Toowoomba Inter-Church Soccer was begun in 1988 with five teams competing in an All Day Carnival at Anderson Park, organised by Philip Kajewski and Duane Welch.
The following year, 1989, saw the beginning of a structured competition with matches drawn up on a roster system for the teams and included a roster for linesman. Referees consisted of volunteers from churches and the matches were played at Centenary Heights State High School. Seven teams competed in this first year, with the competition being won 5-4 by Rangeville Uniting against AOG.
The number of teams in the Competition remained between five and seven over the next years before word began to spread and more Churches began entering teams. Also, as some teams were added, others dropped off, a fact that has continued to this day.
After five years of using the University of Southern Queensland’s Baker Street field, the Competition moved to Anderson Park in 1996. This move came about due to a number of double bookings of the field and various letters and meetings with the Toowoomba City Council and Councillor Joe Ramia.
2001 saw the Competition really increase with three new Church teams being added, boosting the total number of teams to ten. As with all previous seasons, the top four teams competed in the playoffs with Gipps Street Church of Christ defeating Rangeville United in extra time.
By 2004, the total number of teams in the Toowoomba Inter-Church Soccer Competition had risen to thirteen. Due to this increase in numbers the final system was increased to the top five teams with the minor premiers being given the first week of the finals off as a bye. Community Baptist came from fifth place to win the competition for the second year in a row, defeating Cabarlah Bears 2-1.
The beginning of the 2005 season was myriad of emotions. Toowoomba City Council required a large public liability cover which was beyond the Competition’s abilities to pay for, meaning that the hunt was on for new fields. Centenary Heights, St. Josephs and Concordia College came to the rescue for the Competition to continue. A team consisting of Sudanese refugees also made their first appearance in this season, boosting the total number of teams to its highest number ever – fourteen.
2009 saw the Competition now being run by Jamie Collins, Sean Turner and Brett Humphrey. New people running the competition also meant new ideas being brought in, including a new point system and the finals being contested between the top eight teams instead of only the top five.
In 2010, after 22 years, the Competition returned to its original starting location of Anderson Park. Scott Burstow joined Jamie and Brett as the competition organisers. Websites, a Facebook page and emails became the norm as the Competition took use of social media.
2012 saw the Competition moved back to the University grounds.
After 25 years, 2013 saw a new name for the Competition – Toowoomba Community Football. This was introduced to open up the Competition for other non-Church teams and to make players feel more welcome if they came from non-Church backgrounds.
The 2016 season saw the Competition moving to new fields at Christian Outreach College and Toowoomba Christian School. This was also the last season as Competition Co-ordinator for Jamie Collins after eight years running the Competition. Mark McDonough takes over as Competition Coordinator from him for the 2017 season and beyond.
From its humble beginnings, our football competition has come a long way. We’ve had up to 15 teams competing although that number still varies every season., with 2016 dropping back to 12. And there’s still many years of football still to come.