The Covid lockdown extension has forced an end to the 2021 Maitland netball season.
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Maitland Netball Association president Kim Starkey confirmed the decision on Thursday morning saying it was an incredibly hard decision to make but unfortunately there was no alternative.
But in more positive news the association has announced plans for a Summer twilight competition, which was expected to run from October through to December.
The decision to finish the season means that Club Maitland City have been awarded their first premiership to go along with the minor premiership they claimed prior to the lockdown.
All teams which finished on the top of the ladder when games were suspended will also be named premiers.
A date for a presentation day will be decided when the Covid lockdown ends and crowd restrictions are lifted.
"It's a sad way to end what has been a terrific season, but in the end there are a lot more pressing issues facing everyone at the moment," Starkey said.
The Maitland Netball Association had liaised with clubs over the past few weeks on what was the best course to take should a Covid lockdown be extended to the Hunter.
"We had done work before we even came under lockdown to look at the contingencies and this was what we floated with the clubs so there should be no great surprises," Starkey said.
Going forward, the association is planning to resume its representative programs and launch the twilight competition in October.
"We are planning our rep season for 2022 and we're hoping to have trials around October," Starkey said. "Again that will come down to the public health order and what our conditions are like.
"Also if all goes well we will be having a twilight competition for the first time, which again will hopefully kick off in October as well."
The twilight competition is still in the planning stage, with a Monday night times lot suggested at this stage. "We will announce details as soon as we have everything locked in," Starkey said.
"We want to work with other community sports in Maitland so that we are not competing with too many other sports. The aim is to finish by December."
