Netball is the most played sport in the Mountains with 1,321 players registered with the Blue Mountains Netball Association in 2017-18.
It is closely followed by the Lower Mountains Touch Football Association with 1,246 registered players.
Springwood United Football Club has 980 registered participants, the Blue Mountains Football Club 767 and the Wentworth Falls Football Club a total of 652 registered players.
The tiniest clubs are Katoomba AFL Club (15 players), Sun Valley Pony Club (18) and Blackheath Rugby League Club, which had just 25 registered players but managed to win the premiership this year.
The numbers are revealed in the Blue Mountains Sports Council’s annual report on its achievements in the past year.
Major projects embarked upon by the council during 2017-18 included:
- Renewing the playing surface and irrigation at Knapsack Park
- Upgrading the lighting system at Katoomba Showground
- Upgrading the canteens at Summerhayes Park and Glenbrook Oval, and
- Continuing planning for renewal of multiple buildings at Blue Mountains sports grounds.
The council has also helped sports clubs in applying for grants. Examples of successful grant applications included additional funding for the renewal of the Pitt Park Football Building and funding for the upgrade at Knapsack Park (both received $150,000 via the Asian Cup Legacy Fund).
The council, which was established in December 2003, has successfully served as a forum for communication between sporting groups and the council.
It has been highly successful in improving the way in which council can respond to the sporting community and how it manages sporting facilities and assets.
During 2017-18, the council also:
- Distributed accumulated sports fees and minor capital works grants
- Updated the sports ground hire and use handbook
- Received a briefing on the progress of the dogs in public spaces strategy
- Received briefings on the Lawson Crown Lands master planning process and
- Endorsed the membership to the Western Sydney Academy of Sport.
