A COLLECTIVE exhaling of relief is how Bendigo Amateur Soccer League president Aaron Shooter describes the return of junior players to the field.

In what is the BASL's 50^th anniversary season, what is supposed to be a year of celebration has instead been shrouded in uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

But just shy of four months since the 2020 season was first put on hold, both the BASL's competitive and non-competitive juniors are now back playing.

The non-competitive juniors (under-6 to 10s) returned on Saturday in cold and wet July conditions, while the under-12s-16s took to the field for the first time the previous week.

"It was such a huge relief to see our juniors out there playing and a great moment to be able to breathe out," Shooter said at the weekend.

"We felt like we'd been holding our breath for months, so it was great to be able to see the kids out there doing what they enjoy.

"I know through my own daughter how much worry the kids have carried through this, but they were able to just go out and play and be in the moment."

While the BASL junior seasons are now up and running, the prospects of a senior competition have hit a setback following Friday's announcement by the state government that the resumption of full-contact sport training and competition for people aged 19 and over in regional Victoria has been halted.

Prior to Friday's announcement senior teams had been preparing for the resumption of full-contact training from Monday and the BASL was gearing itself up for the start of its senior season on Sunday, July 26.

But once again, the BASL is facing the uncertainty of can a senior season start and if so, when?

"We're waiting to hear from Football Victoria regarding the announcement on Friday. It obviously makes the senior season a challenge now and would put some heavy pressure on in terms of what's possible," Shooter said.

"We'll reach out to the clubs and get some feedback on how they are all feeling and look to make some decisions based on that."

Football Victoria has indicated it will provide an update on the status of competitions early this week.

The latest setback is the second time this year the BASL's senior season has had doubt cast over it with its start date just around the corner.

On May 19 BASL announced the postponement of its season that was slated to have its first senior games played only 10 days later on Sunday, March 29.

The BASL announcement followed the direction of Football Federation Australia that all sanctioned community football and training be suspended until, initially, mid-April.

"At that point we were motoring towards the start of competition and it was full steam ahead, but then it was a case of rip the handbrake on and work out what we were going to do and then it has been an evolution of that message since," Shooter said.

"Football Victoria had kept fairly positive about what the return to football might look like and that has evolved throughout based on state government, Sport and Recreation Victoria and FFA information.

"Throughout all this we've been constantly awaiting for guidance because we operate under the umbrella of Football Victoria and FFA.

"From an insurance perspective, all the things that happen down here on our grounds at some level are governed by those agreements, so if you step outside those you're essentially leaving yourself liable for what could happen."

For Shooter, the most difficult aspect of trying to navigate the BASL through the COVID-19 shutdown of the season has been much of the control being out of the league's hands and instead being reliant on information from the government, health authorities, Football Victoria and Football Federation Australia regarding return to training and competition dates at junior and senior level and the strict protocols that must be adhered to.

"As the COVID-19 protocols have changed we've gained different abilities along the way in regards to training and seasons starting, but the hard part has been having so much of it out of your control," said Shooter, who is also the president of the Castlemaine Goldfields club.

"One of my skill sets is problem solving, which normally takes a set of tools where you will look at a problem and say, 'okay, what tools have I got for this problem?'

"But essentially, the tool bag was empty for this and we were waiting for somebody to hand us a tool and say, 'this is how you use it'.

"And there wasn't a lot of flexibility to use that tool; it had to be very rigid and structured.

"It has been hard not to communicate as much as you'd like with the broader football community about what's going on because for a lot of this, we haven't known the answers.

"We understand that for volunteers of clubs being on the end of that 'I don't know' answer is frustrating, but it's just as frustrating for us to have to give it, so that has been tough."

Should a BASL senior season in some capacity still manage to get a start, it will essentially be the BASL of old given the newest additions of Tatura, Shepparton, Shepparton South and Shepparton United, which joined the competition in 2017, have all withdrawn.

And the closure last week of the New South Wales/Victoria border has forced Moama-Echuca Border to pull out as well.

"If we start it will be a season where the outcomes are much less important than the social elements it provides and the chance to be part of a community," Shooter said.

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