Planning for future sport

Girls and women’s participation in sport in booming in Australia and Geelong is no different.The introduction of AFLW and the international success of the Matildas have been seen as major milestones for female sport in Australia.

But it is at a grassroots level we are seeing a fundamental change. It is not just soccer and AFLW, cricket and traditional female sports such as netball are all experience a girl lead participation explosion.

Girls and women are wanting to be kept active, wanting to engage in healthy competition and build their resilience and our local sporting clubs are playing a critical connecting role.

Our clubs now offer all a sense of community, the chance to be part of something bigger, and allow all of us to work and volunteer in different roles with the shared goal of making our club or our sport better.

Few clubs exemplify this better than the Bell Park Sports Club.

The Bell Park Sports Club has a proud history and has been providing soccer facilities for the local community for more than 60 years.

It has played an important role in pioneering women’s and girls’ participation in football in the region and continues to cater to hundreds of junior and senior players today.

Geelong is a sporting city, however, we can only retain that reputation by delivering and retaining facilities in key growth areas.

So in 2022, Council agreed to purchase the land and assets of the Bell Park Sports Club.

By transferring the land from private to community ownership, we knew that we could ensure the world game continues to grow in Geelong now and in the future.

This was particularly important given the site is strategically located within the future Western Urban Growth Zone with a projected population of 60,000 residents.

Since the acquisition, Council has continued to invest with the Victorian Government.

In 2023, we completed a $397,000 lighting upgrade.

The new modern lighting facilities has meant that the Club can host night games, enabling more people to get active, train or play at any time of the day.

And in May 2024, the transformation continued with the opening of modern female-friendly change facilities, signalling a new era for the Club.

Soccer participation amongst women and girls is booming following the Matildas’ amazing run at last year’s World Cup, and it’s important we encourage this growth by providing our local clubs with the best possible facilities.

We know there’s a gap when it comes to female involvement in sport.

At our Council meeting in late March, we were presented with a draft Fair Access Policy, which offered some grim numbers.

28 per cent of women have considered leaving their club due to inequitable treatment, women are 2.5 times more likely to report feeling unwelcome at their sporting club compared to men, many Victorian women and girls don’t have access to the best courts or grounds, have facilities of lesser standard, and are relegated to less convenient competition and training times, and participation rates for females are considerably lower than for males, and only 30 per cent of the City of Greater Geelong’s community sports change rooms are gender-neutral.

Sport is such a huge part of our culture and identity here in Geelong and across Australia more broadly and the delivery of the new facilities at Bell Park brought us one step closer towards equality.

These contributions are not just about improving infrastructure, they are about investing in dreams and aspirations.

But beyond the bricks and mortar, Bell Park Sports Club embodies the spirit of community. With over 300 registered players spanning various teams, they offer more than just soccer; they offer a sense of belonging.

Thanks to the generosity of partners and the dedication of volunteers, Bell Park Sports Club stands as a testament to what can be achieved when a community comes together for all.

Cr Anthony Aitken

Windermere Ward,

City of Greater Geelong