The ACT government will monitor Canberra sport participation numbers as coronavirus-affected families brace for the cost of restarting winter competitions.
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Non-contact sports will be free to start their seasons at the end of this week after the government announced the next stage of its COVID-19 recovery plan, while contact sports will resume on July 10.
But there are concerns about the financial barriers for families who have had their incomes reduced or lost their jobs during the coronavirus shutdown.
The Variety Every Chance to Play fund, which was launched three years ago to ease the sporting financial burden for those in need, was expecting help at least 200 children for the winter season.
That number could rise given the wide impact of businesses shutting down. Every Chance to Play has also been affected and will put its focus to summer sport requests.
The government has waived ground-hiring fees until the end of September to help sporting organisations and clubs cope with reduced sponsorships and revenue opportunities.
"We are consolidating and we'll be ready to go for the summer season," Every Chance to Play director Matt Topham said.
"There will be plenty of families in Canberra in need and we'll be looking to the sports and clubs to pass on the savings from the ACT government waiving ground hire. We believe sports should be all kids and we'll work with the Canberra community going forward."
Sport Minister Yvette Berry said there were avenues for sporting assistance and officials would watch the return to play closely to assess the situation. The government allocates $20,000 to the Every Chance to Play program to help underprivileged children get on the field. Governments in other states and territories offer sports registration subsidies.
The average registration fee for sports in Canberra is about $250.
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"There are a couple of things the ACT government does that's different to NSW - we really target our support to people who would never have the chance to play sport," Berry said.
"We do that through public housing participation grants to give those kids a chance and generally pay their full fee. I think in NSW it's $100 or partial fee payments, and the last figures I saw was that only 50 per cent of the program was taken up.
"The Every Chance to Play program is very targeted for kids who really need that additional support. If it becomes the cause that both of those programs are over-subscribed, or we need to consider job losses and people experiencing hardship, we can absolutely have a look at it."
Some junior sports started training on Saturday, while junior soccer for teams in the under-5 to under-9 age groups will begin their "MiniRoos" competition next weekend.
But senior and junior teams are feeling the pinch, with three Canberra Raiders Cup teams withdrawing from the competition and Canberra rugby union foundation side Easts unable to field a first-grade team.
AFL Canberra clubs are keen to play, while Capital Football is bracing for some lower-division sides to be hit by a lack of numbers.
Funding for sport has also taken a hit, with the licensed club closures limiting the money available for sponsorships of teams at all levels.
"It will be important for volunteers of clubs to know what's required and do the right thing," Berry said "In stage three we'll consider what the next part will be, but right now it's about keeping the [social] distance and your personal hygiene up. We still encourage come get in, train, get out. If you can avoid using the change room, do that for as long as possible."
The government will work with clubs to address cleaning requirements of change rooms and how often they will need to be prepared.