Coffs Harbour welcomes return of modified OzTag Championships

OzTag Australia has announced that the Senior State Championships will be held in Coffs Harbour in late October in a modified format.

COVID-19 has presented many challenges for sports organisations across the state. Over the last few months Australian OzTag has worked with Coffs Harbour City Council to develop best practice COVID Safe plans for the Senior State Championships, in accordance with current NSW Government health regulations and guidelines.

Tournament Director Bill Harrigan advises “we’ve had our fingers crossed this tournament would happen. 

"We were only a week off running the State Championships in March when COVID shut down all sports. 

"Players had trained hard and invested time and money so we elected to postpone the tournament not cancel it. To see it back on the calendar is extremely satisfying. We’ve worked hard on modifying the tournament and working with Council in producing a COVID-19 Safety Plan that will adhere to the Government’s Public Health Orders and satisfy everyone involved in the tournament.”

Coffs Harbour City Council Stadium and Major Events Section Leader, Dan Heather added “it has been critically important that as a team we have developed strict COVID-19 procedures for our major sporting venue, the C.ex Coffs International Stadium, and that we work with hirers to ensure they also have every measure in place to comply with Public Health Orders.

"We have been particularly impressed with OzTag Australia’s willingness to cooperate and modify the format of their event. This all helps safeguard the health of players, supporters, officials and the broader Coffs Coast community.”

Separate event zones will be created and specific timeframes allocated for the revised format competition. A morning session and an afternoon session will ensure player numbers are kept well under 500 people per zone on each day of competition.

Coffs Harbour Mayor Denise Knight highlights that “COVID-19 has been tough on our local businesses and there is no denying tourism is a big driver for business on the Coffs Coast, so we are very much looking forward to welcoming the players and officials back to Coffs Harbour, and wish them all a successful event.”

The competition will be held from 30th October to 1st November 2020 at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium, Coffs Coast Sport and Leisure Park and Geoff King Motors Oval.

Image courtesy of Coffs Harbour City Council