ONGOING health and safety risks associated with the pandemic have forced another two key events to change their plans for 2020.
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Bendigo's Biggest Ever Blokes Lunch organisers and the Bendigo Sports Star awards committee have both confirmed changes to their plans, brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak.
BEBL committee chair Neil Macdonald said while it was disappointing to have to step away from plans for this year's fundraiser, the health and wellbeing of the community was of paramount concern.
"Our committee has raised more than $700,000 in the past decade in support of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and local support groups and that's an achievement we are all very proud of.
"But given the ongoing risks to health and safety posed by the coronavirus, and the necessary protocols event organisers would need to adhere to, we feel it's appropriate to hit the pause button for 2020, and instead hope as a community we can do whatever it takes to put this pandemic behind us, and we hope to return in 2021 with our biggest and most successful Blokes Lunch yet."
Mr Macdonald said the Blokes Lunch committee remained extremely grateful to its many long-standing sponsors and supporters who have back the prostate cancer fundraiser since 2010, and he looked forward to a resumption in fundraising and celebrations in 2021.
Bendigo Sports Star Awards committee chairman Michael McKern said his committee had also reluctantly opted to postpone considerations for a 2020 Sports Star award winner, a decision that reflects the changes forced upon most sporting codes and associations since the pandemic broke out in March.
"We've decided to merge any monthly winners for this year into 2021 for consideration as our Sports Star of the Year at the scheduled gala dinner planned for early 2022.
"We also don't want to allow any of our athletes who do manage to compete and who achieve something worthy of a nomination during this period, but there will be no Sports Star gala dinner or winner announced early in 2021."
The Bendigo Sports Star awards are regional Australia's longest running community awards program, and were launched in the studios of the then BCV-8 Television, more than 55 years ago.
Lawn bowler Lee Schraner and water skier Will Kelly were named joint winners of the Peak Bendigo Sports Star of the Year back in late February.
Previous winners of the prestigious award include cyclists Frank McCaig, Robert Burns, Brent McCaig and Glenn O'Shea, America Cup winning yachtsman Glenn Ashby, lawn bowler Aaron Wilson, basketball legend Kristi Harrower and netball supremo Sharelle McMahon.
For more details on the Bendigo Sports Star awards, visit www.sportsstar.com
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