Women's Western Rural League set to return after COVID-19 cancellation

But now the Women's Western Rural League (WWRL) is returning and there's a lot to look forward to with one small town joining the charge.

"We should have a four-team tournament which is fantastic," Orange Eagles Basketball president Craig Harvey said.

"Bathurst are hopeful, we're looking OK, Dubbo are in and Gilgandra as well which is amazing."

In its infancy last year, the WWRL had teams from Lithgow, Orange, Dubbo and Bathurst with one round of games played before COVID cancelled the competition. Orange defeated Dubbo 54-49 in their match while Bathurst won against Lithgow. The next fixture was set to be between the Eagles and Bathurst.

"We had some fantastic crowds ... (and) it was set up for a good battle but unfortunately we got locked down and Orange wasn't allowed to leave Orange," Harvey recalled.

It was an unfortunate scenario for Harvey and the four sides who had put in plenty of work to get the competition up and running.

However, its return brings a lot of positivity and the goal is still the same.

"Coming up through my coaching ranks and having daughters, we realised for the men there was a pathway program (but not so much women)," Harvey said.

"We always seem to struggle to keep women in sport particularly in that 16 and above age group so we thought we need to do something for the women. They won't commit to a full 20-week senior program like we do with under 23s so I sat down and called on my involvement with other sports. I've been a netball squad manager for many years with Orange and Western Regional Academy of Sport and the regional league netball they have is something I thought would work."

"Instead of a round robin I thought we'd have one game per week, two locations, and then do that on Saturday night and have all the bells and whistles we have with our under 23s program.

"It's about designing a program that fits their bill and makes them feel included and gets them out of the house for a while and play a sport they love."

The Orange Eagles are calling on expressions of interest from players 16 years and over who would like to join the squad. If interested, email craigharvey11@bigpond.com.