The Ararat Football Netball Club hopes for restrictions to have eased when its players return to the field, with its teams enjoying a bye on the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend.
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Following acting premier James Merlino's announcement on Wednesday, June 3, that community sport would resume in regional Victoria, the Wimmera Football Netball League decided to play round eight on the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend.
Clubs will face several challenges in restarting their season, including players stuck in travel bubbles and a lack of revenue due to spectator caps.
Ararat Football Netball Club president David Hosking said while it was a complex scenario, he was pleased to see community sport returning.
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"I think it's really good that we get to play sport. We've just got to understand the circumstances, which are not ideal but we're just happy to be playing again," he said.
"The league's got to take into account the views of nine different clubs, they're in an impossible situation."
Hosking said if restrictions did not ease next week, it could cause some complications for clubs.
"If we can't have at least a crowd of 500 people there then our revenue is compromised and that means everything gets compromised," he said.
"We'll have to work out how that looks when we know exactly what the situation is because restrictions and conditions are altering all the time.
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"We've got a bye this week, and we're hopeful that by the time we get to Saturday week maybe restrictions have eased again and we can have a crowd of 500 people. It's a fluid situation and we'll just have to remain adaptable."
Hosking said the cancellation of Ararat's round seven match against a winless Nhill side was regrettable.
"Clearly we thought we would have won that game, so you lose that opportunity to get four points which is disappointing. But we understand that it's nobodies fault, we're in unprecedented circumstances, so you've just got to cop what you cop and get on with it," he said.
In round nine, Ararat will face Southern Mallee Giants Beulah Recreation Reserve on Saturday, June 19.
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