BATHURST High School was aiming for a four-peat, but instead it was Dubbo College students and staff celebrating Astley Cup glory for the first time in 10 years.
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The announcement was made on Thursday afternoon after snow and COVID had left the three schools involved in the time-honoured tournament in limbo in recent months.
One day of play between Orange High and Bathurst High was yet to be completed, after it was initially postponed due to snow earlier in the year.
But then COVID struck the western area and restrictions made travel and school sport impossible.
That meant Dubbo secured a first victory since 2011 by finishing on 827 points, while Orange was second with 822 and Bathurst finished with 751.
While the long-awaited win was incredibly special for the Dubbo's Astley Cup coordinator, Craig May, the manner of the victory meant the most.
COVID resulted in the cup competition being cancelled for just the fourth time since 1923 last year, so there was a sense of uncertainty around it at Dubbo in 2021 given only a handful of students had ever been involved before.
"This year was one of the years where we had to get people back involved and get that meaning out," May said after missing out last year.
"We had one of biggest (Astley Cup launch) assemblies in a number of years and we put a lot of time and effort in but so did the kids. They took ownership of it and it's a great result.
"It's just a shame we couldn't have had it a couple months ago and the kids could have celebrated it at school.
"But in these dark times it is a positive, especially for those year 12 kids who are having their last day of school tomorrow (Friday) and they've had all these COVID dramas."
Making this year even more special was Dubbo also won the Mulvey Cup debating contest in something of a rare double.
Despite the concerns about the students' connection to the cup, Dubbo College began its campaign in style by defeating Bathurst 449-351.
Dubbo won five of the eight sports on offer while also drawing the girls' soccer against Bathurst.
After a short turnaround Dubbo students made the trip to Orange and showed plenty of fight on the way to being beaten 421-379 overall.
"At the start of the year we only had four students who had been a part of Astley Cup and Kate Duffy who had come back (to Dubbo) from Bathurst High," May said.
"We were at a bit of crossroads about how it would go but the kids really took to it and came onboard.
"We had a great win against Bathurst and the draw did us no no favours and we had to go to Orange three days later. We put in a really good performance there and the Bathurst-Orange tie went back and forth but it couldn't be played."
The plan is to now celebrate the Astley Cup and Mulvey Cup wins whenever staff and students can get back to school together.
"To win both trophies is something special. It's very rare for Dubbo High or Dubbo College to win both in one year so it's a big thing," May added.
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
