A BUMPER afternoon of action is set to take place at Pioneer Park on Saturday as Dubbo Hockey Association holds its registration and come-and-try day.
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As well as the chance to sign up and test your skills, there will also be the opportunity to watch the best hockey players at Dubbo play against each other as well as a local celebrity match.
Mayor Mathew Dickerson and Dubbo MP and Deputy Premier Troy Grant will headline the local identities who will test the skills on the field while a host of other well-known locals are expected to take part.
That celebrity match will follow a friendly Super 9's match between Dubbo's two Premier League Hockey (PLH) sides, the women's Blue Jays and the reborn men's PLH side.
Former Dubbo player and representative star Samuel Mould will return to take part in the day. Australian representative Emma Corcoran will also play.
A number of coaches will be on hand to run drills and training exercises to help new players get a feel for the game.
Representatives from Hockey NSW will also be in attendance to help people register and answer any questions people have about the game.
Dubbo Hockey Association president Simon Callaghan expected it to be a busy afternoon and said it was the perfect chance for newcomers to the game to learn more.
"All the clubs from Dubbo should be there so there will probably be about five or six junior sides and six or seven senior sides," he said.
Callaghan urged anyone interested in picking up hockey or any retuning players to be at Pioneer Park on Saturday, with gates opening at 5pm.
Dubbo Hockey Association is always on the lookout for new members and Callaghan admitted the battle to retain juniors was the biggest challenge facing the club.
Any higher level matches are usually played outside Dubbo and most often representative carnivals are held at Sydney but despite the challenges Callaghan said hockey at Dubbo continued to punch above its weight.
"We need to increase local numbers and that's hard in all sports, some kids fall away and others just aren't interested," he said.
"It's a highly skilled game so I think that keeps some people away but increasing numbers is important so we're focusing on that.
"But we had Phoebe Bloink-Hollier just get selected in a state team last weekend so we have got the talent here we just don't have enough numbers."
The registration and come-and-try day starts from 5pm with a coaching and skills session.
The match between the two PLH teams will be played at 6pm and the celebrity match will follow that.
