The Great South Coast Hockey Challenge will run across three weekends in March.

It will cater for players of all ages with men (March 5), children (March 19) and women (March 26) to play in Hamilton.

Organiser Anthony Leddin, who is part of the Warrnambool and District Hockey Association, said it was developed to encourage new players as well as attract former competitors back to the sport.

Teams from Warrnambool, Portland, Mount Gambier and Hamilton and Corangamite will take part in the pre-season tournament.

"We are trying to make hockey more sociable," Leddin said.

"There will be a barbecue afterwards and live music."

Leddin, who has returned to the sport after eight years, hopes the concept grows into a sustainable option, potentially becoming a "seasonal" series.

"It is a way to make it new and different and bring other clubs together," he said.

"Hockey has had its challenges with new sports coming along, especially for females as there is cricket and football now, so there's been numbers drop off.

"We believe this is the way to make hockey more sustainable, to start joining forces with other associations and helping from a numbers point of view."

The Great South Coast Challenge is open to other associations too including Ballarat and Geelong.

"We are going to throw open the offer to other associations before their seasons start so they can come along as well," Leddin said.

The plan is to have two divisions across all three weekends, allowing players of differing experience to compete.

A masters competition for players over 40 is also on the cards.

Players can register their interest via www.greatsouthcoast.hockey before February 28.

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