Netball NSW has today accepted the financial penalties handed down by the Netball Australia board after it was determined that GIANTS Netball delayed reporting links to COVID-19 exposure sites in Melbourne during the 2021 Suncorp Super Netball season.
After an investigation was undertaken by Netball NSW, it was clear that the non-compliance was found to not be pre-mediated and there was no intent to deliberately put the competition at risk.
As communicated previously, the GIANTS were delayed from departing Adelaide Airport alongside five of the other teams after it was identified that a number of players and staff had visited a Tier 1 and Tier 2 exposure site. The sites were not areas of concern when the team visited them and were subsequently elevated to Tier 1 and Tier 2 status.
Netball NSW was handed a $10,000 fine, suspended for two years, in respect of the GIANTS’ delay in reporting, and been ordered to pay $37, 563 for the additional charter and commercial flights the team required to travel to Queensland the following day.
The NSW Swifts also accepted a $10,000 fine for being determined to have delayed reporting attendance at exposure sites.
“It is clear there were delays in reporting exposure links from both our teams and we take ownership of that,” Netball NSW Tain Drinkwater said.
“We accept the financial penalties but welcome the acknowledgement that these were not done out of selfishness or disregard for the competition. They were simply human errors made in high pressure and stressful situations and that context is very important.
“I want to again publicly acknowledge the huge efforts of our players, coaches, support staff and family members who made the season happen. Without them there would have been no Super Netball either this year or last year.
“While we admit the errors made at our end, we are disappointed that the public correspondence from Netball Australia gives the impression that all fault lies with the NSW Swifts and GIANTS, which the investigation conceded was not the case.
“The fines relate to the reporting delays and, in the case of the GIANTS, the extra charter flight costs and we understand our responsibility to pay those. But a lack of clear protocols and processes from Netball Australia during the season given the ever-evolving COVID19 changes often made life difficult for our travelling groups.
“For both the Swifts and GIANTS, who relocated up to five times across four different states over 67 days, it resulted in extended quarantine periods despite advice that it wouldn’t be required. Nevertheless, our teams and staff did everything in their power to ensure the competition continued with little delay, and provided a fitting Grand Final pairing for their supporters in NSW.”
