With Proctor Park out of action, Police Paddock was pack to the rafters to accommodate for the Bathurst Cup on Saturday and Sunday.
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How packed was it?
Well a record number 49 teams participated in the now four-year-old pre-season football tournament, with teams from National Premier Leagues 2, Association Youth League and Capital Football competing.
As well, association representative teams including Bathurst District Football and association club teams including Bathurst ’75 took part in the competition.
Teams varied from under 13s to under 16s in age and while no Bathurst-based team managed to qualify for a grand final all the age groups, the weekend was hugely successful.
Western NSW Football coach and development manager Andrew Fearnley the record turnout was great to see.
“It’s a shame that with the redevelopment of Proctor Park that we we’t able to use the three main fields but credit to [Bathurst Regional] Council and [Bathurst District Football] to provide the fields to run the tournament successfully,” he said.
“Everyone used [the Bathurst Cup] for different purposes, with a range of competitive teams from NPL NSW and Canberra. You’ve also got association clubs from NSW who want to play for experience and play teams that wouldn’t normally play against.
“There’s a good range of reasons why teams were here but overall, they all played a good number of games and had a good experience.”
For many of the players, the experienced the full force of nature’s seasons.
Saturday brought warm weather and, in typical Bathurst seasonal conditions, teams were met with a sharp change on Sunday, with rain and lower temperatures.
In under 16s, it was a strong Sutherland Shire Football Association that accounted for neighbours Football South Coast in the grand final, walking away with a 2-0 win in the rain.
Football South Coast had no luck in the under 15s grand final as well, losing 3-1 in fast-paced match against Macarthur Football Association.
Both under 15s and 16s were played out by Association Youth League clubs, proving that this year’s edition of the competition will be quite competitive.
Camden Tigers were crowned under 14s champions, after defeating Gladesville-Hornsby Football Association in the grand final.
Sutherland Shire Football Association claimed the under 13s title, after a pulsating grand final against Weston Workers, from Capital Football, which was won on penalties.
The under 13s and under 16s Western NSW Mariners FC both qualified for the play-off round but failed to progress to the semi-finals stage of the competition.