A MAJOR revamp is coming to Central West Premier League Hockey Men's in 2024, as the competition welcomes a new team to its ranks.
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Five teams will participate in the 2024 season, with reigning champions St Pat's, Orange Wanderers, Lithgow Storm and Parkes United all returning, alongside the re-launched Dubbo Lions.
Dubbo last had a presence in Premier League Hockey back in 2016, folding at the end of the season due to a lack of numbers.
Premier League Hockey president Andrew Kelly welcomed the return of Dubbo, while saying the competition will undergo significant changes.
"We've actually changed the format of the men's comp, to try some different," he said.
"Essentially what the men are doing is playing once every three weeks. I've been told this format was done back in the 90s.
"They'll double-headers on the same day. It's more of a carnival style, so it's a bit more of an event, when it's in your local area.
"You'll actually get more games of men's hockey in one venue on the same day."
Change will support local associations
KELLY said Premier League Hockey has been competing with competitions in Sydney, Canberra and Newcastle for players, as well as the pressures of everyday life including work, travel and family.
With the revamped format, Kelly said players can still play in other leagues and even local competitions in Bathurst, Lithgow or Parkes, as well as Premier League Hockey.
"The idea of this will allow for players, who are also playing in those competitions, to still play locally," he said.
"It also allows players, who might be in mining that have a swing roster, to play more often and not miss a few games.
"We're also the largest geographical regional competition in NSW Hockey. There's 300 km between Lithgow and Dubbo or Parkes. No other competition does that amount of travel for hockey.
"So it's combating that and it's shown already, it's bringing more guys in.
"We're hoping it will also support the local associations as well, because it means players will be needing to get their regular hockey from their local competitions and we're not competing with the local competition for players."
Women's competition loses a team
IN terms of the women's competition - which has been far stronger than the men's in recent years - there'll be six teams competing in the 2024 season.
That's one team less than last year, as grand finalists Parkes United withdrew due to a lack of numbers according to Kelly.
He said it was "unfortunate" to lose Parkes, but was hopeful they could make a return in the future.
The six teams for this year includes three from Bathurst - Souths, Bathurst City and St Pat's - Orange CYMS, Orange United and reigning premiers Lithgow Panthers.
The women will get underway on Saturday, May 4, with a Bathurst triple header at the Cooke Hockey Complex, with Souths playing CYMS at 12.20pm, St Pat's facing United at 1.50pm and City hosting Panthers from 3.20pm.
