You may have seen further announcements from NZFootball & WaiBOP for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, full details available here – http://www.waibopfootball.co.nz/about/covid19. In summary, the start of both our junior and senior football season has again been postponed until at least the 30th May – this is out of concerns for our health and that of our community. Training is currently suspended until the 16th May, or two weeks prior to the start of the season. We remain desperately keen to see the season proceed but the health and wellbeing of our players, members, parents, volunteers and wider community remain our main priority.

Please note that Crown park remains closed during both level 4 and level 3. Taupo District Council are currently working with Sport Waikato on what Level 2 will look like for Taupo AFC and the Crown Park playing fields. We expect to be informed over the next couple weeks on how this could work for us, our training, and playing season. Sport New Zealand have released the attached information for our guidance. In addition, Crown Park has received minimal maintenance over recent weeks, and we’ll need to allow some extra time for them to be brought up to a suitable standard.

These evolving circumstances lead to significant changes to competitions, dates, and fixtures and we’re adjusting to that now. We fully expect to play football this year, both junior and senior, and will plan towards that. To allow the club to work towards the new start date of the season, both junior and senior registrations will remain open and we encourage you to register. Several people have queried what happens to money already paid for registrations in the case of a shortened or cancelled season – in that case, we would in turn expect reduced or zero club affiliation fees which would allow us to refund some or all of paid registrations depending on the circumstances. The full details are not yet known but we are committed to looking after our members and will refund where appropriate.

We encourage coaches, players, and referees keep themselves fit and active so that we can get into football as soon as possible once we have the go-ahead. NZFootball have released details of activities we can all take part in as follows:

There are online webinars in three key areas – Fit4Football, coaching and refereeing – and registrations are now open so don’t miss out on your opportunity to upskill! The webinars are free and open to all with no pre-qualifications required for anyone wanting to take part.

To register for the Fit4Football webinars please click here – https://www.facebook.com/pg/fit4football/events/

To register for the coaching webinars please click here – https://www.nzfootball.co.nz/GET-INVOLVED/Coaches/Coaching-Webinars

To register for the refereeing webinars please click here – https://www.nzfootball.co.nz/GET-INVOLVED/Referees/Referees-Webinars

A program to keep fit while we’re in lockdown – https://www.nzfootball.co.nz/stay-fit

We’re grateful for your cooperation and will keep you informed when the situation changes – please keep an eye on our Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/TaupoFootballClub/. We recognise that these are unsettling times, and we want you to know that the safety of our players, members, parents, and volunteers are our main priority. We maintain our commitment to providing you with a safe environment to enjoy the sport we all love.

Football will be back, but that is for another day. Stay home. Stay safe.