The call for local football and netball seasons to be abandoned has grown legs in recent weeks as COVID-19 restrictions place serious question marks over the viability of competitions in 2020.
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The decision from the Heathcote District Football Netball League board to call off its season late last week quickly filtered around the state and had people asking whether or not others would follow suit.
A poll conducted by The Courier put the question to footy fans: pull the pin now or keep trying to play? Over 2400 people had voted as of late Monday afternoon, with more than 1500 believing it was time to call things off.
It's sure to be a talking point among league administrators, too.
One of the key considerations before calling off a season early must be what happens if a nearby league does get up and running later in the year?
AFL Victoria's reopening of the clearance window in recent times has certainly added to the potential problems.
Let's say the Ballarat league decided to call off the year, but the Central Highlands board remained keen to wait it out and eventually got going in June or July. Imagine the mass clearances from BFL players looking for a game at CHFL clubs.
It's a dilemma that was touched on by HDFNL chairman Peter Cole in the Bendigo Advertiser last week, who agreed there was an "element of risk" to the board's decision.
There's also a belief in footy circles that players that have signed contracts would have a good case for them to be torn up if their league wasn't operating.
More clarity is expected from AFL Victoria at the start of next month, but it's widely agreed that significant crowds would need to be allowed to gather for seasons to be viable at community level.
Whatever happens over the coming weeks, the region's competitions - the Ballarat, Central Highlands, Maryborough Castlemaine District and Riddell District - need to work in collaboration so not one single entity is disadvantaged more than the others during this crisis.
Freezing the clearance window again would also help.
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