Moonee Valley Juniors - update as we move forward

MOONEE VALLEY JUNIORS – UPDATE AS WE MOVE FORWARD

The Moonee Valley Cricket Club is gearing up for 2021/22, and like all cricket clubs we’re starting to get some certainty about the upcoming season.

It all depends on Victoria reaching its vaccination targets, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

The North West Metropolitan Cricket Association – where our junior teams play – is working on a season starting on Friday, November 19.

We have entered teams playing Friday evening grades for the Under 14, Under 12 and Under 10 age groups. We have put the Under 16s on standby – if we get an influx of players we will work towards putting a team on the park, but at this stage we’re a bit short.

Registration is again all online for juniors – you can register through the MyCricket portal: https://playreg.cricket.com.au/pages/reg/signin.aspx?id=36515&fl=128&entityid=1152&type=8&prodid=82831&redirect=1

You should copy and paste this into your browser. Returning players will need to know their MyCricket registration number. You can find it by doing a player search for your name through MyCricket - www.Mycricket.com.au and your number will come up alongside your career stats.

Registration fees are $260 after 4 November - and anyone who registers before then will receive $25 off their registration fee. The registration fee includes insurance, all games, gear, and training sessions. In addition, anyone with two or more children signing up will receive an additional $75 off the total cost.

You can also do an initial registration online by paying $5 – which is the basic fee to enable interim insurance cover.

Senior player Andreas Skiotis is coaching our Under 12 team, and we are finalising coaching resources for our other age groups utilising other senior players – many of whom have come through our junior ranks.

We plan to set up a more structured team administration for each age group, both at training and on match days. We will need parents from each age group to take on or share roles such as scoring, MyCricket paperwork, square leg umpiring, nets/warm-ups and batting/bowling orders.

Anyone seeking more information or happy to take on a role should phone or text Charlie Walker on 0411 705 381 or email charlie.walker@optusnet.com.au

Our second ground, Debneys Park at Flemington is out of action this season due to a redevelopment, but we hope to be able to accommodate all our junior teams at our main ground Ormond Park.

While we don’t have a firm timetable for training and playing, we’re working towards the NWMCA’s season start target of November 19.

Based on the current Victorian Government Roadmap targets, we expect that formal training will be able to start by the end of October, when we should reach the 70% double vaccination mark. We hope to have access to our clubrooms from the first week of November.

The 80% double vaccination should be the trigger for games to commence.

If the Melbourne City Council’s decision is taken as a template for other Councils and their facilities, it is likely that only fully vaccinated people would be able to access clubrooms and social areas.

Cricket Victoria is still waiting on the State Government position on whether players, coaches, umpires and volunteers will need to be fully vaccinated to participate in community sport.

As it is a definite possibility, CV continues to encourage all those who can be vaccinated to get it done ASAP. The earlier we reach the 80% double dose rates, the quicker we can start the season. It is also unclear where youngsters in the Under 10 and Under 12 age groups will fit into mandatory vaccination given that they are not yet eligible, but we are confident this will be worked through and our juniors can take to the park.

Remember that in Melbourne, until we hit the 70% double dose level, players need to comply with the existing gathering limits (not travel more than 15km and can gather in groups of five – so long as all adults are fully vaccinated). This at least enables small groups of players to come together for a net session or drills on the park.

For full details of what’s allowed, check out the COVID-19 section of the Cricket Victoria website – https://www.cricketvictoria.com.au/clubs-support/covid-19/covid-19-latest/ including the FAQs page. The site is being updated regularly so please check this out as the source of truth.

Charlie Walker.
President, Moonee Valley Cricket Club
0411 705 381