The Forbes Touch season will run for nine weeks from Monday, 10th October in the same time slots at 6pm, 6.30pm, 7pm and 7.30pm. The semi-finals will be played on 5th December and the grand finals on 8th December for all grades. Go to the Forbes Touch Facebook page to find the registration link to complete registrations online by 12pm on 4th October. All fees are due by the end of the second week of the competition. The fees are: family – $35 for the first child and $30 for any other siblings; mixed, men’s and women’s – $500 per team.

Primary school aged players can register a team with adult players included. No more than two adults are allowed to play on the field at a time and they cannot score. At the AGM on 5th September, Charles Dwyer was re-elected in the president’s role with Daniel West. The rest of the committee are Mel and Stephen West, Lara Dwyer, Ash Hogan, Jarred and Hannah Nicholson and the Morrison girls.

Last Thursday played host to the 2015 Forbes Touch Association Grand Finals in what could only be described as warm but perfect playing conditions. Having had to back up from the Monday night semi-finals, all players seemed excited at the prospect of being named premiers in their respective divisions.

Mixed divisions saw five grand finals contested and having refereed division three, all teams were out to gain the upper hand very early on. In what was some very entertaining touch footy the division three grand final ended up going into extra time in a drop off scenario. BD’s scored in their first set of six and unfortunately Anytime Fitness were unable to get over the line in their corresponding attacking set and lost the game 12-11. Other mixed winners on the night were Forbes Inn Allsorts, Touch Stars, Out of Touch and CS’s.

The B grade men’s and women’s finals were fast paced, exciting and played in the spirit of the game. Kitchen’s Plus went through the regular season unbeaten and were the clear favourites going into the nights main game. To their credit, the young members of Larrikins put a great fight and made the opposition work hard for every metre on the field. Kitchen’s Plus ended up going on to win 3-1. 13 Broke girls won the women’s B grade final.

Finally in the A grade divisions our winners were again two undefeated teams in both divisions being Team X in the women’s and Orcher’s Shearing in the men’s who will go down as the 2015 champions. The ladies in the women’s final played extremely well and the standard of play in both the A and B grade finals was exceptional. With a lot of junior girls coming through I think we are looking at some quality competition in the future. Claudia Lovett was named player of the final in the A grade women’s division.

The men’s A grade final was one of the fastest games of touch I have seen in my time in Forbes. The level of skill was excellent and despite the score line blowing out the boys from Walkers Ag N Vet can walk away knowing they gave it their all. Tyson Reweti was named player of the final. I want to thank each and every player that has come along each week this season and pulled on the boots to have a run around. Our numbers continue to rise and the competition is getting harder and harder each year. To all the parents and guardians that have supported their children this year I also thank you because without this next generation we won’t have a competition.

In closing, I would also like to thank the committee for their tireless work in all areas of the competition. With the inclusion of Hannah and Jared this year, our little committee continues to strive towards making each and every week an enjoyable yet competitive season for all participants. I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you all on the touch fields in 2016.

Well we are at the pointy end of the season now with the final round of games to be played on Monday night. In saying that, there are still a number of teams that can alter their position on the ladder, which could in turn result in a smoother run into the finals series in a fortnight.

The committee has still noticed that there are a few teams who have members that are not in the correct uniform. On Monday night this will result in a loss of points for the round. This also goes for players that are playing for a team that they are not registered for. Despite this being a good gesture, you are actually giving that team an unfair advantage against a team that is following the rules. Please don’t put your position on the ladder at risk by not following the rules that have been put into place for the betterment of the game.

The warmer weather has definitely settled in so the committee is encouraging all players and spectators to make sure they are consuming plenty of fluid during and after games. There are several taps around the fields so please re-fill between games if you are playing multiple games on the night. Just a reminder that the semi-finals will take place on Monday 7th December 2015, with the Grand Finals being held on Thursday 10th December. Have a great weekend,
see you Monday. Any questions can be directed to the Forbes Touch Facebook page.
Please see below the draw for Monday
30th November 2015.
FAMILY AND MIXED 6.00pm
(F1) Touch Stars vs Deadly Step
(F2) Crowe Horwarth Crows vs Nadika’s Untouchables
(F3) Young Guns vs Jeffrey Toyota
(F4) Schrader’s vs Strikers
(F5) Hartwig’s vs Allstars (Family)
(F6) Shabbits vs A1 Crushing Lead
(F7) Pink Ladies vs Stick Bombs
(F8) PrimeTRANS Juniors Vs Red Bullets

MIXED 6.30pm
(F1) Cole Train vs Anytime Fitness
(F2) Central West Diesel vs MCC
(F3) Forbes Inn Allsorts vs BD’s
(F4) Shead & Nicho vs Allstars
(F5) S&S Welsh vs Out of Touch
(F6)Mix it Up vs CS’s
*Morrison’s have the bye this week

WOMENS AND MENS 7.00pm
(F1) 13 Broke Girls vs Anytime Fitness (W)
(F2) Can’t Touch Us vs Busted (W)
(F3) Anchormen vs Walkers Ag & Vet (M)
(F4) Orcher’s Shearing vs Nicholson Petroleum (M)
(F5) Kitchens Plus Vs Hornets (M)

WOMENS AND MENS 7.30pm
(F1) Forbes Inn-Credibles Vs Thunder Ducks (W)
(F2) Team X vs Victorious Secrets (W)
(F3) No Names Vs GFL (M)
(F4) Boarder Bears vs Larrikins (M)

Only two competition rounds are left before the hotly contested finals series will begin for the 2015 Forbes Touch season. It was evident that teams were out to improve their current position in their respective divisions, to ensure the best run through to the main games in a couple of weeks’ time.

A big shout out to Andy Hardy this week for helping us with referees duties. Andy took it upon himself last week to shadow referee with a couple of Year 8 boys to help them with decision making and generally being more confident with the whistle in hand. As you are all aware, the juniors are the future of this game and to remain successful, refereeing duties are part of our competition. Any questions can be directed to the Forbes Touch Facebook page.

Please see below the draw for Monday
23rd November 2015.
FAMILY AND MIXED 6.00pm
(F1) CS’s vs Young Guns
(F2) Morrison’s vs Allstars (Mixed)
(F3) BD’s vs Mix it Up
(F4) A1 Crushing Lead vs Stick Bombs
(F5) Hartwig’s vs Shabbits
(F6) PrimeTRANS Juniors vs Schrader’s
(F7) Pink Ladies vs Red Bullets
(F8) Allstars (Family) Vs Strikers
MIXED 6.30pm
(F1) Cole Train vs Forbes Inn Allsorts
(F2) Central West Diesel vs Touch stars
(F3) S&S Welsh vs Jeffrey Toyota
(F4) Shead & Nicho vs Crowe Horwarth Crows
(F5) MCC vs Nadika’s Untouchables
(F6)Anytime Fitness vs Out of Touch
*Deadly Step have the bye this week
WOMENS AND MENS 7.00pm
(F1) 13 Broke Girls (W) vs Busted (W)
(F2) Thunder Ducks (W) vs Victorious Secrets (W)
(F3) Nicholson Petroleum vs Walkers Ag & Vet (M)
(F4) No Names vs Anchormen (M)
(F6) Boarder Bears Vs Hornets (M)
WOMENS AND MENS 7.30pm
(F1) Forbes Inn-Credibles Vs Can’t Touch Us (W)
(F2) Team X vs Anytime Fitness (W)
(F3) Orcher’s Shearing Vs GFL (M)
(F4) Kitchens Plus vs Larrikins (M)

This week saw the half way mark for the 2015 Forbes Touch season tick over, and the pressure is on all teams in all divisions to be at the top of the ladder come the Finals series.

In the last couple of weeks the standard of play has dramatically increased and all teams deserve to be at the top of their respective divisions. The semi-finals will take place on Monday 7 December, with the Grand Finals being held on Thursday 10 December.

Forbes Touch Association is back in full swing after two weeks of competition. The committee have been blown away with the number of teams that have entered into the 2015 season, which will remain as a nine week competition.

Record team entries have been entered into every category with Mixed being the most popular. Undeterred by the warm weather, the level of competition between teams has been very high for the first two weeks of the competition.

There were lots of laughs, crisp passes and plenty of speed being displayed so we are definitely in for an excellent season of touch football.

The family competition has proved to be a winning formula with the return of some familiar faces, and many of the adult players backing up to play in the senior competition. Teams are required to fulfil refereeing duties as has occurred in the past and referees will need to make their way over to tournament control prior to the commencement
of each timeslot to get the scorecard, whistle and ball.

Teams must be in uniform with numbers on the back, to make the referees job easier, and appropriate footwear must be worn at all times with no metal studded boots to be worn.

It’s getting warmer and for Forbes Touch Association this means another season is due to commence.
At the AGM on Tuesday 8 September, President Daniel West spoke about another very successful season which saw increases in most divisions with more than 20 games being played each night.

The Treasurer’s report supported this with Forbes Touch having only a marginal loss for the year. With extra end of season prizes already purchased, we are looking forward to another good season financially. All positions on the committee were up for grabs again this year and once again leading the way in the President’s role will be
Charlie Dwyer and Daniel West. They will be supported by a number of familiar faces and newcomers.

The committee is looking at continuing the mid-season BBQ which was a great way for teams to stick around and have a chat as well as watch some of the other teams have a run around.

The 2015 season will run for 9 weeks from Monday 12 October to Monday 7 December, with the Grand Final played on Thursday 10 December for all grades. Registration forms are available from schools, by emailing forbestouch@hotmail.com or over the Forbes Touch Association Facebook page, and must be received by Wednesday 7 October.