Despite the regular biting cold, Saturday mornings in winter for the Swoboda family leave little time for sleeping in.
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But this weekend, with the seasons for junior sport on hold as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, there was no need to rush out of bed.
Kai Swoboda, who represented Australia in canoeing at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, coaches the Australian football team his son, Max, plays in. Mr Swoboda's daughter, Elise, 10, plays soccer and also swims competitively.
A typical Saturday would see the family watch three games of football - some played with the oval ball, others with the round one - before retiring home and often taking in another game on television.
But this year has been no typical season.
Mr Swoboda said he had kept his expectations for a return date low but was still optimistic.
Max Swoboda, 12, who plays for the Weston Creek Wildcats, has been full of energy, dropping from training two nights a week to none. He's been running every second day with Mr Swoboda during the shutdown.
Mr Swoboda said he saw the break in play and training as an opportunity to check in with the team's players and help them set goals for the rest of the season, whatever that looks like.
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"We'd normally do that in 10 minutes after training ... but we're going to try and do that via Zoom or Skype or FaceTime, which will actually be pretty good. It will give us a bit more time to go through what they want to get out of the season, including what they might get out of a shorter season," he said.
Mr Swoboda said junior sport was a good way of encouraging healthy lifestyles among well-formed friendship groups.
"[Sport is] a way of not falling into the traps of, not being distracted by things that are not so good for you. Try to keep them busy so they're not staying out late, eating food they shouldn't be eating, or drinking or smoking or whatever," he said.
The Swobodas have not been fixated on a date or time for when their teams can start training and playing together again.
"I'm kind of sad that there's been a big lost opportunity for kids in all sports, where they've lost four of five months of solid activity. But the counter to that is they could get an injury and be off that long. They can be sick. Plenty of kids bounce back from being sick or injured for that space of time," he said.
"I was worried about the longer-term impact on their development, but I think it'll just be a blip for most kids."
Community level Australian football clubs expect an update on how the sport will return after an announcement later this month on plans for the elite game.
Mr Swoboda said there would be a significant financial impact on the Weston Creek Wildcats, but it would not prevent kids from getting out on the park. He said there might need to be delays in getting new gear for the club and resourcing changes.
A framework prepared by the Australian Institute of Sport, which has been endorsed by the national cabinet, includes measures for increasing sporting activity in phases, initially minimising unnecessary contact and spectators.
"Resumption of community sport and recreation activity should take place in a staged fashion with an initial phase of small group activities in a non-contact fashion, prior to moving on to a subsequent phase of large group activities including full contact training [and] competition in sport," the framework said.
"Individual jurisdictions will determine progression through these phases, taking account of local epidemiology, risk mitigation strategies and public health capability."
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The ACT government last month announced a $3.3 million package to support sport at all levels in the territory, including waiving ground hire fees for community sports clubs for six months.
An ACT government spokeswoman said, "The ACT is the most active jurisdiction in the country and we value the many benefits that participation brings, including to children."
In the meantime, Mr Swoboda has been making sure his kids stay active during the sport shutdown, encouraging them to plan something active into their routine every day.
"The new routine is that we're doing something. It really has changed the afternoons as well. Instead of us coming home and leaving straight away to go wherever, we just got this time to eat and just take time over things that we didn't use to have before," he said.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
