An Update From Tennis NSW
Further to the Prime Minister’s announcement last night, we wanted to inform you that our guidelines as at Monday 23 March remain in place and unchanged at this point in time. You can find them here.
Tennis Australia and Tennis NSW sought further clarity in relation to the PM’s announcement last night and as such we have received advice direct from the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) who liaised with both Local Governments and the Office of Sport to conclude that tennis operations CAN CONTINUE under the current guidelines provided by Tennis Australia and Tennis NSW. SEOC have also briefed all LGA’s across NSW stating clearly that there is no requirement to close outdoor public recreation facilities e.g. tennis courts.
The Prime Minister’s statement last night also referenced the fact that we are not only facing a health crisis but an economic crisis and that anyone still in work is considered an essential worker. Our current guidelines therefore provide opportunities for our coaching workforce to continue to earn revenue albeit recognising the significant limitations now placed on them.
To that extent, we would encourage all Club & Association Committees to meet with their coach to discuss how the Club and Association can assist in providing lease relief, reduced court hire fees and other ways to provide support to our Coach workforce who rely on our sport for their livelihood. I remain confident that many of our Clubs and Associations will still exist in some shape or form following this crisis but our coaching workforce may not – we all have our role to play to ensure that we have the people in place to help our sport rebuild once we are through this and I would encourage you to have these conversations with your Coaching partners sooner rather than later. The team at Tennis NSW are on hand to assist any Coaches or Clubs to have these challenging conversations.
The future of our sport is now in our hands, we must band together as a tennis family to adhere to the guidelines that have been put in place to ensure we can keep our courts open for the wellbeing of the community and our sport. While following the Government guidelines we will look to continue to make decisions in the best interest of the health of our tennis community. We are in continued dialogue with Government on the financial impact this crisis is having on our sport and providing a range of options for Government to consider in regards to financial relief and support for our tennis family.
As we move in to this next phase of operating, we still need to remember to be extra vigilant and keep the safety of ourselves and those around us at the forefront of how we operate.
As always, please reach out to your local Tennis NSW representatives or please feel free to contact us directly at [email protected]
Stay safe and take care,
Lawrence Robertson
Chief Executive Officer
Tennis NSW
