Concerns have been raised that if the 2020 Central Highlands football and netball leagues go ahead, netball might be the code that suffers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Central Highlands netball president Natalie Clarke said the majority of netball teams would rather sit 2020 out.
However if football got up and running, she said netball would have no choice but to press on as well.
"We rung all the netball clubs before the meeting on Thursday to get their opinions and out of 17 clubs, 15 didn't want (the season) to go ahead," she said.
"Clubs are struggling to get numbers, but if the football goes ahead, we've got to somehow make something work, because we certainly wouldn't let football happen without netball."
Unlike many other country leagues, the Central Highlands netball and football competitions are administered separately.
However, the two work closely together.
In a CHFL meeting on Thursday, club presidents and secretaries set Monday, June 29, as the date for a final decision on whether a season goes ahead.
While some were passionate about getting up and running, Clarke said a lot of football clubs had no idea how much netball was struggling due to player losses.
She said many netball players had picked up Saturday jobs or made other commitments, thinking the season was lost.
"A lot of clubs haven't started training yet and don't want to start training in the middle of winter," Clarke said.
"The risk of injury with only minimal training sessions is huge."
Clarke said if netball went ahead, the standard of play would be watered down also. With less players to pick from, she said some A-Grade sides would be forced to draw players from lower divisions.
"A lot of clubs might be able to get an A-Grade side and scrape seven girls together, but a lot of clubs wouldn't be able to field B-Grade and C-Grade sides," she said.
What's more, Clarke said rules around COVID-19 restrictions were still unclear.
Whether or not parents could alternate between groups to watch their kids was unknown, and if players couldn't socialise after matches, the incentive for some lower division netballers would be all but eliminated.
"It's safe to say majority of the netball clubs don't want to play," Clarke said.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.