Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Thousands of Western Bay youngsters can't wait for next Saturday morning, when junior winter sport kicks off in the region.

However, nobody has more excitement and enthusiasm bubbling over than the newbies who will be taking to the fields and courts for the first time.

The netball, football, hockey, rugby and rugby league grounds and courts will be stretched to overflowing, as the local youngsters play their first games of the season.

Parents will juggle different sports and game times for their offspring with military precision, as they shuttle their charges around the different fields and courts.

Grandparents will be dusting off their winter woolies to give sideline encouragement and support, while a myriad of volunteers who make junior sport happen in the Western Bay will set their alarms for another round of early starts.

Many of the volunteers started out just as parent helpers before being cajoled into becoming regular volunteers.

While the majority is happy to assist while their children are involved in sports, there is still a good number who remain in the sport chosen for them by their children, for life.

Whether it is as an administrator, coach, official, jersey washer or general dogsbody – junior sport in the Western Bay wouldn't happen without the parent volunteers' time and commitment.

Grassroot senior sport is the mainstay of the game over the codes, with rugby providing competition, participation and friendship for those who seek higher honours, to others who just like a run on the weekend and a beer afterwards with their mates.

Premier Baywide rugby provides a pathway to the professional game, with the majority of the 2014 Bay of Plenty Steamers, showcasing their talents and skills in the Baywide competition each week.

While Sideline Sid has mixed views on the effectiveness of the new Baywide Development competition, which has killed off Colts rugby this season, fans can now expect a second fifteen curtain-raiser each week when their teams play at home.

Western Bay senior club rugby is alive and well, with teams from Katikati to Eastern Districts, at Paengaroa, engaging in weekly competition battles.

One club really embracing the local senior competition are the men who pull on the Matakana Island jerseys each Saturday.

The club dates back to the start of club rugby under the jurisdiction of the old Tauranga Rugby Union, which was formed in 1915. The Matakana aftermatch hospitality is legendary with the only down side being the early evening departure of the barge back to Omokoroa.

President Grade rugby with an over 35 age-group limit kicks off in the Western Bay this Saturday, while later in the year the very social Golden Oldies rugby play their annual fixtures.

However, there is only one place you will find this blogger on a Saturday afternoon and that's on the sideline of a Western Bay premier clash.

With just two rounds remaining before the Baywide first round winner is found, there's a real log-jam at the top of the standings.

Three Western Bay sides currently hold down the top four spots. Te Puke Sports with just one stain on their record hold a solitary point advantage from Mount Maunganui, with Rotoiti lurking in third, while defending titleholders Tauranga Sports just one point back from the Rotorua contender.

Seeya the rugby on the weekend