Wallan’s Greenhill Reserve female-friendly change room conversion project has officially been opened.
Community Sport Minister Ros Spence was in Wallan on Tuesday, August 9, for the official opening.
The main oval change rooms received upgrades including the removal of urinals, addition of extra toilets and shower dividers to make the space more female-friendly.
A first-aid room, verandah and more storage have also been added.
It is hoped the renovations will entice more women to get involved with community sport through equitable access to the main oval.
The project received $500,000 from Sport and Recreation Victoria’s Local Sport Infrastructure Fund’s female-friendly facilities stream and $260,000 from Mitchell Shire Council.
The upgrade coincides with the Victorian Government’s announcement of The Fair Access Policy Roadmap.
The roadmap intends to improve the access and use of community sporting facilities for women and girls by addressing barriers to participation. These include limited access to the best courts or grounds, facilities of a lesser standard and less convenient competition and training times.
From July 2024, all Victorian councils will need to ensure equitable access to sport to be eligible to receive infrastructure funding from the state government.
The program is designed for councils, sports organisations and other groups which manage publicly-owned community sports infrastructure. It has three phases: education, readiness and progress. The first phase begins this year.
The program will be delivered by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation in partnership with Sport and Recreation Victoria and VicHealth. They will provide training and support to help councils implement the roadmap.