Any woman (cis or trans) or non-binary person who feels comfortable playing in a women's league, aged 18 years or over, can register with the Flying Bats.

No experience, skills, or pre-requisite football knowledge is required. There is nothing you have to do or be except your wonderful, enthusiastic self!

In the 2023 season, The Flying Bats had 5 teams: Division 6, Division 2, Over 30s/1, Over 30s/2, and Women’s Premier League.

Looking ahead to 2024, we want to expand the number of teams to include a Division 4 team, and potentially an Over 40s team depending on demand. So make sure to fill out those EOIs, and if you’re an older player interested in an O40s side, you can let us know here.

Grading takes place in February (check out the dates on the calendar), where Bats are sorted into particular teams depending on experience, skill, and your own personal preferences. We require all players to participate in grading to ensure you’ll be playing alongside people similar to you so that you have the best experience on the field this season!

While the teams are often separate on game day, we try to host as many club-wide events, activities, and other initiatives as possible to ensure we keep our family pillar strong. So don’t worry - whichever team you’re placed in, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to socialise with the whole club.

Even though most of our members live and work in Sydney’s Inner West, The Flying Bats are currently part of the North West Sydney Football Association.

Since joining in 1997, we’ve developed a strong relationship with the association. One reason is that they are one of the few associations that allow us to submit lots of different teams - from beginners to WPL to over-age sides - while other associations are more limited.

Further, the Bats helped NWSFA put together their Gender & Sex Discrimination Policy, and we have always felt supported by the association when members of our club have experienced harassment or abuse in football.

However, we know that the location of games in Sydney’s north-west can be tricky to get to via public transport, which is why we encourage club members to car-pool (with the added benefit of getting to know your team-mates better! Anyone got a road-trip play-list handy?)

If you have any more questions or thoughts on this topic, feel free to drop us a line.

The 2024 season kicks off on the first weekend of April and runs until finals in late August.

Games are played on Sundays at various times. The earliest games begin at 11:00am, with others starting at 1:00pm, 3:00pm, and occasionally 5:00pm.

Although we train at Tempe Recreational Reserve, our “home grounds” are Morrison Bay Park in Putney and Meadowbank, which we share with a number of other clubs.

It’s about a 15-20 minute drive from the Sydney CBD, or longer by public transport.

The furthest games in our association are played in North Epping, though this can vary depending on which division you play in.

Pre-season training begins in February (after grading) and runs through to the start of the winter season in early April.

Once the Serious Season begins, training occurs once a week, every Wednesday night from 7pm at Tempe Recreational Reserve.

Early Bird registration is open until the 31st of January and is $413. From the 1st of February, registration is $433. Any late registrations (after the 29th of February) are $453.

Grading is basically a series of training exercises where you’re assessed based on skill, game awareness, fitness, and a bunch of other stuff at the beginning of the season.

We do this so that we can place you in a team with players of a similar level to you, so that you have the best experience possible for the season.

For the 2024 season, grading will take place over a couple of different days in January and February. We will allocate specific days for specific divisions, and you can rock up to the day that you think you’d be best suited to playing in.

In the past, some skills that we assessed have included dribbling, first touch, passing, shooting, positioning, defending, agility, balance, coordination, and overall game awareness.

This is all stuff that you pick up and learn the more you play, so don’t worry if you’re a little rusty or nervous! We want you to be in the best team for you, which will give you the opportunity to both have fun and improve as a player.

You can read more about our grading policy here

Washouts are a reality when playing a winter sport. If the weather is looking especially bleak prior to training or match days, keep an eye on our social media channels - we make all wet weather announcements there.

You can also check out the Inner West Council’s Sporting Ground Status webpage. They usually update it after 2pm with information on what grounds are or aren’t open based on the weather.

We’ll also send out a message to all coaches and managers as soon as advice has been given to the club by the association, including days and times for rescheduled games.

Teams are always welcome to organise their own alternatives when rain ruins outdoor training such as group gym sessions, indoor games, or simply hanging out somewhere together to talk tactics and other fun stuff.

Because The Flying Bats participate in summer activities, we also need to abide by Football NSW’s heat policy, which recommends that all activity be cancelled or postponed in the event of temperatures around 37 degrees.

But don’t worry - we’ll make our own judgement calls and update you ASAP on that too. None of us want to get heat-stroke!

Always!

When we’re not playing football, our club is a tight-knit family who love spending time together, both with our own teams and across all others.

Every Sunday evening, after all our games are done, we usually gather at the Golden Barley in Enmore to celebrate our victories or lick our wounds with a couple of pints and a meal together.

We run a number of major annual events every season including Bonding Night, Trivia Night, and Presentation Night, with many other smaller events sprinkled throughout the year including picnics, bushwalks, bouldering, comedy nights, pub crawls, group outings to A-League Women or Matildas games, discos, fundraising nights, and beach trips.

Keep an eye on our social media channels and our event calendar - we’ve got heaps of cool stuff planned for 2024!