Up-and-coming sports stars from across the New England North West are set to take on other young athletes from around the state at the annual Academy Games.
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The games will be held in Wagga Wagga this week and the Northern Inland Academy of Sport is sending 70 athletes from five different programs - golf, triathlon, hockey, basketball and netball.
The academy's chief executive officer Shona Eichorn said it is exciting for the athletes to test themselves against the other 10 academies.
"This is an exciting opportunity for our talented young athletes to be part of the pinnacle state event for their sports, while participating in higher levels of competition and being seen by selectors," she said.
"Our NIAS athletes have been training incredibly hard over the past six months to develop their skills and will be utilising these during the upcoming academy games."
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"We are certainly one of the academies with the largest geographical region participating in the academy games, with NIAS athletes hailing from across the 98,000 square kilometres of our region - from the tablelands of Glen Innes and Armidale on the Great Dividing Range in the east, to the rich black soil plains of Moree and Gunnedah in the west.
"The maroon and golden colours of our region will proudly be worn on athletes' uniforms."
Eichorn acknowledged the significant financial contribution families made to attend.
She is hopeful the event will be hosted in our region from 2025.
"The cost of participating in and travelling to these games is significant," Eichorn said.
"With that consideration in mind, NIAS is currently gathering information to produce a bid for the 2025 to 27 academy games to be held in Tamworth, but will be bidding against four other regions who have expressed interest.
"Armidale hosted the games from 2009 to 11, but Tamworth never has.
"We have top-class sporting facilities here in Tamworth, some of the best in regional Australia, and it is our hope that these can be utilised during the 2025, 2026 and 2027 academy games, providing opportunities on and off the sporting fields, and stimulating the regional economy."
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