De La Salle join calls for Stonnington Council to upgrade Waverley Oval changerooms

De La Salle has joined calls for their changerooms to receive an upgrade to improve a bleak situation. Here’s what the VAFA club is hoping for.

VAFA Premier B club De La Salle has rallied behind a petition calling for Stonnington Council to upgrade the club’s home ground, Waverley Oval, to end discrimination.

The petition, made by Stonnington Council Watch president, Dean Hurlston, calls for new changerooms, toilets, social spaces, and upgraded lighting to make the precinct “safe” and “usable.”

The 27-year-old facility is used by De La Salle Amateur Football Club, De La Salle College, Korowa Girls School, GSV and ACC Sport, East Malvern Junior Cricket Club and the German Shepherd Dog School.

The petition on change.org said “the facilities are non-compliant, DDA non-compliant, have no gender-neutral change rooms, are unsafe for oval users, are unclean, unkept, and unacceptable for any community sport.”

De La Salle, established in 1955, is currently using the Malvern East facility for their footy season.

De La Salle taking on St Kevins in the VAFA. Picture: Andy Brownbill

The club’s president Phil Proy said the changerooms deserve an upgrade.

“Basically, they are very outdated, they were last updated in 1996,” he said.

“And since then, obviously sport has come a long way and we have also got men’s and women’s teams.

“We just want to make sure we got the right facilities to suit this new environment we’re in.”

Proy said the ground lighting also needed improving and recommended the inclusion of the clubrooms in the upgrade plans.

The facilities at Waverley Oval. The changerooms are location on the rear to the left and the clubrooms are on the right side. Picture: Supplied.

De La Salle is hoping to advance conversations with council now that the petition has reached more than 1000 signatures.

Council Watch Victoria vice-president Dean Hurlston explained why he made the petition.

“Because I heard that De La Salle were having trouble with council,” he said.

“I have seen council spending 60m on a netball stadium and other sports whilst these guys have been asking, for years, just to have their facilities brought up to a safe, reasonable, clean, hygienic standard and to give access to girls, who can’t play without using the boys changerooms, it’s nuts.

“When I heard they were using a sheet to actually allow people of different sexes to change, I thought that is disgusting, that is not what should be happening.

“It’s not that hard for council to spend a bit of money.”

Hurlston said it was encouraging that council were starting to take action on the facility.

See the petition here.

Stonnington Council were contacted for comment.