THE Glasshouse District Touch Association is set to host 1,000 school kids as part of the Queensland All Schools Championship in late July.
Association president Rob Young said the club was feverishly planning for the high school students who will utilise every one of the club’s 16 fields.
“We are hoping more people come forward and volunteer to help out even for an hour, because we will need all hands on deck throughout the day,” he said.
The Championships will be on all day at the Glasshouse Mountains Sports Club on Sunday, July 31.
The big event comes as the 2022 winter social touch season continues with the undefeated ‘Those Guys’ maintaining their three-year unbeaten run.
A wet start to the season, with the fields flooded for weeks, forced the season into a temporary holding pattern.
But Rob said the competition was now going full steam ahead.
He said this season has been the most competitive and collaborative he’s ever seen in the time he has been involved with the club.
“New teams over the last few years have started to learn the game and grow as players, and they are becoming more competitive because they are more skilful which is fantastic,” he said.
“Referees were probably our biggest issue and getting people involved to do that, this year we’ve had more people putting their hand up to referee than any other.
“At the start of the season this was my biggest worry because without referees you don’t have a competition.”
The team ‘Those Guys’ – formerly known as ‘Get Stumped’ – haven’t lost a game in three seasons.
Young said they play fairly, particularly against not as experienced teams, to keep it fun.
“They are obviously a highly competitive team… but they know why everyone is there. We are there to play touch, but we are there to have fun and to be social,” he said.
“We want to make the competition as welcoming as possible, and if the players themselves are doing that, that is beyond our control… every team is like that and I’m really grateful for that.”