Absence of Astley Cup 'legend' in 2020 felt by fans far and wide

So when Astley Cup time came around the kids would put together the few different items of clothing they did have and give them to team members of each sport to ensure the school looked the part on game day.

It's one of the countless stories of inspiring community and school spirit Jill McCann holds close.

McCann may live in Byron Bay these days but she remains one of the biggest supporters of the long-standing tournament contested by high schools in Dubbo, Bathurst, and Orange.

She attended the old Dubbo High School, which contested the competition prior to the development of Dubbo College, in the 1960s and took part in the event while her father, Michael Gleeson, was a long-serving principal at the school and her own children took part in the Astley Cup as well.

Like so many other lovers of the competition she was saddened to see the cup cancelled for just the fourth time in it's almost 100-year history this year.

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It had been scheduled to start on Thursday but COVID-19 restrictions in place made travelling with large school groups and the staging of multiple events at various venues too difficult while the welfare of students and staff also played a major role in the decision.

"The people I feel for is the year 12s," McCann said.

"It was their last chance for it and everyone looks forward to it so much.

"But it can't be helped and obviously it's the right decision but it is a bit sad."

The only previous times the cup was cancelled was in its second year in 1924 when the format was still being decided, in 1932 because of the impact of the Great Depression, and in 1940 because of World War II.

Now 2020 is on the list but the principals of Dubbo College, Denison College and Orange High School have said they will do 'everything they can' to ensure next year's competition, the 99th Astley Cup, goes ahead.

But that brings it own challenges with Dubbo College teacher Craig May confirming there will roughly be only a half-dozen students in 2021 who have taken part in Astley Cup competition before.

"That will be hard and it might be hard for Craig to really wind them up," McCann said.

"But it is such a legend."

The legend of the cup is what McCann loves.

There was a time when Dubbo High School was the only high school in town, so everyone who had been educated in the city had a connection to the competition.

"It was an iconic competition when I was at school," McCann said.

"It went for three days and you would travel by train to Bathurst or Orange. Teams would get here at night and there would be a welcome in the hall and the mayor and everyone would be there.

"Then the debate would be on in front of the hall and it would be broadcast live on 2DU here as well.

"The next day would be the sports and then that night was the dance. There was no year 12 formals in those days so it was the night of the year.

"Then the next day it would finish with the football. Then back to school for and afternoon tea and then you'd walk the other school to the train station across Victoria Park."

That camaraderie between the students at the three schools is the most special thing the cup creates, according to McCann.

Students may no longer be billeted in the other towns and the rivalries on the field may be the biggest attraction but McCann can remember brothers and sisters and then the next generations staying with the same families over a number of years.

"When I look back I can't really remember who won but I remember people," she said. "There was people who I stayed with who I new for years and went to university with so those friendships lasted a long time.

"One of my friends even married someone from Bathurst she met through Astley Cup."

McCann lived in Dubbo until 2004 and would attend Astley Cup events whenever she could while she's still kept a close eye on it since moving to Byron Bay.

She's also passed on some Astley Cup history to current students by sharing photos from years gone by on social media.

"When my father first took the job [as principal] he said to my mum he couldn't believe there was three days a week for three weeks for sport," McCann said.

"But after just one year he was completely sucked in and thought it was the best thing ever.

"My own kids played tennis for the school in the late 1980s and early 90s so the family has a really strong connection."

Dubbo College students will take part in a intra-school School of Origin series this year in place of the Astley Cup while Term 2 next year is tentatively being looked at as the time for the 2021 Astley Cup series to be played out.