In September 2021, the elite Oztag community will be welcomed to the beautiful Mudgee wine region to play off in an inaugural, two-day tournament – the Mixed Invitational Challenge.
The exciting new event is geared towards the best female and male players in the game, granting them the opportunity to come together and compete in a high-quality tournament on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 September, 2021 at Glen Willow Sporting Stadium, in Mudgee.
The Mixed Invitational Challenge will see 21 invited associations, based on senior competition size, enter teams in the Mixed Opens, Senior & Legends divisions.
Oztag Founder, Perry Haddock, introduced the Mixed Invitational Challenge as an opportunity for an association’s best players from the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed divisions to combine and form one elite team.
“It is a dedicated mixed tournament where players wouldn’t normally get to play with each other,” Haddock said.
“The level of competition will be extremely strong, so I’m looking forward to seeing the standard of Oztag it brings,” he said.
To hold the tournament in Mudgee came as an easy decision as it remains one of the greatest wine regions in NSW and offers high-class sporting facilities.
“It is an opportunity to not only showcase our sport in a popular country region, but support the town’s economy,” Haddock said.
“We are looking at making it a festive event with wine tasting and tours on Sunday,” he said.
Australian Oztag (AO) are humbled that the Mid-Western Regional Council have agreed to host the tournament, welcoming players and spectators to experience the culture of Mudgee and some of Australia’s oldest vineyards.
Mayor of Mid-Western Regional Council, Des Kennedy said there is so much to experience in the region from fine food and wine to boutique shopping, authentic growers markets and a brand new art gallery.
“I’d like to welcome the entire Mixed Invitational Challenge, its players and affiliates to Mudgee, and I hope you enjoy your time in our beautiful region,” Councillor Kennedy said.
“Glen Willow has been purpose-built to accommodate large-scale tournaments like the Invitational and I am delighted Oztag have selected it as the host venue for this fantastic event that will showcase some of the best players in the game,” he said.
AO General Manager, Bill Harrigan has anticipated the display of high-quality Oztag at the Mixed Invitational Challenge, eager to watch the game’s best compete.
“At tournaments we see some of our best players in the men’s & women’s divisions; Imagine when they come together and play with our best mixed players forming some incredibly strong teams,” Harrigan said.
“The skill, the ability – all in the backdrop of the beautiful Mudgee region, I can’t wait,” he said.
Tournament Overview:
Dates: Friday 3rd, Saturday 4th of September, 2021
Venue: Glen Willow Regional Sports Stadium,Mudgee, NSW
Divisions:
- Mixed Open
- Mixed Seniors (Women 30+, Men 33+)
- Mixed Legends (Women 40+, Men 45+)
*Maximum 18 players per team
*Maximum 14 teams in each division (two pools of seven)
*Associations can only enter ONE team in each division
Selection: Contact your association to confirm trial dates/selection process
Registration: $100 per player
Format: 6 round games + Quarter Final, Semi Final & Final
All Stars match Saturday Night
Eligibility:
- All players must be over the age of 18 as of September 1st, 2021.
- Each player can only play in one division
- Players can only represent the association they are registered with locally; they must have played 7 games of the previous Summer 20/21 or Winter 2021 competitions.
Nominations close Friday 25 June, 2021.