Netball New Zealand has taken the decision to cancel two domestic events this year due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19 with both rescheduled to 2021.
The Netball NZ U18 Champs and the Netball NZ Open Champs, presented by NZ Police, were due to debut during the 2020 domestic calendar but will now not take place until 2021.
The two events replaced the former Netball NZ U19 and Netball NZ U17 national events with the intention that these changes would allow more athletes to access competition at a national level.
Rotorua was to host the Netball NZ U18 Champs in July while the Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North was the venue for the Netball NZ Open Champs to be held in September.
Both cities would remain hosts of their respective events in 2021.
Netball NZ Head of Events and International Kate Agnew said it was another difficult decision for the national body to make.
“We are obviously extremely disappointed to have to make this call, particularly with 2020 being the first year for both the Netball NZ U18 Champs and Netball NZ Open Champs,” she said.
“But with the uncertainty within our current environment, due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19, we felt it would give our Netball Centres a better opportunity to fully prepare for the 2021 scheduling of these events.”
While the Netball NZ Open Champs were not scheduled to be contested until September, the financial ramifications from the disrupted season would make it difficult for Centres to get teams to the national event.
“Our wider Netball community will continue to feel the financial fallout from this unprecedented event and we want to ensure that we give everyone an opportunity to find their feet again and be represented at the Netball NZ Open Champs.”
The 2020 Fuji Xerox NZ Secondary School Netball Champs currently remains as scheduled but will be worked through alongside School Sport NZ. If it proceeds, it would be played at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua from 6-9 October this year.