AME ON: John Shillingsworth plays the ball during the 2011-12 City of Orange Touch Association season. Photo: JUDE KEOGH 0306touch8
THE City of Orange Touch Association senior competitions have reached their capacity.
Almost 150 teams will play in the senior competition with the season starting this week.
COTA president Kevin French said the committee was ready for a bumper season.
“We’ve got a good set up this season. We’re very happy,” French said.
“We have more numbers in the mixed comp. I think it’s more families.”
In fact, the senior competitions are so popular, they can’t fit any more teams in.
“We’re full to the eyeballs,” French said.
“We’ve had to turn teams away. We didn’t want to have games starting at 10pm.”
There are 64 teams entered in the mixed competition while 52 sides will line up in the eight men’s divisions and a further 29 in the four women’s grades.
With so many people wanting to play touch football, the committee must be doing something right, but French said they are always trying to improve things.
Right now, they’re working on getting information out sooner.
“We’re looking to get the draws out for the first five weeks and then the draw for the rest of the season,” French explained.
“We have a lot of information going up on our Facebook page and our website.
“We’re trying to get our duty refs organised early so they can have a few weeks’ notice. That will take a lot of work but we’re working on that.”
The junior competitions have already started on Wednesday afternoons and will this week play their third round.
Plus representative trials are also underway for those looking to add to their commitments.
The COTA mixed competitions will start tonight and the men’s and women’s open divisions start on Thursday.
Games are played at the Orange Ex-Services’ Country Club from 5.50pm on both days.