Back then, several of their players came over from the United Kingdom to play, including Hot Custard founder Rohan ‘Statler’ Creasey, who was awarded best and fairest in the 2003 In2Touch competition in the UK.

The team has a staggering 751 registered players across the globe. Asked about its popularity, Creasey said it is a combination of key factors.

“We're a pretty social bunch and that's the essence of Hot Custard. Serious fun. Looking good is important and sporting talent is not something we require. It's not the winning, it's the looking good that counts. If we get good enough to win things along the way well, that's a bonus,” he said.

Asked about the team missing in action since 2014, Creasey said: “Many Hot Custarders were committed to family plans or holidays. We thought about dragging together a bare minimum but decided we wouldn't do ourselves—or the Yass drinking holes—justice”.

Hot Custard began with a netball side in 2001. Since then, its expanded into other sports, including touch football, soccer, frisbee and squash.

It is not only the number that is impressive but also the diversity of players. The 751 players include English, Australians, New Zealanders, Irish, South Africans and Zimbabweans in the ranks.

“The people are our core values. We've retained a meticulous record of enjoying life throughout 751 players. Every one an essential ingredient to the Hot Custard recipe,” Creasey said. 

Creasey said he and the team look forward to visiting Yass again for the knockout on January 28–29, 2017, which will be the 29^th tournament in its history.

“It's certainly tough to play our best touch over two-days as we're off-field specialists! This time, the aim is pretty much our usual—a good day's play on the Saturday with a lot of laughs, a big evening, little or no sleep followed by some hard-yakka struggles to back up on the Sunday! That plus ensuring we maintain the ethos of Hot Custard  and look good on and off pitch,” he said.

Rod Wise, business development manager at Touch Football ACT, said the tournament has 34 teams nominated so far, including a defence team from Townsville, five from Melbourne and one from Adelaide.

Nominations will be limited to 106 teams to enable the whole tournament to be held at Walker Park. Team nominations ($280) and player registrations must be completed online (www.yasstouch.com.au) before Friday, January 13. For more information: