Sandringham SC Castlefield Cup Trials EOI 2026

Castlefield Cup is a competitive tournament run by Sandringham SC for MiniRoos U8-U11 age groups.

Local clubs are invited to enter teams in the following age groups: U8, U9, U10 and U11 Boys, and U8, U9, U10 and U11 Girls.

Eight teams compete in each age group. Teams play a minimum of three matches in the round robin section, with the winners and runners-up progressing to the semi-finals, and semi-final winners advancing to the finals.

This year the Cup will be held on Saturday 12th September 2026 at our Spring Street grounds.

Sandringham SC enters representative teams in each of the age groups. These representative teams are formed through a trial and assessment process.

Trial Information

Players wishing to trial must be available all day for the Castlefield Cup day on Saturday 12th September. The day starts at 8.30am and finals finish at 5pm.

We believe the best way to assess footballers is by actually playing football. Therefore, the 2026 Castlefield Cup trials will be centred around gameplay, allowing players to demonstrate their skills, game awareness, decision-making and teamwork in realistic match situations.

There will be two phases to the trial process:

• Phase 1 - Open to all players who have submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) - this form
• Phase 2 (Invite Only) - Players who have been successfully assessed during Phase 1 will be invited to participate in Phase 2.

Given large numbers of trialists in the past, trial numbers will be capped at the following to ensure players have the best opportunity to be assessed:

• 30 players per age group for U8 and U9 teams
• 38 players per age group for U10 and U11 teams

Where Expressions of Interest exceed the maximum capped player numbers, the following may occur:

• Assessors may attend weekend matches to observe players in game situations.
• Players who have previously been assessed may progress directly to Phase 2 of the trial process.

Trial Assessors
Assessments will be conducted by a combination of:

• Potential Castlefield Cup coaches for each age group
• Neutral observers with strong football backgrounds

Squad Numbers
The purpose of these trials is to select squads of the strongest players in each age group. To allow for this:

• Under 8 and Under 9 squads will initially comprise up to of 14 players with the final team trimmed to no more than 10 players for the tournament
• Under 10 and Under 11 squads will initially comprise up to 18 players with the final team trimmed to no more than 12 players.

Those squad players that miss out on the final selection for each age group will train with the squad and serve as emergencies in the event of illness or injury prior to the tournament.

Age Eligibility for 2026

IMPORTANT: During the regular season we allow players to play up an age group. We do not allow this for Castlefield Cup. Players must trial and play in the correct age group based on their date of birth.

Players must be turning 8-11 years of age during 2026 to be eligible to trial. Dates of birth will be checked for all registered trial participants. This ensures that players in their final year of MiniRoos football (U11) have the opportunity to represent the club. Therefore, players eligibility based on age is outlined below:

• U8: Born in 2018
• U9: Born in 2017
• U10: Born in 2016
• U11: Born in 2015

Trial Dates

Phase 1

• Monday August 3

Phase 2

• Monday August 10

Please note that players are expected to attend trials to be assessed for squad suitability. If you are unable to attend a trial sessions but would still like to be considered, you must register your Expression of Interest and advise us by email prior to the commencement of the trials. Each case will be considered individually.

Times note these have changed

U8 Boys & U9 Boys
Registration at 4:45pm for a PROMPT 5:00pm start (finish at 6:00pm)

U8/9 Girls & U10/11 Girls
Registration at 6:00pm for a PROMPT 6:15pm start (finish at 7:15pm)

U10 Boys & U11 Boys
Registration at 7:15pm for a PROMPT 7:30pm start (finish at 8:30pm)

Duration  Each trial session will run for approximately one hour.

Venue  Tjilatjirrin Reserve
Spring Street, Sandringham

When you arrive at the grounds, please make your way to the clubrooms to mark your child's attendance and receive a numbered bib for identification purposes.

PLEASE NOTE: Shin guards are compulsory. Unfortunately, any player without shin guards will be unable to participate.

Final squads will be announced by Friday 14th August on the completion of the trial process with training commencing shortly thereafter to allow for final team selections in the lead up to Castlefield Cup.