The Central West Rugby Union, AFL Central West and Football NSW have taken significant first steps towards returning to competition after their governing bodies released guidelines on for clubs to return to training in small groups.
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Orange Emus has already announced it will return to training on Tuesday night next week
The guidelines, sent to clubs this week and released on Thursday night, stated clubs are to train in groups of no more than 10 - which includes coaches and support staff - while groups of 10 cannot mix with each other and must remain distant and players cannot swap between groups.
No physical contact is allowed while training, while social distancing of 1.5m must be observed according to the guidelines, with tackling, bumping and marking contests off the cards for the time being.
Change rooms must remain closed and while players can kick the footy with each other, clubs can only use limited additional equipment such as cones.
Training sessions must also be logged, and clubs must have a COVID-19 Safety Officer.
In a statement released to clubs across the state on Thursday night from NSW Rugby Union said they were excited to take the small steps towards returning.
"Our unions will work with all of community rugby to assist them in their return to the field safely and expeditiously, while adhering to all government requirements," NSW Rugby Union CEO Paul Doorn said.
AFL NSW/ACT acting CEO Tiffany Robertson thanked clubs for their patience and encouraged them to think through their return to coaching, with the AFLCW to meet on Monday to discuss returns to training.
She also encouraged clubs to talk to local councils before returning to travel.
"We encourage everyone to take the time to plan, prepare and educate players, coaches, volunteers and administrators prior to the commencement of any activity," she said.
"Local councils are an extremely important stakeholder and must be consulted as part of your return to training preparations and the Office of Local Government FAQ has answers for our clubs regarding local NSW sporting grounds."
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