Hi Everyone,
I hope you are your family are doing well in what is a challenging period.
We are continuing to work through these challenges and will shortly be providing further information on the upcoming 2020/2021 Athletics Victoria Season.
The Victorian Government, through the Department of Sport Recreation, has provided a useful summary of links and information which is set out below.
Please take the time to read the information and continue to check for all updates. I encourage everyone to be vigilant and to look after each other.
Warm regards to all,
Glenn Turnor
CEO
Athletics Victoria
INFORMATION FROM VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT
As the situation with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to develop, we are committed to providing up-to-date information to the sport, recreation and racing sectors.
Yesterday the Premier announced that as of midday 16 March 2020, a State of Emergency takes effect in Victoria.
Following the declaration of a State of Emergency, Victoria’s Chief Health Officer issued a legal direction that bans gatherings of 500 or more people in Victoria. The declaration also included a requirement for people entering Australia to self-isolate for 14-days upon arrival. The mass gathering ban and the 14-day isolation period has the force of law, and penalties apply if it is breached.
Under the ban, people are prohibited from organising and attending mass gatherings. People are also banned from allowing mass gatherings to occur on premises they own, control or operate.
The ban operates from noon on 16 March 2020 to midnight on 13 April 2020.
Certain gatherings are excluded from the operation of the ban. Details can be found at: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/state-of-emergency-declared-in-victoria-over-covid-19/
This means that community and grassroots sport, active recreation and racing can continue under the declaration in Victoria where they do not constitute a mass gathering.
However, as the situation is rapidly changing and I urge you to regularly check the DHHS coronavirus website at www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus for updates.
Sporting clubs and active recreation organisations have an important role and obligation to help reduce the risk of infection and slow the spread of the virus in the Victorian community. I want to thank each of you for carefully considering the interests of your members, participants and the broader community.
The DHHS website has a range of resources that can be shared digitally or printed out to be displayed at your office and venues.
We’ll continue to provide you with up-to-date industry advice as new information comes in, but for general health matters please check regularly with DHHS at https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus.
Following the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix and World Tour events, Lakeside Stadium and its offices are set to undergo pack down and cleaning.
To allow this to occur, the Athletics Victoria office will be unattended until Monday the 30th of March.
During this time, AV staff will be working remotely and will be contactable in the first instance via email. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch should you need to.
Please direct all general enquiries to info@athsvic.org.au. For specific enquiries, a list of staff and email addresses can be found here.