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🇦🇺 Australia /Culture & Society

This footy club wants better for its women's team but is in a pinch

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Macedon Football Netball Club in Victoria, Australia, faces a challenge providing adequate facilities for its growing women's and girls' teams.
  • The club, known for its "Lasso Way" culture of kindness and personal growth, has seen success with its senior women's team.
  • Current facilities, primarily built for men, include open urinals and showers, causing discomfort and logistical issues for female players.

The Macedon Football Netball Club, located in Victoria, Australia, embodies a unique "Lasso Way" culture, prioritizing kindness, personal growth, and human connection over solely focusing on winning. Club president Ron Rutledge describes their approach as centered on "thank you" and "please," fostering an easygoing atmosphere.

Despite this positive environment, the club is facing a significant challenge: its facilities are inadequate for its rapidly expanding women's and girls' teams. While the club has a rich history dating back to 1887, with numerous trophies from men's teams, the recent success of the senior women's side, including two premierships, has highlighted the disparity in infrastructure.

Our number one thing is 'thank you' and our number two thing is 'please'. We're a very easy club to get on with … But we are in a desperate pitch now for our female participants.

— Ron RutledgeThe club president described the club's positive culture and its current urgent need for better facilities for female players.

Established six years ago, the women's team, followed by a girls' team, has seen substantial growth, mirroring a national trend. However, the club's home ground, Tony Clarke Reserve, is shared with local bowling, cricket, and tennis clubs, and training sessions for youth boys, youth girls, senior men's, and senior women's teams often occur simultaneously across two grounds.

Ruby Watts, a 21-year-old player who joined Macedon after her previous club could no longer field a women's side, described the facilities as "mainly made for men." She cited issues such as open urinals and showers, and a single usable toilet, creating a "disgusting" and difficult situation, especially as they must use the facilities after the men's teams. This stark contrast to the adequate facilities at her former club underscores the urgent need for upgrades to accommodate the growing female participation.

At Gisborne it was fine. Like, the facilities are perfect, they're clean, they're nice, but the ones here are a bit… they're just old and they're mainly made for men. It's open urinals and just open showers, and it's just disgusting. There's one toilet with a door, so it's a big struggle.

— Ruby WattsA player described the poor condition and gender-inappropriate nature of the club's current facilities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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