sport, junior-sport, jackson surman, greater illawarra cricket zone, regional academy program, covid-19, cancel, South Coast/Shoalhaven, Illawarra/Highlands, cooper luke

COVID-19 and the extended Greater Sydney lockdown has claimed another South Coast sports casualty. Just days after the AFL South Coast seniors and Illawarra juniors were cancelled, it has been announced the Greater Illawarra Cricket Zone's regional academy program will be sidelined this season. "We have considered the current public health orders that restrict the Wollongong and Shellharbour LGA participants from taking part in the program as well as other players not being able to attend sessions when making this decision," said Greater Illawarra Cricket zone chair Jackson Surman. Read more: Dragons' finals dream stays alive after victory against Bears "Other considerations taken into account were the lack of time before the representative season started to hold sessions, the uncertainty around community sports returning in four weeks and the chance of COVID-19 spreading during academy sessions held by the zone." This announcement applies to all South Coast/Shoalhaven and Illawarra/Highlands under 13s-15s male and female regional academies but does not impact Cricket NSW zone academy players, with calls to be made on that by their respective coaches. "Ultimately, the safety of our athletes, coach and their families was at the forefront of our decision making," Surman said. "We are very well aware this will not be palatable to everyone however we are comfortable in our decision-making process and outcome." All players will receive a full refund for the academy program costs.

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