The Ballarat District Socer Association might only see a five per cent drop in participation once play gets up and running next month.
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The association finalised team registrations on Monday, following months of uncertainty owing to the COVID-19 shutdown.
BDSA boss Herman Bogers said he was delighted at the figures.
"Overall we are happy, the numbers are really high and a lot better than I expected," he said.
"We're not that far behind a normal season."
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The association is on track to see about 100 out of 110 teams retake the field for the 2020 season. Among the highest entries were junior age-groups, particularly the MiniRoos program, which comprises of kids aged seven to eleven.
The male and female division one open competitions also had healthy numbers, with every club returning except Maryborough.
While happy with the figures, Bogers said he wasn't totally surprised.
"I think a lot of people are just looking forward to getting out and having a kick and getting back into it," he said.
"It's good to see the numbers and to see people putting their hands up to come back."
The news follows the announcement by the BDSA to cement a start date for the 2020 campaign.
All junior competitions will commence full contact training from June 22, before kicking off the opening round on July 12.
Meanwhile senior competitions will begin full contact training on July 13 for a July 26 start.
Seniors will play a 14-week season, while juniors will start two weeks earlier and play over 16 weeks and stop during school holidays.
Last week COVID-19 restrictions were tightened, limiting spectators to only 10 people per group. Bogers said clubs had received instructions on game day protocols and would be tasked with carrying them out individually.
"We've got to play under regulations released by the government, and there will be practices they've got to follow," he said.
The association is still deciding whether or not it will play a finals series.
In April the BDSA floated the idea of shortening the finals series from three weeks to two weeks and didn't rule out getting rid of finals all together.
The latter scenario would mean teams that finish atop the league ladder would be crowned competition champions.
The association hoped to have a decision on Tuesday.
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