JUNIOR sport isn’t supposed to be complicated.
Kids don’t need too many rules. They see ball, get ball and play with a freedom and joy that we can never quite replicate as we get older.
In many ways, it’s sport in its purest form.
But the adult rule makers in this country have gone and made it all a bit hard.
On Sunday, Federal Government body Sport Australia released its Return to Sport Toolkit (a bureaucrat was paid money to come up with that name) to map out a return of junior sport as coronavirus restrictions ease.
But it’s a mess of rules, regulations and red tape that even a council planning department would find difficult to navigate.
The guidelines state that children will not be allowed to have more than one parent in attendance at games and training, and even then parents will be asked to stay in their cars. Why two parents from the same family can’t watch from the same car escapes me.
Grandparents can’t attend, even if they stay in their cars. They can go and hang out at Bunnings with 1000 other people, but not watch their loved little ones have a kick from inside their own vehicle. Again, it’s madness.
Associations at every level are also asked to appoint a COVID-19 safety co-ordinator to oversee how the guidelines will be implemented at each club.
The “Toolkit” navigates through stages Prevent, Prepare, Respond and Recover on ensuring the safest environment for clubs, which rely heavily on volunteers.
“In the Prevent stage, it concentrates on steps like getting your COVID-19 Safety Plan in place and communicating that with members,” the Toolkit says.
“Practical steps in the Prepare stage are looking at safe facility practices, like hand sanitisers, attendance registers at training. Sports also need to be prepared for illness management, noting things can change quickly in your local area.”
Lost yet? Don’t worry, so are parents all over the country.
Team high-fives, handshaking, group meals and socialising are also on the banned list.
There’s an obsession with details in these guidelines, such as ensuring players put their bags 1.5 metres apart.
And, before getting the tick to resume, local clubs must also present their COVID-19 safety plan, which addresses transmission risk, transmission controls, hygiene and behavioural controls.
These volunteers then have to liaise with up to six different bodies, including the World Health Organisation, the Australian Institute of Sport and the Federal Government. They’re held to account if anything goes wrong.
My children are registered for Auskick at Mildura and a few of us parents put our hands up to co-ordinate the program at the start of the year.
Part of the planning was to try and involve as many parents as possible. We would need their help, whether it be putting out cones, managing a group, or just stopping little Johnny from digging a hole in the ground with his new footy boots.
It would be simple stuff. Fun stuff.
But the Toolkit bureaucrat has scared the living hell out of parents everywhere.
It’s hard enough to find volunteers, so draconian rules like these will only drive more out of the game.Our governing bodies need to focus on what’s important here. Getting kids back playing sport.
And if they need to write a few rules in these extraordinary times, they could start with the laws of common sense.
