More than 10,000 people will descend on Dubbo in the coming days for the 2024 Junior State Cup.
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The NSW Touch Junior State Cup Northern Conference will be held in Dubbo from Friday to Sunday.
This is the second time Dubbo has hosted the event.
NSW Touch Junior State Cup is one of the largest junior sporting events in Australia and will this year see 202 teams converge on Dubbo to compete in the northern conference of NSW Touch Junior State Cup. This is 15 more teams than 2023," NSW Touch General Manager Dean Russell said.
The event is free for spectators. Anyone can watch the action at the Lady Cutler precinct, including the grand finals on Sunday afternoon.
Road closures
The following roads will be closed from 5pm on Thursday, February 22 to Sunday, February 25:
- Sandy Beach Road from Ian Drake Drive to South Street
- Bligh Street from Bultje Street to Macquarie Street
- Ian Drake Drive from Bligh Street to Sandy Beach Road
- South Street from Bligh Street to Tamworth Street
Between Friday, February 23 and Sunday, February 25 the following will also be closed:
- Tamworth Street from South Street to Macquarie Street (daily from 5am to 7pm)
- Tamworth Street from Macquarie Street to Brisbane Street (daily from 5am to 7pm)
- Macquarie Street from Cobra Street to Tamworth Street (local residents only)
Motorists are advised to avoid Macquarie Street in the South Dubbo area and use Brisbane Street or Darling Street to access the CBD.
Parking
Not-for-profit LeaderLife will be running a car park off Tamworth Street. It will be open from 6.30am every morning.
LeaderLife is an organisation dedicated to growing the Dubbo community by helping kids doing it tough to live their best life. LeaderLife does whatever it takes to make sure kids having a hard time have a sense of belonging, independence for their decisions, are learning new skills and opportunities to give back to the community.
LeaderLife will also have their limes on sale in the car park.
Accommodation
Accommodation providers within Dubbo sold out within weeks of the 2024 Junior State Cup being announced.
Players and their families have turned to the surrounding towns to find places to stay.
But not all hope is lost for anyone who still needed accommodation.
In September 2023, Dubbo Regional Council announced it was opening up Dubbo Showground for caravans and motorhomes.
Up to 220 sites are available and the council estimates about 80 per cent have been sold.
Weather
While there's a chance of a possible storm on Friday - according to the Bureau of Meteorology - for the most part the weekend is going to be hot.
It's expected to hit a top of 36 degrees on Friday, 31 on Saturday and 32 on Sunday.
Entry to the Dubbo Aquatic Leisure Centres is free for any players in the competition.
Economic benefit
The touch carnival is expected to add $4 million into the visitor economy.
That money will be shared across a range of businesses including accommodation providers, retail outlets, and our cafes and restaurants.
Speaking in September, the council's events and partnership team leader Lana Willetts said the council often targeted junior sporting carnivals because as well as the players coming to Dubbo, they would also bring mums, dads, siblings and grandparents, which meant visiting numbers could be triple compared to other events.