The Shoalhaven District Cricket Association semi-finals are slated to start this Saturday. Photo: DAMIAN McGILL

AS the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe, many South Coast sports events are starting to be affected.

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On Saturday, Basketball NSW released a statement outlining its decision to suspend all its managed programs, events and fixtures until further notice, seeing the Waratah League seasons for the three Shoalhaven Tigers left in limbo.

Then on Sunday, Cricket Australia announced the final round of its Sheffield Shield competition had been cancelled, affecting Ulladulla's Matthew Gilkes (NSW) and Nowra's Nic Maddinson (Victoria).

This comes on the back of decisions by sporting organisations such as International Hockey Federation, FIFA, Super Rugby and the World Surf League to postpone upcoming events - affecting athletes such as Grace Stewart (Gerringong), Kalindi Commerford (Mollymook), Adam Federici (Huskisson), Will Miller (Berry), Owen, Tyler and Mikey Wright (Culburra Beach) and Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa).

One sport that is scheduled to go ahead is the Shoalhaven District Cricket Association, which starts its 2019/20 finals this Saturday.

Cricket NSW CEO Lee Germon encouraged all associations to proceed with their matches, including finals, providing they place player and stakeholder health and safety at the forefront of those decisions.

"Cricket, like all other communities, is facing an unprecedented and rapidly changing environment regarding coronavirus," German said.

"At the same time, we, like all organisations and Australians, are following the advice of government and medical experts as best we can to ensure people can go about their lives.

"That includes playing cricket.

"Cricket is played across hundreds of grounds and fields in hundreds of towns and cities across NSW, and each of those regions is affected differently, if at all, by the current coronavirus situation.

"Many of those games are played among small gatherings of people, so provided all practices are taken to reduce the risk for players and stakeholders, and fall within the guidelines and advice of government around exposure, we see no reason the game can't proceed.

"Cricket NSW provides this advice, including recommendations to reduce risk, to assist associations to make decisions relevant to their regions and competitions."

Cricket NSW has released a series of guidelines to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

No handshaking
No team huddle
No sharing of any equipment including cricket equipment other than the ball (e.g. helmets, bats, gloves)
Don't share drinks, towels, lip balm, sunscreen with others (have own)
Don't use saliva or sweat to polish ball during the game
Limit dressing room and training attendance mostly to "need to be there" coaching staff
Players stay one metre apart at team meetings (no touching)
Hand sanitiser to be in team rooms, players/staff encouraged to use plus handwashing prior to meals
.Food is individually packaged - no finger food, shared serving
People mixing drinks to have gloves and mask while doing so
All players with respiratory or gastrointestinal illness to report this immediately to the club and be quarantined from training until assessed and cleared. Do not go to training

Similarly, with the AFL South Coast season scheduled to have its first bounce on April 4, the AFL is closely monitoring the situation.

"The health and safety of our football community - our participants, umpires, volunteers and fans is paramount," the AFL said in a statement.

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"We are closely monitoring the situation with respect to COVID-19 and it is important that any information you receive with respect to COVID-19 or any other infectious illness comes from a reputable source.

"We are regularly consulting with the Australian Government, the World Health Organisation and the AFL's chief medical officers on the best advice for our football community."

While games are still be played, at the clubs discretion, the AFL had advised the following hygiene guidelines.

Wash your hands often with soap and water (or hand sanitiser) for at least 20 seconds
Wash or sanitise your hands before eating
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
Avoid close contact with people who are sick
Stay home and seek medical treatment when you are sick
Cover your mouth to cough or sneeze
COVID-19 or not, communal use of water bottles should be avoided at all times.
Do not share drinks, towels, lip balm, sunscreen with others (have own)
Place hand sanitisers around the change room and encourage the use of them
Ensure all player facilities are maintained and cleaned to a high standard with appropriate cleaning agents - consider more regular cleaning of facilities
Limit physical contact such as avoiding shaking hands, pre or post-game
Limit travelling party to matches/training/sessions where possible

On a national scale, sporting codes such as the AFL, which start on Thursday, are bracing for the likelihood that fans will be locked out of games from Monday with the Federal Government introducing a suspension of non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people from Monday.

The NRL's round one games went ahead with fans in attendance but it has stated round two would be played behind closed doors, just as the current NBL finals series between Sydney and Perth is.

Other local sports that are continuing on as normal, at the time of writing, include the Shoalhaven District Football Association, where Shoalhaven United moved into round three of the FFA Cup on Saturday, Group Seven Rugby League, Illawarra Rugby and Shoalhaven Netball.