Cyclone Narelle forces Geraldton into a rare weekend without sport as the city prepares for severe weather

It’s not often the sports-mad town of Geraldton has a weekend without any sport on, but the local scene is beginning to feel the effects of cyclone Narelle before the system reaches the Mid West. Several community and professional sporting events have been postponed or cancelled as the cyclone makes its way down the coast, with strong winds and thunderstorms hitting Geraldton on Thursday afternoon. Increased rainfall and strong gusts were expected to hit the city on Saturday, with Geraldton currently issued an Act and Prepare warning, with residents urged to prepare for dangerous weather, as of Thursday. On Tuesday afternoon, Basketball WA announced Saturday’s season opener between the Geraldton Buccaneers and Warwick Senators at Activewest Stadium will be postponed to a later date. Department of Fire and Emergency Services has Activewest Stadium on standby to be used as an evacuation centre, ruling the stadium unavailable for the clash. Basketball WA has plans to reschedule the game to a later date, but at this stage it is unknown when it might be. “The wellbeing of our players, coaches, staff and the entire basketball community remain our highest priority,” a statement from Basketball WA said. “We stand behind the Geraldton community as a whole and those in the North West bracing for the impact of ex-tropical cyclone Narelle.” Buccs coach Dayle Joseph said he was looking forward to the next home game, which should be Saturday, April 11 against Perry Lakes. “It’s not the first time we’ve had to deal with something like this,” he said. “We just hope everything works out OK. They’re preparing for the worst, so hopefully that doesn’t happen. “We look forward to whenever that first home game will be, if it is against Perry lakes, or if it is rescheduled to play the Senators at another time.” Local basketball has also been impacted, with Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association postponing Thursday night’s junior basketball grand finals, aiming to reschedule for Wednesday, April 1. “After careful consideration and in consultation with relevant government departments, we have made the decision to postpone tonight’s grand finals,” the social media post said. “The safety and wellbeing of all players, officials and spectators is our top priority. Factors influencing this decision include travel conditions for those coming from near and far, current court and stadium conditions, and the Act and Prepare warning in place for Geraldton and surrounds. “We understand this may be disappointing and we appreciate your understanding and support as we prioritise the safety of our entire community.” Also on Saturday and Sunday, the Frothin’ Fools Gero Grom Festival has been postponed to May 16-17 and outside of cyclone season to avoid other cancellations. Organisers made the call on Tuesday based on the forecast, allowing participants travelling to the Mid West for the event time to put contingency plans in place. An almost sold out event, past entries for this weekend’s events will be honoured for the rescheduled event. Those unable to make the new date are eligible for refunds. Geraldton Netball Association has also been hit, with its junior grading round-robin carnival scheduled for Saturday postponed. The committee has been monitoring the situation since at least Tuesday, before announcing the decision to cancel on Thursday morning via social media post. “This decision has been made with careful consideration of the current weather conditions and associated risks,” the post said. “It is disappointing to have to cancel, especially given how successful and valuable the round robin was for our junior teams last year. However, the safety of our members and staff must remain our priority.” With a race meet scheduled for Sunday, the Geraldton Turf Club announced via social media post it would finalise its decision to postpone or not by 5pm Thursday. “Any major decisions to postpone or cancel a race day is ultimately made with the safety of horses, racing participants and employees in the forefront of our minds,” a spokesperson said. “As it stands some decisions couldn’t wait, as such, we will not have live music this weekend.” Other local sporting events, ranging from Thursday to Sunday have also been impacted by Narelle including the Geraldton Tennis Centre’s Men’s Blue Day tournament and Geraldton Hockey Association’ primary school carnival. Other rounds of local sport have been cancelled or postponed, including the final weekend of the junior girls footy program on Saturday morning, the Geraldton Junior Soccer Association’s School 7-aside competition and various clubs and awards nights. For more information regarding your sporting association or teams, please check their social media channels.