Oak Park to allow women to take volunteer position after previous ban

Mothers were told they weren’t allowed to fill an important match day role at a junior football club in Oak Park this season. Now the club is going back on that stance.

The Oak Park Community Sports Association has taken back its stance of banning women from an volunteer role. Picture: George Salpigtidis

A junior football club has backtracked on its stance to not allow mothers to fill a volunteer match day position.

Oak Park Community Sports Association (OPSCA) president Jeff Lowerson posted on the club’s Facebook page on May 1 that personal opinions of club representatives had resulted in women not being allowed to act as match day officials on game day.

MORE NEWS

SIX WEEK BAN FOR BUMP THAT RESULTED IN A BROKEN NECK

GIRLS BANNED FROM JUNIOR FOOTY SIDE FOR DRINKING

JACINDA ARDERN BRUNSWICK MURAL BACKED BY ISLAMIC CENTRE

According to the Essendon and District Football League (EDFL) 2019 operations manual, the match day official is in charge of overseeing the behaviour of both club officials and parents and is to deal with “unsavoury behaviour”.

The manual does not mention that any gender is preferable for the role.

A parent from the club told Moreland Leader that women were told they couldn’t fill the role unless they had proven conflict resolution training, but men were not expected to have undertaken the same training.

A sign at JP Fawkner Park. Picture: George Salpigtidis

“It’s dividing junior football straight down the guts, it’s saying your mum can do any job but that one,” the parent said.

The Leader understands the issue had been ongoing since the start of the junior football season in April and a meeting was held with parents on the same day the Facebook post was published.

The club members who held the stance, while they did hold official positions, were not acting on any views or actions from the club itself.

“Contrary to the personal opinions of some OPSCA representatives that it is preferable for males to fulfil this role, this is not the view of the (club),” Mr Lowerson’s post said.

“The match day official needs to be on hand to fulfil their role, which can be difficult for anyone, regardless of whether they are male or female.”

The post referenced an incident on April 28 in which parents entered the field of play in a match between Oak Park and Glenroy.

Olivia Russell commented on the post that she was the match day official at that game and that she acted to the “definition of the role, under trying circumstances”.

“The idea held by some that a female is not able to fulfil this role is disappointing to say the least,” she said.

EDFL spokesman Adem Saricaoglu said the league would not be investigating the matter further.

‘We’re encouraging of anyone, regardless of gender, to fill match day roles,” Mr Saricaoglu said.

“There is certainly no communication from us that these roles have to filled by a certain gender.”

The club held a training session for anybody interested in taking up the role on Friday.