New Zealand's top netballers have taken a month-long 20% pay cut which will be reviewed early in May.
The pay cut applies to the retainers for all Silver Ferns and ANZ premiership players and is backdated from the 10th April and goes through to the 7th of May.
Netball NZ high-performance manager Keir Hansen says the sport along with all other sports and businesses were "feeling the effects of COVID-19 and while this salary freeze for anyone is challenging this will go a long way in helping secure the ongoing viability of teams.
Hansen says any decision about ongoing pay cuts would be made in consultation with the Netball Players Association.
He says the cut was comparable to what Netball New Zealand staff have taken.
Meanwhile, Netball Players Association representative Steph Bond says the country's elite players were fully aware of the current landscape and had been extremely supportive of sustaining the future of the sport.
He says Players understand that they play an important role in ensuring the long-term future of the sport including its financial viability.
She adds We remain committed to working with stakeholders to ensure our sport survives and getting back to the court when the opportunity presents itself.
Hansen said Netball New Zealand was working on a number of possible competition scenarios when the all-clear was given to resume and believed it would taken players four to six weeks to get back to match fitness once out of lockdown.
[Source: RNZ]
