ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr is set to announce a community sport plan to relaunch grassroots competitions in Canberra ahead of schedule and before a NSW restart.
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The ACT government is expected to eliminate cross-border confusion on Friday by detailing its timeline for amateur sport two days after NSW set July 1 as a restart date.
"We'll have some announcements [on Friday], but yes, we will be moving ahead of NSW," Barr said.
Canberra winter competitions were in limbo this week after NSW cleared junior and senior sport to resume play next month.
Most competitions have teams based in Queanbeyan, Yass, Goulburn or Cooma, leaving some unsure about when they would be free to start play again.
MORE CANBERRA SPORT
The situation will become clearer after the national cabinet meeting on Friday, while Capital Football has announced plans to start junior soccer from June 20 and senior action from July 18.
Canberra rugby league, rugby union, Australian football, hockey, netball and basketball are also targeting mid-July returns for their seasons.
Most have restarted training in groups of 20, with some contact training likely to be a part of the government's stage 2.2 of the COVID-19 recovery plan. State 3 is slated to begin in mid July.
Capital Football has outlined its plans for players aged 5-9 to start their "MiniRoos" seasons on June 20. The National Premier League men's and women's, and all lower divisions will begin on July 18 with grand finals to be played on September 26-27.
Capital Football boss Phil Brown said: "After a difficult few months for all of our participants, it is exciting that we can return to the field soon.
"We are setting these target return dates now to ensure our clubs have time to prepare in the lead-up to the season commencing.
"To ensure our return to football is safe, Capital Football will continue working with both the ACT and NSW governments to understand any conditions to the easing of restrictions and support our clubs in meeting those conditions.
"I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the Capital Football board, our staff, our Standing Advisory Committees, our zone council and our clubs for their tireless work to help get us to this position."
Other codes are expected to detail their plans in the coming days as teams start training in preparation for games to restart.
Soccer's September 26-27 grand final dates will limit the season cross-over with summer sports, avoiding clashes over ground availability.
CAPITAL FOOTBALL KEY SEASON DATES
MiniRoos:
- ACT start date: From June 20NSW start date: From July 1
- End date: No later than September 12 (unless an extension is approved to access fields through to September 26)
Under 10's and Under 11's
- Start date: From July 19
- End date: No later than 12/13 (unless an extension is approved to access fields through to September 26/27)
Junior League
- Start date: From July 19
- End date: No later than September 12/13 (unless an extension is approved to access fields through to September 26/27)
- Finals: No finals in 2020
Senior Leagues
- Format: 10 teams per division, playing each other once
- Start date: From July 19
- End date: No later than September 12/13 (unless an extension is approved to access fields through to September 26/27)
- Finals: No finals in 2020
NPLW
- Format: 9 teams per age grade (1st Grade, Reserve Grade, U17, U15, U13) playing each other once
- Start date: From July 19
- End date: Last round on September 12/13
- Semi-final: September 19,20
- Grand final: September 26/27
NPL1
- Format: 8 teams per age grade (1st Grade and U23) playing each other once, then splitting into a top and bottom 4 round-robin to qualify for the grand final
- Start date: From July 19
- End date: Last regular round on September 12/13, last round-robin match on September 19/20
- Grand final: September 26/27
NPL2
- Format: 10 teams per age grade (1st Grade and U23) playing each other once.
- Start date: From July 19
- End date: Last round on September 12/13
- Semi-final: September 19,20
- Grand final: September 26/27
NPLY
- Format: 13 teams per division (U13-U16), and 11 teams for U18, playing each other once
- Start date: Round three of U13-16 and round one of U18 to start from July 19
- End date: September 26/27
- Finals: No finals
Lucie Bertoldo
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
Chris Dutton
Chris Dutton has been a sport journalist since 2008, covering rugby union, rugby league, basketball, cricket and soccer. He has covered World Cups and Olympic Games in print and online. Chris has had a stint as news director, but is back in sport to follow the ups and downs. Email: chris.dutton@canberratimes.com.au
Chris Dutton has been a sport journalist since 2008, covering rugby union, rugby league, basketball, cricket and soccer. He has covered World Cups and Olympic Games in print and online. Chris has had a stint as news director, but is back in sport to follow the ups and downs. Email: chris.dutton@canberratimes.com.au
