Mercantile - planning for 2020/21

Attached is advice from Mercantile Cricket Association - our Thirds and Fourths - from July 9.

The MCA Executive has made the following significant decisions about the coming season.

* If enough winter sports cancel due to the current Melbourne-wide lockdown and the situation allows, we will aim to start October 3. Otherwise we will aim to start October 24. To date, senior footy is off, but soccer, rugby and junior footy may attempt brief comps in late Aug-Sept. The season will finish late March.

* All MCA grades, including A and A Reserve, will play one-day matches this season due to the problems if players are lost to isolation or local lockdown during a two-day match

* A club can apply for a bye for its lowest XI if 4 players from its latest MCA teams to play are placed in isolation/lockdown, or for its lowest two XIs if 14 players are affected, three XIs if 24 are affected, etc. Other players will have to move up as needed to fill gaps.

* If two separate teams at the same grade level (eg C North and C Sunday) have a bye awarded, their opponents will be redrawn to play each other, provided no change of playing day is forced upon a team against its will at less than five day's notice.

* Clubs renting through the MCA will receive a pro rata rebate of ground rental for byes caused by lockdown/isolation, provided the booking can be cancelled with council.

* Each club must have two Covid Safety Officers per XI who have completed the brief online course at https://covid-19training.gov.au/login. Their certificates must be submitted with the club's entry form in early September. At least one Covid Safety Officer must be present in each XI in each match (extra players can qualify during the season to satisfy this). They will be responsible for team compliance with Covid-19 safety measures

* Covid-19 safety measures will be detailed in a later Update closer to the season. They will include the obvious measures used in last season's grand finals (physical distancing, players to supply own tea/drinks, no saliva or huddles or high-fives etc) and regular sanitization of hands and ball.

We encourage as many people as possible to do the online Covid Safety Officer Infection Control module referred to in the link above. It's free, and takes about 30 minutes. You get a certificate upon completion.

Mark Gauci, Peter Golding and Charlie Walker have already completed it, but we need more people to do it. Anyone who completes it should forward the PDF version of their certificate to graeme.walker@dhhs.vic.gov.au so that we can maintain a register of authorised officers.