The communal afternoon tea traditionally enjoyed by country cricketers, tennis players and lawn bowlers alike is out the window due to COVID restrictions, as are the crowds of loyal supporters but the biggest question for local sporting clubs, players and officials is what sporting activity can actually go ahead under Step Three?

Coming into play yesterday, Step Three allows regional Victorian under 18s to engage in all forms of sport — contact and non-contact, however limits adults to strictly non- contact competition only until the Last Step.

Indoor sports are also not permitted until the Last Step.

Golf will continue as the only sport to be allowed under previous rules, outdoor pools and playgrounds will also open with a question mark hanging around the true non-contact nature of traditional summer sports such as cricket, tennis and lawn bowls.

Sports advocate Regional Sport Victoria (RSV) alongside other sporting bodies are calling on the State Government to clarify on non-contact sports and any additional rules which could change the way sport is played.

Local Sports Focus representative Stuart Craig who services Bendigo and surrounds including Maryborough, said the definition of non-contact is important to decide how and if any sport will go ahead this summer.

“We’re seeking clarification on what determines contact. Is it contact in the literal sense or is it contact as in not maintaining the 1.5 metre social distance?,” he said.

“Tennis, cricket, lawn bowls, athletics, these are all summer sports with relatively low contact, but not none.

“Take lawn bowls for example, you’ve got one person releasing their bowl which then travels down the green and hits everybody elses, who then pick up their own. The opportunity for cross contamination is hard to avoid in that situation.

“In cricket if you’ve got a spin bowler on, you’ve got a batsman standing at the crease, a wicket keeper behind them and the slips either side — are they all 1.5 metres apart normally, possibly not. Does it get to the stage where we say yep we can play cricket, but you actually can’t have a spin bowler and you need to change the way that you play?”

Should this non-contact definition mean that sports cannot be conducted yet for adults, Craig said some competitions may not be able to run due to lack of players.

“A key thing under Step Three is the separation of junior and senior sport. In Maryborough and surrounds and many towns like it, there are a number of children who participate in senior activities because there aren’t always the numbers available to have underage competition or there might not be enough numbers to fill a senior side with adults,” he said.

“In rural areas tennis for example is often A, B and C grade with those lower two grades often filled by kids. If adults aren’t actually allowed to play, those competitions might not go ahead with juniors only.

“That’s why the definition of contact is so important because it could mean the difference in sport going ahead or not.”

The sporting group is also seeking clarification on why regional and metro Victoria are separated in all the steps, until the very end in the Last Step which causes the state to wait for Melbourne’s numbers to drop to zero for 14 days.

Craig said while this issue is “bigger than sport” it is concerning the life that regional Victorians have returned to could be impacted once again by cases in Melbourne.

“The other issues that we’ve addressed is that the State Government has separated metro Melbourne and regional Victoria because of the difference in cases, until we get to the end one,” he said.

“The Last Step involves the entire state having zero active cases for a number of weeks. What that means for someone in Maryborough is that a case in Melbourne could shut the whole thing down and where is the fairness in that?

“What we’ve put out there to the government is that they’ve done the right thing by separating metro and regional victoria through this whole process, it’s hard to justify it at the end.

“This is beyond sport of course, but stoping regional adults from participating in all sport simply because there is an active case potentially 300 kilometres away it just doesn’t make sense.

“Small communities depend on their sport and it’s no longer as simple as unlocking the facility and saying alright who’s go is it? There is a lot of work to be done to get to that point.”

Chair of RSV Felicity Williams echoed this call, urging the government to reconsider their current stance.

“Under the current plan, anyone above the age of 18 will not be able to participate in contact community sport, unless Melbourne has reached the final stage, which is foreshadowed to be late November,” she said.

“This means no football, no netball, no basketball, basically any sport that involves physical contact will be off limits for adults living in regional Victoria.

“Regional Sport Victoria have held more than 500 conversations with regional sporting clubs around the state.We are hearing loud and clear that due to limited social connection, clubs are deeply concerned about the psychological welfare of their members.

“As the peak body for sport in regional Victoria, we share this concern and urge the Victorian Government to continue the separation of regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne into the final phase of the roadmap.

“One case in Geelong should not impact on communities in Mildura, and vice-versa. We want to see a health-first approach balanced with some common-sense guidelines, so that we can return to sport in a safe and time appropriate manner.”