Yass Touch Association president Greg Smith is delighted council has in the pipeline plans to install lights on the outer grounds of Walker Park and upgrade canteen and dressing room facilities near the main entrance of the complex. 

While still some way from fruition, the state government-council funded upgrades would prove beneficial for touch footballers, league players and soccer folk alike.

Smith may no longer have to cut short early season Wednesday night touch football games due to insufficient light. 

Moreover, both minor and senior Magpies sides can benefit from a long overdue dressing room upgrade, while Redbacks football teams will not longer have to jostle with their league compatriots for training slots. 

The plans are a positive boost for Smith and the Yass Touch Football Association on the eve of another summer of competition. 

“The first few weeks are tricky because we have to cut some games back because we don’t have enough light down the bottom,” Smith explained. 

“We struggle now with so many league and soccer teams sharing ovals for training, so this will make a huge difference.”

The Wednesday night competition taps off on October 21, with a record 14 women’s teams poised to take part. 

A further 21 men’s teams, additionally, have signed up for the season. 

Among those are defending champions in their respective grades, namely Master’s Apprentices, Stingers and the Bulls. 

Inappropriate Touching, a team spearheaded by representative players Chris Rawlinson and Phil Sparnon, loom as the Master’s Apprentices chief rivals in A Grade. 

Smith said Jinxed, a team featuring the two Lisa Naughtons and rumoured to undergo a name change, would once more contest one of the men’s divisions. 

The president said the growth of the women’s game was particularly pleasing. 

“It’s been solid growth from about seven teams a few years ago to 14 now,” he continued.

“The work Mary Jane Fernandez does on Wednesday evenings with the younger players is paying off. We’re seeing a lot of those kids coming through. There’s a few younger girls teams now willing to play in the seniors comp.”

Registrations for the Wednesday night competition will remain open until the season’s commencement. 

Nominations can be made online via the Yass Touch Association website.