Dear [[NAME]],

Sport and active recreation play an important role in community development, connectiveness, physical and mental health. Returning to sport is a key turning point for many people to resume some normality in their lives during this unprecedented time.

While guidelines, frameworks and other information are provided from the Federal Government, each state and territory across Australia are in very different stages of recovery as evidenced by the table below. As such, each state and territory are taking their own precautions to limit the possibility of a second wave of infections.

Active cases of Covid-19

Active cases are a calculation made by state and territory health authorities. NSW Health explains its process and preliminary findings about recovery timeframes here. 'Active' does not refer to infectiousness.

Remaining active cases at a glance

www.covid19data.com.au

* Refers to remaining active cases in each jurisdiction as a proportion of that jurisdiction's total confirmed cases.

Easing restrictions in NSW

Following the continued low number of new cases, the NSW Government announced the cautious easing of restrictions from Friday 15 May 2020, increasing the number of people that can gather outdoors to 10.

NSW still has 490 of 674 known active cases in Australia, almost 73% of the national total. Other states and territories are at different stages of the recovery including ACT, SA, NT and WA that have 0, 1, 2 and 7 cases respectively. Clearly, recovery in these states and territories may occur at a faster pace.

Sport NSW is closely collaborating with, and strongly supports the work being done by the NSW Office of Sport during this time. Any return to sport plan must be aligned to advice from health officials. We recognise that having the most active cases in the country our return to sport may not be as fast as other states. However, be assured that Sport NSW and the Office of Sport are working to see a return to sport is expedited.

Weekly updates from The Hon Dr Geoff Lee MP (Acting Minister for Sport) and Karen Jones (CEO, Office of Sport) as well as the formation of the Recovery Group and associated government assistance including JobKeeper and the retention of Active Kids vouchers is certainly appreciated across the sector.

To read a message from The Hon Dr Geoff Lee MP (Acting Minister for Sport) issued on Friday 8 May 2020, please click here. To read the COVID-19 Sport and Recreation Sector Update from the Office of Sport on Friday 8 May 2020, please click here.

The NSW Government's priority is to not see a spike in cases of Covid-19 as restrictions are cautiously eased. Unfortunately, that takes time.

From regular engagement with our member sporting organisations, Sport NSW understands and appreciates the frustration being felt at the lack of information and perceived slow pace of recovery for the resumption of community sport in NSW. We are working closely with Minister Lee and the Office of Sport to gain responses and have guidelines approved as quickly as possible.

Please continue to keep us informed of your sport's situation as we work diligently towards a successful resumption of sporting activity across NSW.

Sport NSW, the Australian College of Physical Education and the NSW Office of Sport have collaborated to create Timeout Talks - #unitedforsports webinar series. The webinar series is a free resource for the industry that aims to keep our sporting community connected and united so we can return as one.

Join us this week for two more Timeout Talks!

Tonight! Tuesday, 12 May: 6.00pm - 7.00pm

In the present era, the close interaction between the media and sport are indispensable. The two feed one another with sport providing a wide range of content for the media every day, while media provides publicity and a connection to the population for sport. The media has an undeniable role in developing awareness around sport and awakening public consciousness, achieved by spreading novel ideas and displaying leadership and guidance to our society.

In this webinar, Simon Hill (Football Commentator & Presenter, Fox Sports Australia) and David Weiner (Editor, Optus Sport) will delve into the relationship that exists between Sport and Media and consider how the impacts of COVID-19 will change the future consumption of sport for fans across Australia.

To register for tonight's talk, please click here.

Thursday, 14 May: 6.00pm - 7.00pm

COVID-19 has had a far-reaching, crippling effect on sport worldwide. Physical health has been affected, so too has mental health and we understand that athletes, coaches, administrators and volunteers may be experiencing a mix of emotions at this time. This webinar will look at the signs and symptoms of poor mental health and help provide an understanding of your emotions as well as strategies to help maintain both good mental and physical health.

Presenters for the evening include Debbie Swibel (Director, Mental Health Management) and Dan Hunt (Director, Mental Health Movement & Former NRL Player).

To register now, please click here.

The NSW sporting sector is made up of many diverse organisations with different organisational structures, membership bases and sizes, geographic reach, organisational health maturity and financial health.

For many sporting and recreation organisations, COVID-19 is having a direct financial and operational impact on your operations.

This resource library, developed by Sport NSW and the NSW Office of Sport, brings together resources from a variety of expert providers and official organisations to help support your sporting organisation. It doesn’t matter your size, if you employ people or not, there will be something here that can help you.

The Office of Sport has also compiled a document to provide an overview of financial and stimulus measures that may be available to all types of NSW sport and recreation organisations and businesses as a result of the impact of COVID-19 public health measures on their organisations. To download this document, please click here.

To access the COVID-19 Sector Resources Libray, please click here.

Lander & Rogers' market leading sports law practice has the specialist legal knowledge needed to help organisations succeed in this increasingly complex area.

The firm has a strong track record advising state and national sporting organisations, professional sports clubs, major events, racing clubs, venue managers and government on a broad range of legal, commercial, and sport-specific issues.

In these difficult times, we have been assisting sport organisations across a range of COVID-19 related issues, including staffing, contracts, postponing and cancelling events, refunds, virtual activity and digital platforms and planning for reactivation.

As a full service, national firm, Lander & Rogers assists sport and leisure clients on a range of legal needs including governance and constitutions, sports contracting and procurement, intellectual property and licensing, broadcast rights, competition and consumer law, policy development, privacy and data protection, workplace relations and safety, real estate and leasing, litigation and dispute resolution, technology, risk management, and insurance.

Please contact us to discuss how we can support your organisation.

T: (02) 8020 7700
W: www.landers.com.au

It's time to recognise your NSW Sport Volunteers!

If you know of any outstanding efforts and achivements by volunteers in your organisation, please nominate them for the 2020 NSW Community Sports Awards.

The NSW Community Sports Awards recognise outstanding achievements and contributions to community sport in NSW. These awards are focused on community and grassroots sport and provide State Sporting Organisations and State Sporting Organisations with a Disability an opportunity to recognise the efforts and achievements of their dedicated volunteers.

This year, nominations are invited for ten categories plus the Distinguished Long Service Awards for those who have given exceptional service to their sport for over 25 years. To assist with your nominations, please download the 2020 NSW Community Sports Awards Guidelines to see the conditions of entry and criteria for each award category.

The nomination period has been further extended and nominations will now close at midnight on Friday, 17 July 2020. To nominate, please click here.

For any futher information about nominations or the event, please visit the 2020 NSW Community Sports Awards event page or contact Sport NSW on (02) 8736 1239 or info@sportnsw.com.au.

The COVIDSafe app has been developed by the Australian Government as part of their work to slow the spread of COVID-19. The app is designed to help find and contain outbreaks quickly, meaning governments can start to ease restrictions while still keeping Australians safe.

The COVIDSafe app helps find close contacts of COVID-19 cases. The app helps state and territory health officials to quickly contact people who may have been exposed to COVID-19. This reduces the chances of you passing on the virus to your family, friends and other people in the community.

Sport NSW is supporting the government and encouraging the sporting community to download the COVIDSafe app. Downloading the app is completely voluntary, however we hope it will assist in the easing of restrictions and help keep our community safer as we start to return to sport and other activities.

For all the information on the COVIDSafe app, please click here.

As the State remains isolated in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, many people are working, learning and spending all of their time at home. It is critical that Australians are able to maintain their physical and mental wellbeing at home, and that they are able to exercise in confined spaces with limited resources.

Many sporting organisations and other peak bodies across the sector have developed initiatives and shared resources to help people safely exercise in their home. The NSW Office of Sport have compiled an extensive list of these initiatives and resources, including Activities for Kids, Activities for Seniors, Accessible Activities, General Fitness, Sport-Specific and much more.

We encourage you to check out these activities by clicking here. Continue to check back for new activities that will help keep your family and you active!

The Sport NSW Sporting Grants Summary monitors available Grants (returning and new) from around NSW. 

Emergency Bushfire Response Grants
To provide immediate relief to eligible small businesses and non-profit organisations for clean-up and restoration costs in the aftermath of the recent bushfires in NSW. Applications are now open and close at different times depending on your location. To see the full guidelines for small business and not-for-profit organisations, please click here.

For a full list - Download the Sport NSW Sporting Grants Summary.

Interested in a career in sport? or Looking for the latest volunteering opportunities?

For the latest sport and recreation jobs visit the Sport NSW Jobs Board available on our website.

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