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Vice-captain Vanessa Rischitelli first played for Torquay women in their first season.<\/p>\n
She has watched as the program has made huge steps both on and off the field.<\/p>\n
Rischitelli said the private space is not just beneficial for female footballers but their children and female cricketers too. A key feature is the addition of lockable toilet and shower cubicles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s not just for the footy girls either, it’s the cricket girls. For all the team sports where females will be using the change rooms, we’re all going to feel a bit more safe and included in the club now,\u201d Rischitelli said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will just make life a lot easier and especially for the women in our team who have children, it’s nice for them to be able to take them to the bathroom without having to run through the urinals.”<\/p>\n
Funding for the change rooms was secured by former president Jenny Wood through federal member for Corangamite, Libby Coker, including a $700,000 grant from the Australian government.<\/p>\n
The AFL contributed $75,000 via its football facilities fund, with the Surf Coast Shire adding $82,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we started our youth girls team in 2014 with only a handful of interested players, we knew very quickly that our change rooms were not going to be adequate for a shared space between our men and women players,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past 14 years this has become even more evident with the number of girls and women who have joined our club.\u201d<\/p>\n
The funding also allowed for a canteen upgrade, which is now completed.<\/p>\n
Coker said the result was made possible through collaboration across different levels of government and stakeholders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a significant investment in a much-loved community facility. The new change rooms will help boost women\u2019s participation in footy and cricket, which is so important for the future of local sport,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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Preparing to play will be significantly easier for Torquay women this year following the completion of new women\u2019s change rooms at Spring Creek Reserve. The Tigers opened the new rooms on Wednesday, marking the end of changing in cars, climbing over men\u2019s gear and struggling with privacy. Grace O\u2019Kane first started playing with the Tigers […]<\/p>\n