Nelson Weekly
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wednesday 16 February 2022
Purple Poppy Day honours animals
Gray geared up
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Mandate sidelines footballers Jonty Dine
Local football clubs are grappling with a recent order from up high that all players will have to be vaccinated if they want to participate in the sport. Football clubs across the region will be forced to test their depth
with a number of players unable to play this season due to a vaccination mandate. New Zealand Football has confirmed all football and futsal competitions will operate as My Vaccine Pass gatherings for players over the age of 12. Motueka AFC says it will with-
draw its four senior sides from the Nelson competition if the mandate is not lifted. President Olivier David says they don’t want to close the doors on any players. “We don’t want to tell any of our players that they can’t play.” The decision has not been final-
ised as the club is consulting with its community and awaiting correspondence from New Zealand Football. “If the vaccine pass gets taken out of the situation, we would be happy to come back.” Olivier says it was an incredibly difficult call to make, but their
priority is to offer sport to everyone. “Our community’s mental wellbeing and everyone’s medical situations have been taken into account. We don’t want to force anyone to do anything. It is a
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Marchfest an empty drop Nelson’s top craft beer festival Marchfest has been cancelled for the first time since its inception 15 years ago. “This was a heart-breaking decision to have to make, especially as this is a long running festival and a highlight of the Nelson/Tasman events calendar, in the 15 years Marchfest has been running, this is the first time we have had to cancel,” Festival dircetor Lea Muirden says. She says advance ticket sales for the festival indicated that people were excited to get together and celebrate NZ Craft Beer, but the ongoing uncertainty of the red light setting made it difficult to plan. “With the festival being so close and the uncertainty around when large festivals can happen, it makes it difficult to plan ahead to ensure there is no further impact for our event, our breweries, Marchfest co-owner shelley Haring says it’s been disappointing to have to cancel Marchfest. Photo: Sara Hollyman.
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