LATEST UPDATE - 12:30 PM 17/3/2020
Baseball Victoria, in this unprecedented and unique situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, is taking a lead from international and national sporting codes to postpone all Victorian Baseball activity from Tuesday, 17 March 2020 until Tuesday, 7 April 2020.
Decisions in relation to the health and safety of our baseball community have been given careful consideration. Following consultations with the federal and state government, Sport Australia and Baseball Australia and our state and territory baseball counterparts, as well as following in line with restrictions on Major League Baseball in the United States, we are postponing our non-essential static gatherings as a precautionary action to assist in stopping the spread of this virus to the most vulnerable members of our communities.
Baseball Victoria and all our member clubs and associations incorporating all remaining summer baseball activities, all winter association and club activity across Victoria and all Baseball Victoria activities will cease for 21 days. This includes all training, club activities and team meetings, as well as events, tournaments and competitions.
In addition to our regular baseball, this will affect the postponement of the following major events:
- 2020 Australian Women’s Championships - scheduled for 10-17 April 2020, this has been postponed until further notice
- 2020 Charter Player Development Program including the Super Series – scheduled for Saturday, 21 March has been postponed until further notice
- 2020 Charter Little League State Championships
- 2020 Senior, Junior and Intermediate League State Championships – scheduled for 28-30 March, this has been postponed until further notice
- 2020 Little League State Championships – scheduled for 3-5 April, this has been postponed until further notice
- 2020 Baseball Victoria Awards Night – scheduled for Thursday, 26 March, this has been postponed until September 2020
Participants for the 2020 Australian Women’s Championships and 2020 Charter State Championships that are being postponed will receive a full refund. Please note that any payment made via Team App will be processed back via Team App and any payment made directly to Baseball Victoria will be refunded directly. Click HERE for details on refunds.
“The current situation is unprecedented in our lifetimes with the direct or indirect consequences of COVID-19 progressively impacting every aspect of Victorian, Australian and Global Communities. The impact on the ability for the Sport of Baseball to proceed at this time is just one of many COVID-19 impacts the Victorian Baseball Community is now experiencing. This decision was taken after extensive internal and external consultation and is based on the health and welfare of the Victorian Baseball Community and is consistent with a number of broader measures being implemented by government, business and sport to try and reduce the spread of COVID-19. These are very challenging and uncertain times and the measures announced today provide clarity on the next 21 days with updates to follow as the situation continues to evolve,” Baseball Victoria President Myles Foreman said.
This is a quickly evolving situation that changes every day, and that means a decision made today may be updated tomorrow. By clearly postponing events in our immediate future, we have the opportunity to make strong plans for the future that will ensure we can recommence baseball activities as soon as it is appropriate to do so.
The 2020 Australian Women’s Championships will be rescheduled in consultation with Baseball Australia (read Baseball Australia’s full statement HERE). Prior to the recommencement of that program players will be consulted on their availability and we may need to make changes to the teams in order to replace any players whom are not available.
The 2020 Charter Player Development Program, which was to be finished with the Super Series, will recommence immediately prior to the rescheduled 2020 Charter State Championships. This ensures that when we are able to return to play, participants will have the opportunity to train prior.
The 2020 Charter Little League State Championships lead to the National Little League Championships and subsequently the International Little League Championships. At this stage, we will continue to review how the state championships can be restructured and rescheduled later in April and May to allow participation in the national and then international event(s).
All of these championship arrangements are fluid and further decisions will be made on the reschedule of state events based on the timelines provided by Baseball Australia regarding their national championships. Baseball Australia’s timelines for review of its national events are contained HERE in their full statement.
Baseball Australia is in an ongoing dialogue with Little League International with respect to eligibility, and the rules for timelines around participation in events, which all parties have conceded will need to be flexible as event timing continues to shift.
Currently the 2020 winter season with our member Winter Associations is scheduled to commence after Easter, and at this stage, these competitions will go ahead as planned. Consultation with the Winter Associations will be ongoing regarding the start of their season, the effect of rescheduled state and national events, and the Winter Championships. We expect that training for the winter season will be affected by this 21-day hiatus, and as soon as it practical we will confirm the start time for the season, considering the need for training to recommence prior.
Please note that as of today, the Baseball Victoria office has enacted its ‘Work From Home Plan’. The Baseball Victoria landline telephone will be diverted accordingly, and you can still call this number at any time. All staff are available directly via mobile and email. Please click HERE for full contact details.
All further updates from Baseball Victoria will be found HERE on the Baseball Victoria website and will also be communicated by the Baseball Victoria social media channels.