JULY 4 - that is when Bathurst District Football president Andrew Speed is aiming for some 1,500 juniors to kick off season 2020.
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On Tuesday the state government announced community sport for those aged 18 years and under would be permitted as of July 1.
Give the season has already been reduced due to the coronavirus shutdown, Speed's point of view is the sooner BDF junior competitions can start, the better.
"If we can get the kids - well everybody - back to playing football it would be great. We'll work with the rules to get as many people on the park as we can and get as many games in as we can," he said.
"The earlier we can start, obviously the more rounds we can get in and the more games can be played. July 1st is around when school holidays start, but most clubs we've talked to are keen and maybe not as many people will go away for holidays this year.
"But I would think we'll try to start right at the start of July if we can. We'll talk to the clubs, but the BDF view is the earlier we start, the more games we get in which is what we'd like."
Speed admits he would have liked to see a date set for a senior community sport return on Tuesday as well, but he knows the green light for juniors is a positive.
And, as he points out, BDF competitions involve a lot of juniors.
"It's great that we've got a date for the kids so we can plan and start our season," Speed said.
"Obviously we are still waiting for an announcement for when we can start close-contact training, but at least we have got a date so we can start making plans.
"We have got, off last year's numbers, around 900 kids playing in our non-competitive age groups from under 6s through to under 11s and then from under 12s to under 17s, we've got 600 kids.
"The first group is under 6s, but five-year-olds can play, if you turn five that year you can play. I'm not sure how many junior teams we'd have all up, but it's a lot.
"So we are the biggest junior sport in Bathurst I would think."
Unlike some sporting competitions which rely on gate takings to be viable, BDF does not charge an admission fee.
As such, Speed said competitions can go ahead even if spectators are not permitted.
However, there will still be some game day changes for season 2020.
"It's more about the sport than making money for us, we love our football. So as long as we have people playing, we don't need the crowds," Speed said.
"We are not going to have the canteen this year, so we'll struggle a little bit financially, but we'll get through.
"The guidelines at the moment, we won't be opening the canteen or the change rooms, but all the toilet blocks will be open obviously.
"We've got a COVID officer in place, there'll be extra cleaning ... the clubhouse will be open with restricted access and we'll probably do the coffee too.
"So we will talk to the clubs and work out the best way to go forward from there, we will need to see what everybody wants."
For now players of all ages can train in groups of up to 10, but they must adhere to social distancing guidelines. Football NSW is encouraging all clubs to do so to prepare for the season start.
