With the coronavirus spreading like wildfire across the globe, suddenly, like most places across Australia, sport stopped in Benalla.
It’s strange to think about because, like so many other people, sport has been a massive part of my life.
It’s always been there, whether it was a tennis lesson after school, or a competitive netball game on the weekend.
Football and netball in Benalla halted amid coronavirus threat
From weekend trips to Melbourne to watch my beloved St Kilda play, to many summer afternoons watching the Australian test cricket team play their rivals.
And among the many matches and events, there are moments you never forget.
For me, back-to-back September tears after the Saints lost their 2009 and 2010 grand finals are singed in my mind, but so to was watching the 2000 opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics in awe, or sitting on the edge of my seat as Australian snowboarder Torah Bright won gold in the halfpipe at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics on her final run (though I must admit this last memory is oddly specific).
Coronavirus threat has sport on lockdown in Benalla
Sport is universal and brings communities together. It’s a pastime, a career, a passion of so many.
But for now, it’s accepted that sport must take a back seat if we as a society are to eradicate the serious threat of COVID-19.
In the coming days and weeks, as we forgo the ‘normal’ and distance and isolate ourselves from others in the name of safety, remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
And while normal may not be as it seemed before we as a society stopped, sport will in my opinion always be an important step in rebuilding after adversity.
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As sports journalist at the Ensign, there has been many thoughts swirling around my mind lately as I meditate on how to cover sport in a time where it is all but inactive.
But it is with renewed effort that we at the Ensign will endeavour to continue telling the stories of the community, and with that, bring you sport stories, however creative the treatment.
So please, if anybody would like to get in touch with ideas or specific sports stories - no matter how small - send us an email on journalist@benallaensign.com.au or through our Facebook page and in the meantime, safe stay.