BATHURST District Football could still see as many as 18 rounds of action this season but that will all depend on when the association is given the green light to start their competitions.
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The BDF committee have been busy piecing together draws across all grades, which have been constructed assuming COVID-19 restrictions from the NSW government will lift in time for a July start - in line with other winter sports currently on hold.
In a recent email sent out to all clubs BDF stated that there will "definitely" be a 2020 season of football in some capacity, aiming for between 14 to 18 rounds of play.
Reaching that maximum number of rounds is depending on how quickly grassroots events can resume in NSW and if the season risks clashing with summer sports.
Bathurst District Football president Andrew Speed said the association would be happy to push the season back from its originally proposed end date to help deliver more games to players.
"It all depends of course on when we can start but we want to give our players as much football as we can. We're doing everything we can within the rules that we've been given, and hopefully we'll be able to fit everything in before cricket starts," he said.
"If we can get a start in early July then we'll get nearly two full rounds of play [where each team plays each other twice] in most of our grades."
Training is still barred under current government guidelines.
The latest round of eased government restrictions taking effect this Friday did not make mention of sport, and Football NSW confirmed in a Monday statement that they're awaiting further directives which they can pass on to local associations.
"The Office of Sport has been working closely with government agencies to provide guidelines and principles for sporting organisations to recommence activity in a safe manner, in adherence with the revised Public Health Orders," the statement read.READ MORE: Story headline here
It wasn't long ago that Bathurst District Football, any many other associations across the state, weren't sure if any games would be taking place in 2020.
Knowing that, Speed said the current situation is one worth feeling very positive about.
"A month ago we didn't know if we were going to be able to play football at all, so to get nearly a full competition in would be great," he said.
"Our numbers were probably up slightly on the year before. There may be a few team changes now after all of this but we'll just have to wait and see.
"I don't think there will be competitions between the districts this year. Most associations are keen to play their own comps and want to get as many games in their own areas as possible. That might all change while we wait on advice from Football NSW."
As soon as the green light is given, clubs may not have to wait long for a draw to reach them.
"We have the grades for the original season. We've approached clubs to see if their numbers have changed but we've got draws ready to go fairly quickly," he said.
At this stage Western Premier League is also looking at still running their return season this year.