CROWDS NEEDED

Call for venue attendance limit increase in Stage 3

AN increase in gathering limits will ensure community sport has the best chance to survive the coronavirus pandemic.

The call has come from Far North Queensland sports administrators in a week Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young has given the green light to the field sports industry COVID Safe plan. The plan allows for fields and courts to be split into zones, of which 20 people can be allowed in each.

Now, FNQ sports are hoping the Queensland Government will go another step further to allow for an increase in the number of people allowed per venue from 100 to 500.

The 500 figure has been championed by administrators in recent weeks though there is no official government plan to consider the number.

But, according to leaders in various associations in FNQ, it would allow for sports to generate much-needed income to cover costs which didn’t end due to the coronavirus.

Cairns District Junior Rugby League chairman Jodi Stevens said it would allow the league to operate a canteen and cover costs.

Stevens, who acknowledged work of the Queensland Rugby League, was also concerned about the pressure put on volunteers.

Cairns District Rugby League cancelled their senior competitions earlier this week, though other organisations like AFL Cairns and FNQ Rugby are pushing on.

FNQ Rugby president John Pirie said they could work with any figure, reiterating the sport’s “smallness was their strength” and fixtures could be adjusted to limit crossover.

North Queensland Football general manager Declan Carnes said a 100-person limit could mean fixtures run for 13 hours on Saturdays and another 10 on Sundays.

FNQ Football administrator Alex Srhoj said Cairns clubs would be able to work with a strict cap of 100 members per field.

“If that’s the limit for our season, it’s doable,” Srhoj said.

“A lot of our clubs have multiple change rooms, multiple fields, so we could almost have some normal game days.”

For sports like hockey and netball, as well as juniors across a number of sports, an increase in the number of patrons permitted per zone has been encouraged.

“If we could get 100 spectators per zone it could allow us a lot more flexibility,” Cairns Hockey general manager of operations Kym McPheeSmith said.

Cairns Netball operations manager Tanya Dearns held a similar view for her sport.