BATHURST'S representative netballers will not get the chance to build on their strong Regional League showing with a campaign at state level in 2020 as fears about the potential community spread of COVID-19 has forced the NSW titles to be cancelled.
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The Bathurst under 14 and under 15 representative teams took out their Regional League divisions in late July, while the under 17s made the division two grand final. It boded well for a strong showing at state.
But on Tuesday morning Netball NSW announced it had made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Junior and Senior State Titles.
The move came after the organisation received advice from NSW Health to "avoid large, inter-regional championships".
The largest events on the Netball NSW calendar, the Junior and Senior State Titles bring associations from all corners of the state together.
Last year the Bathurst under 17s placed seventh out of 20 teams at state in division two, finishing with a 12-6-1 record and missing a top five result by just one more win.
Their highlight was a crushing 24-13 win over eventual second place finishers Inner Western Suburbs.
The Bathurst under 15s placed sixth thanks to their 11-5-1 record in the 18-team competition.
They pushed eventual champions Ballina to their limit in a 27-21 loss while they beat eventual runners-up Illawarra District in a 17-14 thriller.
In 2020 six associations, Penrith District, Hawkesbury City, Parramatta Auburn, Baulkham Hills Shire, Eastwood Ryde and Blacktown City, were due to host the Junior State Titles from October 3-5.
Four other associations - Campbelltown District, Camden and District, Bankstown City and Fairfield City - were set to welcome the seniors on the same weekend.
Netball NSW CEO Carolyn Campbell said the health of the wider community had to come first in 2020.
"Players, coaches, umpires, officials and parents would all be well aware that Netball NSW has held on to the hope of conducting the state titles in 2020, maintaining an air of positivity that the re-scheduled October dates would enable the competitions to proceed," she said.
"Regrettably the time has come for us to concede that this won't be possible.
"We also received feedback from many associations in recent weeks. While a variety of options were considered, including localised competitions or limited age groups, the fact is that any version would require an element of travel which NSW Health are trying to avoid.
"Furthermore, the less teams competing the less the event bears any resemblance to a true state titles competition. It goes without saying that this was not a decision taken lightly and we feel deeply sorry for those who had been planning for, and working so hard towards this year's event, but we look forward to 2021 with renewed hope and will focus all our efforts on that going forward."
