With a couple of new and returning faces in the Bathurst squad this season it makes the resumption of training all the more exciting for City, who in 2019 missed finals for the first time since the club's formation in 2007.

Another returning face is former title winning coach Jill Long, on board to mentor the team in their 11-week 2020 campaign which gets underway on July 18.

Long said the lengthy process to get back onto the Cooke Hockey Complex fields is bound to make Wednesday's first session back all the more satisfying.

"The association sent a safety plan to NSW that had to be accepted, which has been completed. That application then went to the Bathurst Regional Council for permission to open the complex, and that has been granted," she said.

"Then the clubs had to send an individual club checklist through to NSW on hockey they'll go about doing everything, and ours at Kelso has been accepted so we can commence training.

"We've still got to maintain measures at training. We can't tackle and we've got to keep that 1.5 metre distance from each other. We're still able to do passing, hit the ball but just not the individual tackling.

"It's just going to be so good for our girls to have a hockey stick in their hands again."

The first step towards a positive season is good discipline, and Long said that begins with adherence to the COVID-19 rules in place.

"We need to have individual checklists and forms signed. An attendance form is needed for every player and they can't take gear they don't need inside," she said.

"We need to run under the plan perfectly and have our COVID-19 officers there for training."

Long said it's the youth of the club leading the drive to get back onto the fields and build up the motivation for the season to come.

"You've got an element of both [opinions on playing] but the younger players are especially excited," she said.

"Bathurst City itself are excited. Our girls, since the restriction reductions have happened, have been back at the gym. They've been working on their fitness and stuck into training.

"They're excited to have to chance of playing just some sort of competition this year."

City will open their season with an exciting derby clash against Souths.

Souths ended their five year winless run against Bathurst City last season before the two sides drew in their next encounter.