When Dubbo College won the Astley Cup for the first time in a decade last year, it was largely due to consistent performances across the board.
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A sport like rugby league has always been an area of strength for Dubbo College but last year it was competitors in events like tennis, hockey and athletics that made all the difference.
It's those moments that make the time-honoured tri-school sporting event so special for Dubbo College's cup coordinator Craig May.
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May has a long history with the competition and was thrilled for Dubbo College's students when they secured cup glory for the first time in 10 years in 2021.
Now in its 99th year, the Astley Cup competition starts this week with Orange High School playing host to Bathurst.
Dubbo College will host Orange next week but teachers and students got into the Astley Cup spirit at the annual launch assembly on Tuesday.
"It's a highlight of the calendar for a lot of our kids to get recognised in front of their peers and make the Astley Cup team," May said.
"There's a good vibe and a good feeling."
As the defending champion, May is all too aware Dubbo is the one Orange and Bathurst are gunning to take down this year.
That creates pressure, but it also creates the opportunity for students to make a name for themselves.
"I like to see the kids' attributes when things aren't going their way," May said.
"The cream rises to the top. When they're under pressure and are underdogs who aren't expected to win you see the kids rise and give it their best shot. That's what I really like.
"We'll go into some of these sports as the favourites but I really like it in the sports where we're not the favourites and the kids give it their all and keep going to the final whistle.
"That, in the end, is the difference between winning and losing."
That extra effort and gaining the extra one or two points will be key in what May expects to be a very close-fought cup series this year.
The Dubbo squad has talent across the board but, in a rare instance, the rugby league side could go into its match as the underdog.
"Most of our teams are going to be very competitive," May said.
"Our rugby league has some question marks over it. It's the first time we haven't progressed from the (Combined High Schools) western area knockout but Orange and Bathurst did so there's some questions to be answered there if we are to win the Astley Cup.
"It will be interesting to see how the boys' soccer goes. Basketball is looking competitive. They played in the state final 16 series so they'll be looking to do the best they can and in netball, it will be the first time in three years we've played Orange here in Dubbo.
"The girls are excited about that. CHS knockouts are always in Orange and in the Astley Cup we've played in Orange the past two years.
"There's a lot of girls who are keen to give it their best shot against Orange, who are the litmus test and the bar in netball in the western area."
The feeling is a little different for Dubbo teams this year as they go into the competition as the defending champions.
While Dubbo won last year's cup, it was slightly contentious among some as one day of competition between Orange and Bathurst never went ahead due to, firstly, snow and then tightened COVID-19 restrictions.
"There was a bit of a question mark over last year. One of the days wasn't played," May said.
"It is different and for 10 years we hadn't won it so it was nice to break that duck. But this year is a new year."
Competition between Orange and Bathurst starts on Thursday, before Dubbo starts its campaign seven days later.