Countdown to kickoff
The goal posts are up, the uniforms dished out and boots laced as hundreds of kids prepare for the first whistle of Saturday morning sport.
Covid-19 has meant that winter sports have had to juggle their calendars pushing the start of the season out by a month or more.
Junior football is one of the first of children’s sport to resume, having originally meant to kick off on the first weekend of May.
Northern United Football’s Armani Wright, 8, can’t wait to score some goals.
‘‘I am looking forward to going against teams. I am enjoying soccer practice and having a game at the end. I like scoring goals,’’ the young striker said.
The club’s First Kicks co-ordinator Donna Ferguson is excited to see her young charges kicking off their season.
‘‘It’s so exciting to have all these kids on the field after a point when we didn’t even know if we would have a season. And the kids just needed to get out and have some games of soccer,’’ Ferguson said.
Reece Turner will be a football dad this year with son Arlo, 5, playing in his first season.
‘‘We have been waiting for normality. Good to get back and hang out with his friends. He has got a couple kids from kindy that he’s playing with,’’ Turner said.
There have been some new strategies from coach Rochelle Steward as her players aged four and five are bursting with excitement for their first game.
‘‘We started some Facebook pages during lockdown and put some training videos on there of what they could try. It’s been really good and I think the kids have come back really, really excited to start.
‘‘They can’t wait, probably more so than any other season, they’re just ready.’’
Waibop Football Federation CEO, Karyn Walters admits to shedding a tear when she saw football kick off in the Bay of Plenty last weekend.
‘‘There was a little part of me that was really genuinely concerned that we would never get to this point.
‘‘It was great to see people out there doing their thing again.
‘‘And this weekend when we get to see the younger ones out there as well I think that is going to be a great day for them and for us as it is what we are all here for.’’
There wasn’t consideration of scrapping the season; it was just a waiting game to see if they could have enough time to have a meaningful season.
And while she doesn’t know of any club having to close because of Covid, there are some opting not to participate in all the tournaments instead just sticking to just the local option.
The season will now run until the end of September, early October, which is about a month longer than normal.
As for contract tracing, all the players, coaches and referees are in the database and attached to fixtures, so they can be traced from there.
‘‘The hygiene requirements, no sharing equipment, no spitting, no sharing of drink bottles, hand sanitising are still what we want them to do.’’
The resumption of weekend sport is another step towards normality after months of lockdown.
Sport Waikato CEO Matthew Cooper admits that sport is part of Kiwi’s social fabric.
‘‘It’s not only a way to keep ourselves fit and healthy, but it’s also important in the lives of many for the social connections it builds, the mental health benefits it provides and the way it can bring communities and families together,’’ Cooper said.