Page 230 - Week 01 - Thursday, 13 February 2020
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So here we have an opportunity to learn from this event and apply these lessons for the future. That is why I want to speak today: because, regrettably, several sporting events were cancelled and significantly impacted.
The Apis Canberra International was one of the first events that were forced to relocate, moving from the Canberra Tennis Centre in Lyneham to Bendigo to protect athletes and spectators. The Canberra International is an ATP Challenger Tour and ITF women’s world tour event. It provides qualification slots for the Australian Open and is the major event in the ACT tennis calendar. Full refunds were issued for people who had bought tickets. The subsequent event in Bendigo was a huge success, raising over $100,000 for the Red Cross as part of the aces for bushfire relief campaign. It was disappointing that Canberra missed this significant opportunity.
Triathlon ACT also had to cancel their big event, the Capital Trilogy Triathlon, over the weekend of 18 and 19 January. Following this cancellation, I was advised by the executive director of Triathlon ACT that, in consultation with Triathlon Australia, they had decided to cancel the entire summer season, as there were just too many unknowns. However, it is great to hear this week that the ACT junior triathlon event originally scheduled for 8 February will go ahead on 29 March at the AIS.
These are only a couple of examples. We also have had the cancelation of key Canberra Cavalry matches and several Cricket ACT events. Softball, the W-League and the Y-League also postponed matches. Training sessions, as already indicated, have been relocated for the Raiders, the Brumbies and the Canberra Capitals to different locations due to the impact of smoke.
Perhaps the only event to push through these conditions was Summernats. But again there were impacts. Spectator numbers—and experience—was one aspect and, again, there was pressure from the Chief Minister to cancel some of the main activities of this event, as this government continues to have a war on fun in the ACT.
In all seriousness, it was a tough summer for sports with the air quality, heat and hail. The financial impact of cancelling and moving these activities was very real, not just for sport but also for the ACT economy as a whole. However, it is critical that this motion also include the impact air quality issues have had on local and grassroots sport.
A perfect example of this is our local cricket competition, the Canberra City and Suburban Cricket Association, which plays cricket matches all across the ACT. They faced a lot of uncertainty and difference of opinion throughout January. Some matches were played, some were cancelled and some were started and stopped. It was very difficult to get clear advice and consensus. So too with our local tennis and soccer clubs, Little Athletics and so many more. Our local clubs were often forced to cancel events.
While ACT associations and national bodies are developing air quality guidelines for their representative sports, I think it is important that a whole-of-government strategy also consider local activities, not just larger scale events. This is especially important,
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