Australian Oztag Director of Coaching and Development, Michael Buettner officially announced the cancellation of the 2020 Trans Tasman series, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is with great regret, Australian Oztag (AO) can officially announce the cancellation of the 2020 Trans Tasman Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand.
Unfortunately, due to the current COVID-19 lockdown, which has affected every State in varying degrees, the New Zealand ‘travel bubble’ was closed and therefore meant the tournament could no longer go ahead despite the many attempts to reschedule over the past 18 months.
Australian Oztag would like to congratulate all the players, coaches and support staff who were selected to compete in this tournament. It is always an honour to represent your country and this would have been the biggest touring party to have left our shores representing Australian Oztag.
All players and coaches will receive their playing gear courtesy of Australian Oztag as recognition of their selection in the squad, as well as the 1 year service recognition despite not having competed at the tournament.
Australian Oztag would also like to take the time to thank the players, coaches, managers and supporters for their patience, understanding and support over the past 18 months. Clearly these have been unprecedented times and we all are hoping that there is light at the end of the tunnel so we can all get back to playing as soon as possible.
Another big thank you to Kim Newton and Amanda Washington from MTA Travel who had the unenviable task of booking and rebooking over 600 players and supporters on 4 seperate occasions. Their efforts behind the scenes cannot be underestimated and their support, commitment and professionalism was apparent and ensured they were going to do all they could to get our Tagaroos teams competing at this Trans Tasman tournament.
Australian Oztag is hoping to see restrictions ease in the coming months, so players have the opportunity to enjoy our great game again. Until then, stay safe and train hard.”
Michael Buettner
AO Director of Coaching and Development