The Central Highlands Football Netball League grand final will revert back to its traditional date in 2020.
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The league released its 2020 competition fixture on Friday, which specified next year's decider would take place on September 12 - a week before the Ballarat Football League grand final.
After a number consultations, CHFL president Doug Hobson said pushing the league's holy day back to the second weekend of September was high on every club's wish list.
"Getting back to our traditional grand final date was the main feedback from clubs as people didn't want to start as early," he said.
"This year we had to move it because we weren't allowed access to Mars Stadium, because of the junior football league grand final. But after negotiations we were allowed to get back on there."
Subsequently, round one of the season will start on April 18, enabling the season to commence after term one of school holidays.
Hobson said the start date would allow the league to be mindful of other sporting codes.
"Because we had to start a bit earlier we were getting into the grounds of cricket and tennis finals, and we didn't want to encroach on that again," he said.
"This is where we always wanted to be because starting any earlier often pushes the start of our finals into less favorable weather."
The new fixture is the second of a two-year cycle, in which clubs follow the same order of matches. However, 2020 will see clubs switch venues so the team who played away in 2019 will play a home game this year.
At the end of the cycle, all clubs will have had 17 home fixtures across the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Also included in 2020 will be the option for clubs to arrange its own Anzac Day Fixture. With the holiday set to fall on game-day next year, teams will have the option of playing on Saturday under lights or playing the following day.
Hobson said clubs without night-match capabilities would also have the option of playing at a Ballarat ground if it so chooses.
"This gives people the option to either play on the Sunday, or if they've got the privy of playing under lights, late on Saturday," he said.
"These options are open to clubs and if they want to go down that track we are happy to facilitate them as a league."
Other notable dates include a grand final rematch between Waubra and Hepburn on May 2.