Following consultation with North and South Island Satellite tournament deliverers – North Harbour Volleyball and Canterbury Volleyball – Volleyball NZ (VNZ) can provide the following update to schools and Regional Associations regarding the status of the events.
In the current environment with the spread of Covid-19 in the community, VNZ doesn’t recommend large scale events due to the impact of potential positive Covid-19 cases on the events themselves and those participating.
However, VNZ is also aware of a significant number of schools who wish to participate in local and regional events and VNZ does not wish to prevent this unnecessarily in the circumstances.
Therefore, VNZ can now confirm:
- The 2022 North Island Secondary Schools Satellite event is cancelled
- The 2022 South Island Secondary Schools Satellite event, via organisers Canterbury Volleyball, will proceed in planning for delivery as currently scheduled. The event will be sanctioned by School Sport NZ (SSNZ).
As a result, Canterbury Volleyball will continue planning and preparations for the South Island Satellite event should they determine this is appropriate with those schools who are willing to participate having been made fully aware of the following:
- Canterbury Volleyball are the sole-charge event provider and take full responsibility for all elements of the event
- The event could see Covid-19 spread rapidly through participating teams during or post event
- The at-event experience could be significantly impacted due to withdrawal of teams, either prior to the event or during
- Teams which ultimately complete at the event could come from a range of ability levels, including those teams initially due to participate at the NZSS Volleyball Championships in Palmerston North
- Following a soon-to-be-implemented government legislation change (which VNZ understand will be in place prior to the scheduled dates of summer tournament week), school students cannot be asked for proof of vaccination status when participating for a school team. Standard eligibility criteria set by the organiser of events will still be in place.
As per previous VNZ guidance issued for local and regional events, volleyball events must ensure the following is in place:
- Written confirmation to VNZ that the event will proceed will be required as soon as practical.
- Event Health and Safety Plan - the event must have an appropriate health and safety plan in place for the event which has been sighted by SSNZ, the Regional Sports Director and VNZ prior to the event commencing.
- School participation approval – Canterbury Volleyball is required to obtain and hold written confirmation of consent to participate for each school team involved in the event. This consent must be signed by the School Principal or the appropriate school delegated authority
- School team health and safety plan – All competing schools/teams must submit their team health and safety plan regarding their participation to the event organisers as part of their entry.
VNZ remains committed to exploring all options to provide access for schools to volleyball events later in 2022 and we will update our community regarding this in due course.
Nga mihi nui,
The VNZ Team
