the 1890s with a women's cricket team developed in 1908. The depression years hindered the progress of inter-town matches being developed over any length of time. Several matches were played between metropolitan teams and with the establishment of better rail services and a universal half-holiday on Saturdays, district cricket tended to improve. In 1892 Lord Sheffield's visiting English Cricket team played a Gippsland team at Bairnsdale on the Bairnsdale College grounds. Soccer Soccer is represented by East Gippsland United Football Club who play in the Latrobe Valley Soccer League. The Victorian regional leagues are the eighth level of soccer in Victoria, and the ninth nationally. The club's home ground is Howitt Park in East Bairnsdale. The other club, Bairnsdale Soccer Club focuses on Futsal, a modified form of the game. Other sports Bairnsdale has a horse racing club, the Bairnsdale Racing Club, which schedules around eight race meetings a year including the Bairnsdale Cup meeting usually held on the first Sunday in January. The town has two field hockey clubs in the East Gippsland Hockey Association. The Bairnsdale Hockey Club is based at the WORLD fields, while the Nagle Hockey Club is based at Nagle College, just out of town to the west. Golfers play at the Bairnsdale Golf Club on Paynesville Road, Eagle Point or at the course of the Goose Gully Golf Greens on Balfours Road. With its close proximity to the Gippsland Lakes and Ninety Mile Beach, along with easy access to the Mitchell, Nicholson and Tambo rivers; Bairnsdale proves to be a popular destination for recreational anglers and good catches are reported regularly. Bait and tackle supplies, along with the required angling licenses are readily available in Bairnsdale. Bairnsdale is also home to the Bairnsdale Aquatic and Recreation Centre (BARC) which is the largest indoor sports complex in country Victoria and contains 2 swimming pools, 3 basketball courts, several gym rooms and the Forge theatre. The Riviera triathlon club, based in Bairnsdale, run events all year round including the popular "mini tri's" on Wednesday nights at the BARC between October and March. Bairnsdale Cycling Club run road races most weekends throughout the year taking in the scenic terrain around the Gippsland Lakes and foothills of the Great Dividing Range, the club is home to talent such as Daniel McConnell a two-time Olympian and mountain-bike world-cup winner. The Gippsland Mountain bike club holds many events around the