The best athletes in the bush, ranging from under-9s right through to over 70s, will converge on Dubbo for three days of competition from Friday afternoon.

“The (Dubbo Regional) council made a big investment in Barden Park and it is a fantastic facility,” Tweed said.

“I can say honestly, outside of Sydney Olympic Park, I don’t think there’s a better athletics facility in NSW.

“For people (in Dubbo) who might not get that context, it legitimately is a fantastic facility.”

Hundreds of athletes will compete this weekend, while high-profile competitors Jane Fardell, Dubbo’s World Championship runner, and Alectown Olympian Scott Westcott, will also be in attendance.

It also marks the first time the Country Championships have been held west of the Blue Mountains, something Tweed hopes can help the event “kick on”.

“One of the slogans we have here is that we want to ‘put the NSW in Athletics NSW’, we can’t just be Sydney-focused,” he said.

“This is a really big part of that.”

Tweed added he was pleased with the registrations and added the junior events would be particularly exciting to watch, as the stars of tomorrow are often on show in these competitions.

Tweed pointed to Patrick Johnson, Australia’a fastest man over 100m, as an example of finding talent in regional and remote areas. Johnson grew up on a fishing trawler and was 24 before running the 100m in spikes for the first time and producing a time of 10.47.

“If you’re a good runner from Cobar you might have no idea just how good you are,” he said. “A lot of this is about encouraging people and letting people know just how good they are.”

Tweed added Dubbo Regional Council deserved praise for helping set up the event, which starts from 4pm on Friday at Barden Park.