General News
21 July, 2021
Siren sounds on community sport again
LOCAL football and netball competitions have been halted for the second time in the space of a month.
LOCAL football and netball competitions have been halted for the second time in the space of a month.
The return of a fifth Victorian lockdown last week saw leagues pause their seasons once again as the state grapples its latest COVID outbreak.
The Hampden, Warrnambool and District, Colac and District and Mininera and District leagues are currently in a holding pattern, with executives still awaiting news on when seasons can resume.
The Hampden league was scheduled to play round 11 last weekend, while the Warrnambool and District league was set to play round 14.
Colac and District league clubs were fronting up for round 14 matches, while the Mininera and District competition was to play round 12 matches.
In another blow, no games are set to be played this weekend either after the State Government announced the lockdown would be extended to 11.59pm next Tuesday.
The extended lockdown will leave leagues in unchartered territory, with many having only completed enough games to fulfil only half a regular season.
Elsewhere, the virus has wreaked havoc on just about every other sport played locally.
Local golf clubs are closed during the lockdown period, with competition golf also put on the backburner.
The Heytesbury Indoor Bias Bowls Association was able to play its latest pennant round last Wednesday before lockdown was announced, but the final round of pennant competition is expected to be delayed.
Terang table tennis experienced the same luck as indoor bowls, while Corangamite Junior Hockey and Cobden night netball did not go ahead on Saturday and Monday respectively.
One sport that has continued throughout COVID has been harness racing, with numerous Western District trainers and drivers experiencing success throughout the recent period.
The current COVID situation has also cost one Cobden local the opportunity to represent his state.
Damian Riches was selected in Bowls Victoria’s National Bowling Arms Sides Championships squad to contest the national tournament in September.
However, the tournament has once again been postponed, with a new date still currently up in the air.