The lifting of the harsh five-day lockdown at midnight tonight has opened the door for a number of key Ballarat events to proceed as planned this weekend.
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In what looms as a busy weekend for the city, the end of the lockdown will have provided a welcomed relief for events that have been planned for months.
So, what are the plans for the events that had been up in the air? Will they all go ahead as planned?
Head of the Lake (Friday, February 19)
The Ballarat Associated Schools' Head of the Lake regatta seems destined to go ahead, although restrictions on crowd numbers are still yet to be confirmed.
The event will go ahead on Friday - at this stage - but it could be delayed to later in the day or even later if high winds pick up as predicted.
Winds are tipped to hit up to 40kmh - more than the 30kmh guidelines.
"With the current wind forecast predicted to make the event difficult to host if possible at all with gusts exceeding the allowable limit, we may need to delay the start of the event, or possibly even consider re-scheduling it if the weather prevents us from going ahead," Ballarat Associated School's Rowing chair and Ballarat Grammar Headmaster Adam Heath told The Courier on Wednesday afternoon.
However, if it proceeds, it will still be held in a very different fashion to previous years.
The plan for the day before the lockdown was announced were as follows (note this not confirmed as yet):
- The schedule was to be run in reverse, with open division one kicking off proceedings at 12pm and the junior crews finishing off the day.
- Non-competing students could not attend but there was to be a live-stream to watch it on.
- There was to be a 1500 person spectator limit on the Loreto College side of the spit (family, general fans), they will all need to QR code in.
- There was to be a 110 person limit per school on the other side of the spit for all the rowers not competing.
- There was to be COVID-safe marshalls and security guards in attendance.
Ballarat Beer Festival (Saturday, February 20)
Ric Dexter, the director of the Ballarat Beer Festival, said it was looking likely the event would happen, but they were just waiting on an official green light.
"We're still waiting on the bureaucracy," he said shortly after the Premier Andrews' press conference on Wednesday morning.
"They did say they were looking at all the events from this weekend."
He reported ticket sales were now "going beserk" after having ground to a halt when the lockdown was announced on Friday.
They had now confirmed thousands of dollars worth of orders with their infrastructure suppliers, Mr Dexter said - and were just hoping they did not have to amend the COVID-safe plan they had previously agreed with state officials.
The event is scheduled from noon this Saturday in the North Gardens off Wendouree Parade.
Western United v Macarthur FC, (Saturday, February 20)
Western United has confirmed it will host its match against Macarthur FC on Saturday at Mars Stadium, but a final decision of what crowd will be to attend the game will be made within the next 24 hours.
Chief executive officer Chis Pehlivanis said while the club was thrilled to be able to confirm its Ballarat fixture, just its sixth game for the year, it would wait on DHHS advice before it began selling tickets and marketing the match to members.
"It's critical for us to have spectators, playing in front of your own fans, there's nothing better than that," Mr Pahlivanis said.
"This week, our focus is to get live sport back to Ballarat and while we're here, get our first win (at the stadium)."
Mr Pahlivanis asked fans to keep an eye on the club's website and social media channels in the next day to find out the ticketing process.
FECRI Cycle Classic (Sunday, February 21)
The highly-anticipated mass-participation event Ballarat Cycle Classic will be delayed three weeks in wake of the state government's snap lockdown.
Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute and the Classic's organising committee released a statement shortly after noon announcing, with regret, the community event would be postponed to March 14.
The Classic was scheduled to be held this Sunday.
FECRI has attributed the decision to the following factors:
- This week's circuit breaker lockdown has severely disrupted the final event preparations of FECRI's team and suppliers.
- Uncertainty has gravely disrupted fundamental volunteer recruitment and availability.
- Community nervousness for public events this weekend.
A FECRI spokesperson earlier confirmed organisers had contacted the Victorian health department for clarification after Premier Daniel Andrews announced a near-full lift in lockdown restrictions but with extra measures on public events
The Courier understands the health department has been swamped with similar event clarifications.
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