CAW district season to start on October 17 with eight clubs

Clubs met on Tuesday night to plan for a summer like no other with COVID-19 guidelines around both playing and training.

With Corowa crossing to the provincial competition and Howlong moving to provincial B grade, a 'floating fixture' has been set up in the case of a coronavirus setback.

Two full rounds (14 games) will be completed, with a further four home and away matches scheduled before finals. However, they can be abandoned if there's a significant delay.

Clubs agreed to play the second round on AFL grand final day, October 24, but will start earlier to be finished before the first bounce.

The one-day, 40-over format remains unchanged, with clubs to use a red ball and transition to white ball cricket in coloured clothing from next season.

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Barnawartha-Chiltern president Chris Hartshorn said there has been a huge buzz around the club in recent weeks following the signing of former Kiewa, Wodonga Raiders and New City player Ben Stewart as coach.

The Miners will train three times a week starting tonight.

"There's going to be a fair bit of rust to get out of everyone because we haven't really played footy or cricket for six months," Hartshorn said.

"I'm sure there's going to be a few sore bodies Friday morning and again Monday morning when we have a really good hit-out on Sunday.

"We didn't have a B grade side last year, but this year we're going to have all three (A, B and C) sides.

"It was looking worrying at the start when I called a meeting and we weren't going to have one side and now we've got three sides.

"Quite a few locals have come back that have been playing in town and a couple of guys have come out to play with their mates."

Meanwhile, Wangaratta and District's A grade and A reserve clubs will play a round of T20 cricket on October 24 to prevent a clash with the AFL decider, with an option of commencing earlier than the allotted 1pm start.

Teams also have the option of playing on Friday, October 23, as it is a Victorian public holiday.

The executive has chosen October 17 as the date for under-14s and under-16s to start their season.

The purpose of an earlier start for the juniors is to give executive members and older players a chance to visit grounds to check COVID protocols are adhered to.