Southland's annual rodeos have been postponed or cancelled due to uncertainties surrounding COVID.

Mataura and Southland rodeos are currently postponed while Te Anau's December rodeo has been cancelled.

Mataura Rodeo's secretary Alyce Perkins said that with "no idea how the traffic light system will work" the club had delayed their February rodeo in order to "take the pressure off".

The club would be holding a meeting in a couple of weeks and Perkins was adamant the rodeo would run "in some fashion", with a likely date being late March or April.

Southland Rodeo Association president Kieran Duthie admitted his club was "sitting on the fence" but would also be holding a meeting in a couple of weeks.

He said he personally didn't think the event should go ahead, citing costs and uncertainties about was going to happen next, and whether people would still come.

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However he acknowledged some club members still wanted to go ahead and that the club would be watching what Mataura decided before making its own decision.

He said there was a greater likelihood Canterbury competitors would come down if they were able to attend more than one rodeo.

Te Anau Rodeo secretary Peter Dolamore said the club had hoped to defer a decision until the end of the month, but because of the current uncertainly surrounding COVID, they felt it was better to err on the side of caution and cancel the December event now.

Dolamore said the club would not lose too much by cancelling [early], but did lament the financial impact the event's cancellation would have on Te Anau businesses and service groups.

Due to COVID restrictions, no rodeos have yet been held in New Zealand this year.