THE postponement of the Sawtell Super Fun Day has been met with resigned, positive community feedback, Keith Bensley, Chairperson of the event, told News Of The Area.

“The hard part was actually making the decision but once we’d made it and put it out there we got nothing but positive feedback, from the community and our sponsors,” Keith said.

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One of the major highlights of the Sawtell Super Fun Day is the awarding of Sawtellian and Young Sawtellians of the Year, presented to two locals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the community of Sawtell in 2021.

“Nominations were finalised in early December, the winners determined, and the trophies have been engraved.

“These awards were scheduled to be presented at midday by Gurmesh Singh.

“The postponement of the Fun Day only means the presentation will not be traditionally on New Year’s Day, but the organising committee will be working hard in the coming days to find a suitable date and venue for the awards to be presented as soon as possible.”

It was Wednesday 29 December’s announcement of 11,200 COVID infections in NSW, that had the local community expressing their concern for the risk presented by the annual Sawtell Super Fun Day comprising the Fun Run, Street Parade and Entertainment at the Village Green.

“Concerns raised included: the unavoidable close proximity of Fun Run competitors; the risk of spectators of the Street Parade congregating in close proximity and the entertainment on the Village Green, which is focused on families with young children, many being under the age for vaccination,” he said.

“Considering these concerns and recognising the probability of higher infection rates between then and the Saturday (1 January) event, the organising committee reluctantly decided it was socially responsible to postpone the Fun Day to a date to be decided.

“The organising committee appreciates the generosity of the local business who make the Fun Day possible through their sponsorship and unfortunately with the postponement, we will not be able to recognise them as we planned.

“We will be in touch with each sponsor to see how best we can move forward to the next Fun Day whenever it may be.

“The timing will depend on the community’s feelings on COVID and when it becomes comfortable with large outdoor events, particularly involving pre-vaccination age children.

“We are highly conscious of the time, effort and money put in by many in preparation for this event.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but the health and safety of the community has to be our priority.

“We appreciate the community support for the Fun Day, we trust everyone understands our difficulty in making this decision and hope we can count on support for the next Sawtell Super Fun Day.”

Keith and the committee welcome community feedback to sawtellfunday@gmail.com.

By Andrea FERRARI