Dubbo College to contest School of Origin in place of Astley Cup

It was confirmed last week the Astley Cup tri-school tournament would not be contested this year, with COVID-19 restrictions making travel between Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst and the staging of numerous events and different facilities far too difficult to achieve.

This year will be only the second since the 1920s where the cup hasn't been contested but Dubbo College students and teachers have put their heads together in the days since it was cancelled and have come up with a new competition to be played out this year.

READ ALSO:

- 'Everything possible' looked at but it's not the year for Astley Cup

- Dawson's top three comment raises some eyebrows in WPL

- Spang leads another rout but Macquarie's keeping a lid on title talk

A School of Origin series will be contested from next week, where year 12 students who progressed from south campus to the senior campus taking on those who came from anywhere else.

"It's something the kids can do. They came to me and we nutted out some ideas and it went back and forth but it should be good," Craig May, Dubbo College's Astley Cup coordinator, said.

"They're excited and it gives them something outside of the study. It's good for them. Hopefully it's a success.

"The kids have been really good and they came to me to put this together and we threw some ideas around."

The plan is to have year 11 students also take part in a School of Origin competition next term.

The competition will involve the eight Astley Cup events - boys and girls' soccer, hockey, rugby league, basketball, netball, tennis, and athletics - and will be scored in the same way as the long-running tournament.

The action starts next Tuesday with the rugby league and hockey and there has already been plenty of banter between the students at school and on social media.

That's one of the things May has been pleased to see, given how difficult this year has been for so many involved in the education system.

"That's what they said. It's not a drop-dead intense competition but it's a bit of fun," May said.

"It's been a tough year all-round but you've just got to get on with it and if not they you'll get left behind, whether that's with your studies or sport.

"But there's great leaders and it's something they've come up with that will be positive and we'll see how it all pans out."