15 August 2021 | Tennis NSW

Dear NSW tennis community,

Further to the NSW government’s announcement yesterday, to protect the people of NSW from the evolving COVID-19 outbreak, new restrictions have been introduced and NSW has entered into a state-wide lockdown. The clear message from government is that everyone should be STAYING AT HOME unless they have a reasonable excuse to leave home with the NSW Government making clear that they intend to enforce these new rules with increased penalties and fines.

As of 12.01am Monday 16 August, the new Public Health Order (PHO) will replace any existing orders in Regional NSW. You can find the updated PHO here.

For the entire state of NSW, the following applies in respect to tennis activities:

1. CHANGES IN RESTRICTIONS

• COVID related restrictions are now extended beyond Greater Sydney and LGA’s of concern to the whole of NSW;
• There are no significant changes to the permissible excuses to leave home that relate to tennis, however there are many restrictions that do apply to tennis activities and individuals should read the Public Health Order and other information available on the NSW government websites;
• You may leave home for the purposes of exercise, but to do so you must stay within your LGA or travel no further than 5km from the person’s residence if outside the person’s LGA, subject to restrictions relating to LGA’s of Concern.

2. LGA’s of CONCERN / DECLARED AREAS

• The current list of LGA’s of concern (or Declared Areas in the PHO) include: Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta, Strathfield, and defined suburbs of Penrith
• If you are in one of the LGAs of concern / Declared Areas then you cannot travel more than 5kms to exercise.
• If you are a tennis coach WITHIN an LGA of concern / Declared Area, you cannot leave the LGA of Concern / Declared Area to attend your place of work as tennis coach is NOT listed as an Authorised Worker.

3. PLAYING TENNIS

• Playing tennis currently remains to be considered a form of exercise, however tennis should be played for exercise purposes only;
• Play can continue as singles play (with one other from outside of your household) or with 3 other members of your household on a single court.

4. COACHING

1. You may leave home for work if you cannot reasonably work from home – in most circumstances tennis coaching as an occupation is considered permissible under this provision;
2. Tennis coaching is not included in the Authorised Workers list;
3. If you do choose to coach, then you must develop a COVIDSafe plan to ensure that you can fully comply with all requirements contained within the current Public Health Order;
4. The Public Health Order states that you cannot coach more than 2 individuals from separate households under the Outdoor Gatherings provision within the PHO;
5. If you are a tennis coach NOT WITHIN an LGA of concern, you may travel more than 5kms to conduct your work;
6.  If you are a tennis coach WITHIN an LGA of concern / Declared Area, you cannot leave the LGA of Concern / Declared Area to attend your place of work as tennis coach is NOT listed as an Authorised Worker.

5. COMPETITIVE PLAY, TOURNAMENTS & COMPETITIONS

• No form of competitive play should be administered. No venue or club should be offering competitive play in ANY form including social competition, mid-week competition, UTR match-play or any other forms.
• Tennis should be played for exercise purposes only.

It is both a Club, Operator, Venue and an individual’s responsibility to ensure that they comply with the current Public Health Orders at all times as published on the NSW government website.

Tennis NSW notes that there are now restrictions on individuals in LGAs of concern travelling more than 5km from their place of residence for exercise, including tennis.  Tennis NSW stresses the importance of the government messaging in the last 24 hours that these restrictions are designed to encourage everyone to stay at home to minimise the spread of COVID-19 and the highly infectious Delta strain.

Finally, the guidance and recommendations provided by Tennis NSW is general only and we do not provide advice for particular circumstances. Any person intending to engage in tennis activities should seek their own independent advice before doing so.

We wish to thank the tennis community for your continued support and compliance to the current restrictions and seek your on-going support and understanding for what are challenging circumstances for so many of us.

Click here to find the Tennis NSW Covid-19 FAQ’s.

Thank you and stay safe,
Tennis NSW