Parents Furious After Netball Association “Forced” Their Daughters to Play In Dangerous Storms

Parents were outraged after the Wanneroo Districts Netball Association forced their daughters to play under extreme conditions or be slapped with a fine.

Parents have slammed the Wanneroo Districts Netball Association, claiming that the association threatened their kids with a $250 fine if they pulled their nine-year-old daughters off the court who were forced to play in dangerous conditions including rain and winds reported to be over 100km/h.

WA Today reported that in a Facebook post over the weekend, which has since been removed, the Wanneroo Districts Netball Association told its followers that the remainder of the day’s games had been cancelled due to weather conditions and “abuse” directed towards their volunteers.

Despite this, angry parents hit back claiming both parents and coaches made “desperate” attempts to warn the association about the extreme condition. They said that their daughters were hysterical and cried after forcing them to play.

Among the hate comments that the association received include some parents claiming:

“Our girls on both teams were crying, sore and shattered and yet when we advised officials of this we were forced to continue playing or pay a $250 fine and were advised that it was a winter sport and our girls needed to toughen up,” a parent wrote.

“What l did see were parents voicing their concerns about their very emotional and soaked nine-year-olds being told that they had to complete their respective games or else risk receiving a $250 fine,” another parent said.

“Using a $250 fine as a threat in a context where players had already been standing in severe weather conditions for over an hour was unreasonable and incredibly insensitive,” another one wrote.

However, there were other parents who claimed that the girls did not experience abuse. They wrote:

“With all due respect, l saw no evidence of abuse,” one parent said.

My daughter played in torrential rain and wind at 9:45am today and she was fine, along with all the soaked parents and broken umbrellas, haha,” another parent wrote.

“It gives us great memories to look back on. It’s not going to kill. It’s a winter sport. We had the best day and thoroughly enjoyed showers and hot drinks when we got home,” another said.

WA Today also reported that the association’s board plans to discuss its wet weather policy with club delegates during its next meeting.

“As per our policies and procedures manual… no points shall be rewarded to any team as the round was cancelled.

“We would like to acknowledge and thank those teams/clubs that did make the effort and followed the policies and procedures. WDNA would also like to sincerely thank those that took the time to show/send their support to us as an association,” the board said.

However, in a statement issued later, the association’s board said they would not be issuing fines for Saturday’s games.

Yahoo7 has contacted the Wanneroo Districts Netball Association for comment.

Source: Au.news.yahoo.com and Watoday.com.au