But now the experienced sports administrator finds himself as one of the few people to have been presented with a New South Wales Touch Association Distinguished Service Award for being involved with the sport in Bathurst for a quarter of a century.

He received the award for his service at the annual Blues Dinner at Bankstown.

“This was their 50^th year and I think last year was the first time that they had this award and six were given out, so there ain’t too many floating around,” Lewis said.

“Twenty-five years service, that’s half the life time of the sport if it’s been around for 50 years.”

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Lewis said his involvement in the sport began thanks to a man with even more years of service to touch football in Bathurst than himself.

“Bloody David Weekes,” Lewis laughed. “The accountant who was doing the books at the basketball stadium were I worked was a guy called Geoff Finall, who was a partner with David Weekes. So I was up and down to the office all the time … I was in there three or four times a week.

“David said to me one day ‘Do you have anything to do with touch football?’ and I said ‘Nope, and don’t want to thanks’.

“But he asked me if I was a sports administrator and I told him yes, so he said, ‘Look we paid our administrator for the third time last year, but he’s not coming back again. Do you want to come and help us?’

“So I said that I’d come and have a look and that was 25 years ago.”

Lewis said it was the likes of Weekes – who is treasurer - and current president Stuart Graham that have kept him involved in the sport.

He has also enjoyed seeing the popularity of touch in Bathurst increase over the years to the point where he has two packed evenings of action for this season.

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“I’ve seen it grow – the numbers have grown, the standard has grown and we’ve got juniors now too, we’ve got 80-odd junior sides,” Lewis said.

“Last count, I’m pulling my hair out, I have 158 sides which is 20 sides up on last year and I’m now knocking teams back.

“I only really have room on Wednesday now, I can’t fit another game in of a Monday night. It’s a cheap sport compared to others, it’s a half hour, you come and you play and then you can go. There are no duties, no nothing, you can just come and play.”

The new competition will start on October 29, with Lewis still having some room left in the Wednesday mixed, Wednesday men’s and over 30s men’s divisions.