And all up, Bathurst High has won the Astley Cup 26 titles, the second most wins on record.

But only once in the competitions 96-year history has the school managed to win three consecutive titles.

Come Thursday, Bathurst will kick-start its quest to replicate the 1962 to 1964 team when it travels to Dubbo in the first tie of the 2019 Astley Cup.

Students from Bathurst, Dubbo College and Orange High will face each other across three ties across a three week span in eight different events - in boys' soccer, girls' soccer, girls' hockey, girls' netball, boys' basketball, boys' rugby league, mixed athletics and mixed netball.

This year will see a host of Bathurst students compete in the Astley Cup for the first time and for some, it'll be the last time they play in this iconic competition.

One sport Bathurst will be keen to win is rugby league, after they lost in dramatic fashion to Dubbo in 2018.

It's something Nathan Ward remembers well.

"Yeah that last minute loss really hurt us," he said.

"I've played rep footy with some of the Dubbo blokes and they're good guys but I hope we get one over them this team.

"The rivalry we have with Dubbo is pretty strong. There was almost a fight last time.

"I think Dubbo will have the same team from last year. It'll be tough but we've got the team to do it this time."

And while this year will be Ward's second year competing in the Astley Cup, Sienna Whalan is set to take on the challenge of the iconic cup in her first year at Bathurst High.

The year seven student be competing in both hockey and athletics.

"I think we'll go well [in the hockey]," she said.

"I've learnt a lot and the other players having been telling me it's going to be a great experience."

Whalan is a Souths Hockey Club junior but the former Eglinton Public School student will taking on the 800 metres in athletics.

Callum Goldfinch will be returning in 2019 to compete in the boys' soccer team again.

He's one of 10 returning players, including captain Alec Smith, Zen Clark, Max Currie, Charlton Lew, Bryn White, Angus Yeoman, Dylan Williams and Sam and Zach Parker.

"We're a strong team this year and we'll have a few surprises for Dubbo," he said.

"We;ve got a lot of young ones in this team, which will help for this year's Astley Cup and in the future."

When asked on the rivalry of the Astley Cup, Goldfinch, a Bathurst '75 junior, said while the competition is healthy between Bathurst and Dubbo, he said the rivalry is stronger between his school and Orange.

"They're more local to us and we know a few more of their players," he said.

Teams will compete for 800 points per tie, with 100 points available for each sport.

Points are awarded by a percentage of the scoreline. For example, if Bathurst were to beat Dubbo 12-6 in the rugby league, Bathurst would be awarded 67 points (12 divided by the total scored of 18, times by 100 and rounded up).

In the case of a 1-0 win, each team is awarded one score each.