Dear Budokanis, You would have probably heard tonight in a statement made by our PM that amongst other venues, indoor sporting venues must cease to operate by mid-day tomorrow (23rd March). Unfortunately, this means that the 3 clubs that operate in the Budokan Dojo (including Budokan Judo Club) in the Showground's Horticulture Pavilion, will be unable to provide training services to their club members until the Government lifts this restriction. This is a sad day but, given the current state of many other countries, we knew that this would become inevitable in Australia and is probably the most sensible thing to do to limit social contact. Judo players are resilient and adaptable; this is the nature of our sport. We may not have had a challenge like this one before, but we know that you and the club will be back stronger than ever after the restrictions are lifted. A couple of things to ease any concerns regarding the club:
- 1.We will ensure that club members are not disadvantaged financially as the result of the club’s closure - once the extent of the closure is known, we will determine a period of credit for which all members will be entitled.
- 2.For parents who can demonstrate that they have been financially disadvantaged through this crisis period in terms of income, when training resumes special arrangements may be made so that your children will be able to resume training straight away.
- 3.During the club’s downtime, if any Budokan athlete requires support regarding circuits or training options, please contact us and advise any equipment or machines you have available and we can send some ideas of how to stay fit.
- In the meantime, please look after yourselves and each other and observe a responsible approach to your daily lives, limiting the risks associated with the transmission of the virus as best as you can. We want you back fit and well.
- We will still issue a Newsletter during the downtime - I am overdue with this but have been somewhat pre-occupied with other issues. We have had some competitions and other activities and news that still need to be reported and will be of interest to club members so at least we can stay in touch that way.
All the best, Rob and Kerrye