Touch football used to come alight at the front fields of McEwen Reserve more than a decade ago, and in 2025, a phoenix-form of the competition is set to fly.
Shepparton Touch Association has been busy behind the scenes over the past few months, building a committee in the hopes of restoring the league back to its former glory.
Now, they have lift off.
While it won’t be a full-scale remodel of the multi-division comp of the past just yet, the STA is first aiming to launch touch footy’s resurgence among the juniors with an eye cast to restoring a senior league later in the year.
Committee member and driving force Brett Church said the first piece of the mosaic has been laid, potentially paving the way for the rich tapestry of touch to return to Shepparton.
“We’ve formed a committee which is made up of a range of people; people who have been involved in the sport and involved in other sports and committees before,” he said.
“It’s quite good to have them committed to get a committee together.
“Not just the juniors, but to look into a senior comp at the end of the year is what we’re hopeful for.”
Church explained the plan begins with the first of two come-and-try days on Wednesday evening at McEwen Reserve, guiding juniors through the basics before ripping into competition in the near future.
“Depending on people turning up, it’ll be a run through of drills of the basics and then try and get a couple of games going at the end of the night,” he said.
“We’ll spend half an hour or so seeing where people are at with skills, and then we can divide into teams so they can get some game experience.
“We’re looking at two come-and-tries and then start a small six or seven week season (after).”
The condensed season is slated to consist of 10-and-under, 14-and-under and 18-and-under divisions, with local rugby union club Shepparton Bulls already committing youth teams to play for a numbers’ injection over its pre-season.
However, for those who don’t know anything about touch football, don’t fret.
It’s not all about graceful goose-steps and flashy flick passes, with Church ensuring all skill levels will be catered to at the sessions.
“There will be kids with skills and then kids that’ve never tried it before,” he said.
“We’ll split into groups in the come-and-try to see where people are at; it’s going to be quite relaxed rules at the start until people get a gist of the game.
“It’s open to all skills really; it doesn’t matter if you’ve never seen rugby before or just want to get into a new sport.
“It’s girls and boys, we’re going to run a mixed competition so everyone gets a good run.”
Finally, Church’s son Joss - who is a Victorian touch football representative - urged youngsters to give the sport a try.
“If anyone’s interested in playing touch, definitely come down and have a go,” he said.
“It’s an awesome sport, it’s a family sport and anyone can play it.”
The first come and try session will kick off at 6pm at the front fields of McEwen Reserve near the hockey precinct.
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