled as “bizarre” and inadequate by Netball NSW.

NSW Netball wants community sport to be open to adults as well Picture: Nigel Owen/Netball NSW

Tuesday’s return to sport announcement from the NSW government has been labelled as “bizarre” and inadequate by Netball NSW chief executive Carolyn Campbell.

The government announced that children aged 18 and under would be permitted to resume competition from July 1.

But Campbell said while she understood the need for a phased rollout, her sport desperately needed an indication as to when senior players could compete.

“No other state has segregated juniors and seniors. We need to get community sport back out on the park, and to be able to only do it in a half measure doesn’t allow the system to be fully functioning,” she explained.

The Australian understands that the NSW government has taken these steps on health advice that it is the safest approach to protect the community.

Other state netball bodies have already announced their resumption dates, which apply to athletes of all age groups.

Campbell argued that netball leans heavily on its senior athletes – one third of the state’s fee paying membership – to raise sponsorship, bear upkeep costs, and volunteer when teams need coaches, umpires and administrators.

“Does that mean we are left without our volunteer workforce?

I fear that some people will say it’s just too hard and give it a miss.”

These comments followed an open letter addressed to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday, in which Campbell said her game was “facing a financial crisis” exacerbated by a major lack of guidance and financial assistance from the state government.

Netball is a sport that has traditionally avoided public campaigns of this kind, priding itself on strong bipartisan relationships with all levels of government. But Campbell said on Tuesday that her sport was frustrated by the lack of action, and out of options.

“I’ve done my bit. We’ve obviously slashed costs out of our budget. I’ve got staff on stand-down. It’s all about the people. They’re waiting for these announcements so they can come back to work, or we can start getting their associations up. That’s just the people factor, and this is the recovery funding that we need.”

While other state governments have created support funds for community sport organisations to get local associations through the shutdown, nothing similar is currently available for netball in New South Wales.