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'Frustration levels definitely increasing' - Sporting organisations seek clarity over return to playing

May 13, 2020

Major codes are joining forces to seek answers to the current situation. (Source: Other)

New Zealand sporting organisations are still in the dark around their return to training and playing, as the country gears up for Covid-19 Alert Level 2 from tomorrow.

The initial Level 2 regulations gave the impression that sport could resume, with a 100-person limit on gatherings.

However, yesterday's announcement of teams only being able to operate a 10-person bubble saw any plans from organisations thrown out the window.

Questions have since been coming in thick and fast around the proposed logistics of restricting gatherings to 10. And the frustration is beginning to show.

"It seems that every day has gone by the clarity has got less and less, and the frustration levels are definitely increasing," says Swimming New Zealand chief executive Steve Johns.

Away from the water and onto the hockey turf, former Black Stick Dave Koosorf has had to get creative, with trainings at Silverdale's Metro Park now a specific five-on-five exercise.

"To hear that the numbers are limited to 10, it just made us think outside the square," he says.

"The guys are going to get out training, so we had to make it within the rules in place in a safe and happy environment."

More confusion looms, though, with Sport New Zealand this afternoon having to clarify the rules again, outlining that there can be more than one 10-person gathering at a time, provided certain conditions are met.

These include physical distancing between groups, no sharing of equipment, and groups not coming into immediate contact within shared spaces such as changing rooms.

New Zealand's major codes have been working together to adopt phases to return to sport - with those guidelines to be released soon.

One exception comes in the shape of New Zealand Rugby, which is implementing a three-phase preparation plan. That system would see a return to training on May 25, with a return date to playing of June 20 penciled in.

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