Brighton junior club’s massive increase in female footy players require pavilion upgrade to level the playing field for girl’s sports

FEMALE footy players at a Brighton club need better rooms to cope with a sevenfold increase in numbers, a president says.

FEMALE footy players at a Brighton club need better rooms to cope with a sevenfold increase in numbers, a president says.

Last season there were around 20 girl players at Brighton Beach Junior Football Club, but this year there are more than 150 females signed up.

President Paul Visentini said there were 100 girls and 54 women who wanted to play the game at the South Rd oval this coming season.

Last year the small club ran one under 18 girls team, which has now exploded to under 10s, under 12s and under 18s teams, an Auskick program and one women’s senior side.

He said the ageing pavilion — which dates back to 1957 — was not good enough to accommodate such a large uptake in girls and women.

The clubrooms are very out of date. Picture: Chris Eastman

“Young girls get intimidated if they have to share with boys,” Mr Visentini said.

“We need to have two home and two away rooms, separate toilets, a gym space and the best facilities we can.

“It is not easy to get girls, or young women (involved) when what they have is not up to the standard it should be.”

The toilets at the clubrooms are in bad shape. Picture: Chris Eastman

He said the clubrooms were not used in weekday times and this was an opportunity for the council to do something productive for the whole of Bayside, not just the football and cricket clubs.

“This could be made into a social space, a community facility,” he said.

“Sport is not just about the game, it is about growing the community, we are asking the council to do the best for all parties.”

He said they aimed to have at least a third of their players as girls, with the ultimate objective of equal numbers of males and females.

Mother Lisa Mitchell, whose 11-year-old daughter Olivia plays at the club, said girl’s footy was a growing sport and it was vitally important for them to have access to separate facilities, especially during their teenage years.

Bayside environment, recreation and infrastructure director Steven White said the pavilion had previously been scheduled for construction this financial year, but it had been deferred.

“Once all parties are able to agree on an approved design, the look of the building will be tested with the community before work can begin,” Mr White said.

“The pavilion is currently scheduled for construction in 2019/2020 however council has agreed to bring funding forward to 2018/2019 to enable an earlier start if agreement can be achieved on the design.”

He said by 2026 every pavilion in Bayside would have unisex facilities that met national standards for female participation in sport and provided a level playing field for women and girls.