Netball South West officials are this weekend considering their options for the 2020/21 campaign but Andrews says Jets’ players cannot afford to isolate for up to 48 hours twice a month, after every trip to the UK.
Inbound passengers are currently told to expect a 24-48-hour delay for their result from the Government of Jersey’s border-testing team, with the average wait-time standing at over 30 hours. However, on-Island processing could soon bring that figure down to just a matter of hours.
Regional netball looks set to restart in October at senior level, although juniors will have to wait until at least January before they can play competitively again.
‘Travel is going to be our biggest hurdle,’ said Andrews.
‘If it stays as it as and we have to wait for our test results, that will put a spanner in the works because the girls will have to return to work. If things change, and a 90-minute test comes in, then we’ll definitely look at it again, but until then I just can’t see a way through it. Would we have enough girls who are able to work from home until they have their result back? And there’s the realisation that if we do go away to play – are our opponents being tested? Probably not. Or are you next to somebody on the plane who’s got it?
‘It’s like a game of chess. You make a couple of moves and you think things are looking good, then you have to draw back, move sideways – things are forever changing.’
England Netball released new guidelines this week to pave the way for competitive matches to return on the mainland, but ongoing government restrictions here mean the Jersey Netball Association are, at present, unable to implement them.
