It has been a long time coming but Kembla Joggers president Neil Barnett is hoping hosting the prestigious NSW Cross Country Championships this Saturday will be the first of many major events.

Up to 800 competitors will descend on the Kembla Grange venue on June 20 much to Barnett's pleasure.

"We have a fantastic venue and it is great to finally host an open state event on it where we can showcase some of the best athletes in Australia," he said.

"There will be Olympians and Australian champions taking part in a range of race distances from two to 12 kilometres.

"Hosting this prestigious event gives us a boost in our aim to host the national championships in the future. Hopefully the not so distant future."

Barnett said this event was a major selection race for the Athletics NSW team for the Australian Cross Country Championships, with the first three place-getters in the U14, U16 and U18 races automatically selected (subject to meeting eligibility criteria).

State medals will be presented to the first three place-getters in each age category including the state U23 age championships which is part of the male and female open races.

Individual country medals will also be awarded in all age categories.

"This is a great opportunity for KJ athletes to compete with homeground advantage and for anyone not competing a chance to watch your clubmates hit it out against some of the best athletes in the country," Barnett said.

The NSW Cross Country Championships has been held in Nowra for the past 13 years. It will return to the Willandra farm next year before being held in Kembla Grange in 2017.

"We are really thrilled to be hosting our first state cross-country championship. And are looking forward to hosting it again in 2017," Barnett said.

"We are keen to show it off and excited for some of the best athletes to see the facility.

"It is purpose built and used a lot by schools. We have previously hosted two Little Athletics cross countries in recent years, but this is the first open championship."

The course surface is similar to Nowra, but the gradient is vastly different.

Kembla Joggers club course manager Roy Francis is very proud of the venue.

"The course is mowed and any day of the week you can see the outline of the course."

The club is hoping to host the 2017 national cross country championships and have funding support from Wollongong City Council.

Athletics Australia competition manager Andrew Matthews will be attending the event on June 20.