As the February morning sun rose over Bundaberg and the mercury climbed with it, more than 1400 athletes across 94 teams took to the fields for the 2026 Bundaberg Cup. Among those teams was the ADF Touch Association's (ADFTA) South Queensland (SQ) Toads.
ADFTA supported 13 players and four support staff to attend the Bundaberg Cup - Queensland's premier social touch football tournament. It saw record-breaking attendance and gave ADFTA a great opportunity to develop current and future representative players.
"These local events are important for building cohesion and touch experience across the SQ region, and to showcase the player and referee talent we have within Defence to our local communities," SQ Toads manager Wing Commander Zoe Kennedy said.
Going undefeated in their pool, SQ Toads were a force in the mixed social division, drawing their first game before finding their rhythm and delivering comprehensive wins. The team saw a large improvement from last year's winless campaign.
Despite ending this year's campaign with a loss in a tightly fought quarter-final, the SQ Toads walked off with their heads held high.
Alongside the players, two ADF referees and two ADF referee coaches supported the event, running between 7-12 games across the weekend.
Referee coach Wing Commander Craig McKee said the ADFTA referees were great in supporting the event beyond just their assigned matches.
'These local events are important for building cohesion and touch experience across the SQ region, and to showcase the player and referee talent we have within Defence to our local communities.'
The tournament provided an excellent opportunity for development and grading, and both referees were ranked highly and appointed to grand final - an honour reserved for only the top referees.
"The Bundaberg Cup provides ideal preparation for the National Championships due to the high quality of games. It also provided the opportunity to referee with civilian Australian National Referee Squad members and receive coaching from National Referee Panel members," Wing Commander McKee said.
"Both referees were highly visible between their own games, supporting other referees by running water and managing the score card, as well as volunteering for extra games when other referees became unavailable."
Wing Commander Kennedy said that he and the wider ADFTA Committee were very pleased with the team's performance and were excited for the future.
"This event helps build momentum and enthusiasm for the upcoming South Queensland interservice competition in early April, which will be used to talent scout and select squads in preparation for the Defence National Touch Championship in September," he said.
