The post-Covid lockdown winter sports season in Hawke's Bay kicks into action first with football starting on the weekend of June 6-7. Photo / File
The post-Covid lockdown winter sports season in Hawke's Bay kicks into action first with football starting on the weekend of June 6-7. Photo / File
Traditional winter team sports competitions are looking to get their 2020 belated post-lockdown seasons under way in Hawke's Bay by the end of June.
First into action will be football with senior and women's games starting next weekend (June 6-7), while rugby and netball are planning starts, again at seniorlevels, on June 20.
Hockey training has started and competition is set to commence.
Club competition starts on June 20 with a 15-week competition and Secondary Schools Divisions 3 and 4 start on June 22 and Divisions 1 and 2 start on June 24-25, all being 10-12 week competitions.
Intermediate Schools Divisions 1 and 2 start July 21 and Divisions 3 and 7s start on July 24with a 10-week competition and Primary Schools from Year 3-6 will start on July 25, with a 10-week competition.
Rugby's Mitre 10 Cup, featuring the Hawke's Bay Magpies with home games at McLean Park, Napier, has been scheduled for a September 11 start.
The Hawke's Bay Rugby Union has waived its club affiliation fees for 2020 as one move to help clubs in a shortened season in which crucial revenue has already been lost through the collapse of funding and sponsorship and clubrooms' revenue.
Chief executive Jay Campbell confirmed the board decision in a letter to clubs and schools, saying that while it was not a solution to financial struggles in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown it was "one less expense for clubs to worry about this year".
Campbell has reminded clubs to apply for funding being made available by Sports New Zealand through its regional sports organisations, including Sport Hawke's Bay.
Rugby clubs will be allowed to play warm-up matches on June 13 with competition starting a week later.
Clubs will be allowed to play warm-up matches on June 13 and senior and colts grades are expected to start a week later, spearheaded by a single-round, 10-team competition for silver-balled Premier prize the Maddison Trophy.
Clubs have to have a training management plan signed off by the union and local councils before they can resume training.
As with other sports, plans for the Junior grades' start are still to be confirmed.
Hawke's Bay Netball general manager Tina Arlidge said a season of about 12 weeks will start for adult grades on June 20, although Super 8 matches indoors at the Pettigrew Green Arena will start the following week.
The traditional grading day will not be held, with gradings based mainly on last season's results, and with a later end than normal most competitions will be missing few of the games which would have been originally scheduled.
Secondary school netball is set to start on Saturday, June 20, with senior and junior netball to kick off at Mitre 10 Park, along with social netball on Monday, June 22.
The Unison Super 12 competition will also begin on Tuesday, June 23, at the Pettigrew Green Arena.
Club competition will also commence the same week with Hawke's Bay Club netball starting June 20 at Mitre 10 Park and Central Hawke's Bay Club netball starting June 24 at Centralines Sports Park.
Other competitions such as the Super 40s will start on June 23 and the Super 8 competition on June 26, both at the Pettigrew Green Arena.
But, while competition is kicking off, Hawke's Bay Netball is holding a Rules Workshop with Netball Central Zone over Zoom this Wednesday from 7.30pm-8.30pm.
The workshop will cover all the new rules and clarify any other rule changes that are needed, with all the details available on the organisation's Facebook page.
