On Friday, April 25, Hockey NSW announced a new recommencement date for the 2020 Hockey season.
Hockey NSW had originally suspended all hockey related activities until May 2, but said due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation and the current NSW Government Public Health Order being in place until Monday June 30, that was untenable.
As such, they have delayed the start of all hockey competitions in NSW until Saturday July 18.
This date would also allow a potential return to training, pending public health restrictions and advice, on July 1
The news comes as Central Coast hockey takes the opportunity of the shutdown to commence a $1.4M upgrade of their Wyong facilities largely funded by grants from both State and Federal governments.
The upgrades include replacing a 25 year old sand surface with a new Olympic quality playing pitch, as well as replacing their water based playing surface and an extension to the warm up pitch.
They are hopeful both pitches will be all ready for the competition start in July.
In light of the further delay to the season, the Hockey NSW Board and management have also invited members who have already paid their 2020 registration fees to request a refund for the Hockey NSW portion of their fees or to effectively roll it over to 2021.
Hockey NSW said that in reaching this decision, they considered the fact that many members of our community are in a difficult financial position due to the COVID-19 but also that it was important for the organisation to protect its financial viability moving forward to ensure programs, pathways and opportunities are in place and available after the COVID-19 situation settles.
Source:
Central Coast Hockey Association website
Reporter: Ross Barry