AN under-6 soccer game may not seem momentous.
But in a year when so many junior sports have been cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions, it was especially uplifting to watch kids having a kick at Mildura’s Old Aerodrome Ovals last Sunday.
I was among the dozens of proud parents cheering and laughing from the sidelines as the action unfolded.
At under 6 level, organised sport is disorganised chaos, but the point is all about participation, something that has been sadly denied to kids of all ages during this pandemic.
Fortunately, junior soccer is one of the few sports going ahead in Sunraysia, and that is a credit to league and club officials.
It’s no simple thing in the current environment to run organised competitions, with so many safety protocols for volunteers to follow.
Less than two weeks ago, the Sunraysia Junior Football Netball League season was cancelled after the NSW Government introduced even tougher border controls.
The Mildura Basketball Association is also uncertain when it can restart, given how many players, coaches and umpires live across the river.
While our political leaders have a tough job, their responses to virus outbreaks have often been disproportionate to the situation in country regions such as ours.
Sunraysia has not seen a new COVID-19 case since March, yet it is being crippled by these current border restrictions.
Big business such as our citrus industry is suffering, but so too are the little things that matter to border communities, like junior sport.
The Murray River unites border communities, so the NSW Government’s decision to transform it into some sort of Berlin Wall is akin to drawing a line through the middle of Sydney. It’s denying kids in smaller NSW towns the chance to cross into the bigger Victorian towns for positive pursuits like sport.
I feel for local parents, volunteers and administrators who have put in so much work in the background to try and get seasons up and running, but the NSW Government’s draconian border rules have proved a bridge too far.
In the meantime, I am personally grateful that junior soccer in Mildura will continue for now.
Last Sunday I was speaking to another parent who said watching the kids run around had turned into the highlight of his week.
As we spoke, one of the little kids was struck in the belly by the ball. His face froze in shock, before he crumpled to the ground, not unlike many soccer players he would have watched on TV.
He was helped to his feet by an opposition player and a minute later he scored a goal to the cheers of everyone on both teams. His smile as he ran off celebrating was priceless.
It’s the sort of moment you see all the time in junior sport. So wonderfully normal, which in these extraordinary times, is something to savour.
