Over 13 divisions and 100 players arrive on the courts at 8:30am on Saturday for two days of play. As the oldest Masters competition in the NSW calendar, the event has become a popular destination in April every year for players.

Bathurst top division player and tournament organiser Dave Fuller says there’s some of the country’s best players on show this weekend.

“Jeff Bond will be coming back. He hasn’t played too many Masters, he usually plays in open competitions. He’s the Australian over 35 champion from last year in Canberra. He hopes to be chosen for the Trans-Tasman team ... so he’s got some big goals,” he said.

“Tony Whackett will be the number two seed, he won the over 45s. A local from days gone by in Kevin Geyer, he’s coming back to play from Penrith.”

Four-time Bathurst Open champion and last year’s Bathurst Masters winner Bond will be the man to beat, back in town after missing out on adding another Open to his name when he was unable to attend.

Mick Bayley, Gary Piggott and Fuller  make up a high quality division one.

There’s variety to be found in the competition through both format and the match locations.

Blayney and Wallerawang will be hosting matches across the weekend due the number of entrants, with Wallerawang believed to be hosting their first competition in almost a decade. Since divisions will carry between four to eight players, both knockout and round robin formats will be used.

The tournament acts as a good practice opportunity for those players aiming to compete in the Masters National Championships being held in Bathurst this September.

Fuller says the Bathurst Masters is a tournament that is continually well supported from not just players in the region, but across the state.

“We’re well supported from areas like Canberra, Wollongong, Gosford, Newcastle and Sydney. They’re all well represented because the competition is part of a circuit that build up to state titles in June,” he said.

“There’s really good local support, too, all the way through the divisions from Bathurst players. They’re also really excited about bringing the Australian titles to Bathurst.”

Fuller says there’s some Bathurst talent in the higher divisions who could make an impression.

“In division two there’s Andrew Kelly and Dave Claypole. That division is pretty tight, you could put a blanket over those guys. In division three we’ve got Mick Schultz and Mark Burns,” he said.

“Andrew Kelly is playing very well, he’s got a very good chance of winning that division. He’s coming into the tournament with some good form. He’s got the added responsibility of organising the play at Blayney too, so he’s got a bit of work to do.”