COMPETITION UPDATE #8 – 7/7/2020 – Version 2 @23.30pm

MSD Spartans acknowledges the Victorian Government’s announcement today (July 7) of increased COVID-19 restrictions (return to Stage 3) for Metropolitan Melbourne (plus Mitchell Shire) from 11.59pm July 8 for a period of six weeks (August 20).

The 2020 Winter Season will not go ahead in any capacity, teams who have registered for Winter 2020 will have the registration carried over to the upcoming season, with details including dates to be made available once there is a confirmed return to sport date from the DHHS and BV.

Competition updates and news will continue to be posted on the website and Facebook. Please note: correspondence via email or text may not be actioned to as quick as it has been in the past, unfortunately our staffing is severely limited, due to the complete loss of income since March 14.

While this announcement is disappointing for the return of community basketball for a large percentage of the Victorian population, the health and safety of the community is the most important focus for us all at the moment. We must play our part to help curb the spread.

Please visit DHHS for the Premier’s statement on COVID-19 – Stage 3 restrictions.

Summary of Current Restrictions for Basketball (please refer to the Basketball Victoria Return to Sport Guidelines):

Metropolitan Melbourne LGAs and Suburbs
(
plus Mitchell Shire – includes Wallan, Seymour and Broadford associations)

ALL ASSOCIATIONS and DOMICILE PARTICIPANTS:
July 9 to August 20 – Reactivation Status = RED – 0

To reiterate the instruction from the Victorian Government, you cannot leave the restricted areas for exercise or recreation.

We sincerely hope that the situation in the world will improve soon. Please take care of yourself and stay healthy.

COMPETITION UPDATE #7 – 27/6/2020

The state governments return to sport dates for senior competitions to return from July 20th is a forecast date, Basketball Victoria has advised this on its website and will need to be confirmed. For more details on this please visit – http://basketballvictoria.com.au/covid-19/

We have good news that the Basketball Victoria Return to Sport guidelines have been approved by the DHHS this week.

Spartans Basketball with the approved guidelines will seek approval from MSAC and work out a plan on how to manage the competitions, this plan will also need approval from Basketball Victoria and will take time to process.

Our return date will be no sooner than the 20th July, however the number of new COVID cases in Victoria may affect our return date.

With a lot of work required and not wanting to inconvenience people with a false start we need a confirmed date to confidently move forward and commence a winter season, with enough time to finalise registrations, complete fixtures, arrange staff, and officials.

Thank you for continuing to view the website, keeping up to date and having patience while we work to bringing everyone back to Basketball.


COMPETITION UPDATE #6 – 13/6/2020

With the recent announcements from the State Government on the weekend we have the ability to start planning our return and how that will look. There is still plenty of work to be done and more information will come from Basketball Victoria this week.

We still have a long way to go but we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

COMPETITION UPDATE #5 – 13/6/2020

Currently we are in the same position as update #4, while we are waiting for further details from the state government, MSAC and Basketball Victoria. Next update will be on June 27 or earlier.

COMPETITION UPDATE #4 – 15/5/2020

Spartans Basketball are continuing to plan for a reduced season to start on the 7th July as outlined in the Competition Update #3, full details – https://www.spartansbasketball.net.au/competition-update-3-4-4-2020/

Restricted outdoor training is now an option for players to get some practice. We encourage people to follow the guidelines set out by the State Government and Basketball Victoria.

Further information from Basketball Victoria on Covid-19 can be found on their dedicated webpage – http://basketballvictoria.com.au/covid-19/

Next Competition Update June 13

 

COMPETITION UPDATE #3 – 4/4/2020

It’s safe to say we are all missing Basketball.  We hope everyone is staying safe during this unpredictable and unprecedented period.

Below we are proposing a two step course of action for the 2020 Winter and 2020/21 Summer Seasons.

Step 1 – Shorter Winter Season

  • 2020 Winter season will start on July 7, this short season will only have 1 Final night – Grand Finals, and play 2 weeks further into September.
  • 10-12 Team competitions will become smaller, so 2 x 6 teams eg. C and C Res, this will mean more grand finals than ever!
  • Team Registration Credit – as a result of playing a reduced season we will offer $15 off the 2020/21 Summer or 2021 Winter season team registration.

Step 2 – Canceled Winter Season

  • If we can not start in early July, the winter season will be cancelled, this will be decided on the 23rd June.
  • If this happens, we will look to start the summer season earlier, dependent on when it is safe to do so.

Further information

  • Basketball Victoria Individual Registration update – https://www.spartansbasketball.net.au/basketball-victoria-membership-extension-and-refunds/
  • Team registrations will be closed for the moment. New teams should registered their interest to join the competition on the google form and current teams can have their intentions noted via email.
  • Our next scheduled update will be on June 13

We hope that you will share our ambition to see our competitions recommence as soon and safe as possible once we are able.  Stay Safe !