"We understand the disappointment of not being able to see your children row but it is what is required to allow this event to go ahead, and allow the students training to be utilised," says Liz.
It has been a difficult time and we know how much our hospitality and accommodation operators are looking forward to welcoming back all our events.
"We are a step closer to bringing our sporting, cultural and conferencing back to Waipā," says Liz.
She cautioned those attending that the regatta would be hosted under strict Covid-19 Red Light settings guidelines and every member including competitor, coach, manager, support person of the school must scan the Covid-19 Contact Tracing QR Code before entering.
Every person who wishes to enter the venue must be able to produce a valid Covid vaccine pass when requested.
"It is very important we follow the guidelines very carefully to ensure we are able to deliver these events for Waipā. I have a great deal of confidence in our event hosts."
Liz says the world-class infrastructure at the domain had placed the district in a strong recovery position while excellent relationships with event hosts, corporates, and clubs had made navigation through any changes easier.
"We have also been able to build up an experienced team of individuals who can adapt well in many environments so I am confident we hold a unique advantage over other venues. I look forward to a very challenging year and hope the next annual report is able to provide better news."
Future legislation may also require event hosts to invest more heavily into the management of their event such as security for the monitoring of mandatory vaccination passports.
"We expect this may prohibit some of our events from being able to return to the domain unless further financial assistance is secured."
She said the year to date had been very discouraging and the long tail of Covid-19 was having a huge impact on the tourism and event industry, even more so than 2020.
"Moving forward from this we are expecting at least two years of recovery. Bringing events and accommodation back up to capacity is yet unknown with Government legislation and requirements not yet available.
"We will have to adapt to any new regulations and how we operate maybe look very different."