South West Academy of Sport (SWAS) - a body that supports high-performance athletes in the south-west - has postponed all its academy programs.
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This includes attending group strength and conditioning sessions, sport specific sessions and functional movement sessions.
The shutdown will be until at least April 18, but the body will continue to provide updates if anything changes.
Chief executive officer Nic Kaiser said travel was one of the significant contributors to the decision.
"It is a challenging scenario for SWAS as we draw from a wide geographical region and diverse sections of the community across the south-west, so the risk of transmission into different towns and communities is heightened," he said.
"At this time we are looking to reduce the group training activities and assist in the containment of the virus through social distancing and reducing family and group travel requirements."
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The following group activities will be affected:
- Netball coaching session - Sunday 22 March
- Hockey coaching session - Sunday 22 March
- Tennis Hitting session post-JDS - Sunday 22 March
- Surfing coaching session - Sunday 22 March
- Clay Target Shooting session - Sunday 29 March
- Running Technique session - Sunday 5 April
- Group Strength & Conditioning sessions during the week of March 23.
Athletes are encouraged to complete their gym sessions at home.
Kaiser also encouraged them to keep healthy in his letter to SWAS athletes, parents, guardians and families.
"At some stage, the sporting seasons will re-commence and as such we recommend (where health factors permit) you all keep in a fit and ready state to compete and train," he said.
"It might be that you can't train on a court or with a ball, but that will provide opportunities to practice mindfulness, listen to an Audiobook or complete some cross-training to keep in shape."
Kaiser said the wellbeing of the academy community was the highest priority. The body is following the advice of the Centre for Disease Control, Australia's chief medical officer, state government and state sporting organisations.
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