But the City of Greater Bendigo maintains that’s not the case. 

“New female change facilities are not a priority for the Queen Elizabeth Oval, as existing female change facilities are already provided,” council community wellbeing acting director Michael Smyth said.

“New female change facilities are part of the master plan, but this is subject to funding.”

Acting Active and Healthy Communities manager Lincoln Fitzgerald said priority had been given to designing a replacement kiosk and toilets at the oval’s the front entrance, and replacing shelters removed in 2010/2011 as part of the QEO redevelopment. 

“This has involved consultation with user groups,” he said.

Mr Fitzgerald said the Rosalind Park Precinct Advisory Committee was supporting the implementation of the Master Plan. 

“The group will meet shortly in order to determine the next priority for implementation of the Master Plan,” he said.

“This will then be considered by council as part of the 2017/18 Budget.” 

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The master plan, which won a Australian Institute of Landscape Architects Victorian Landscape Architecture Award, was adopted on December 17, 2014.

It stated that new, “conveniently located” facilities should replace those at the Bendigo Aquatic Centre.

“The new facilities should be designed to help integrate the netball facilities with the precinct, and should be located close to the existing oval scoreboard,” the plan reads.

A cost allowance of $1.5 million was listed for the project, “but cost highly dependent upon facility proposed.

Netball facilities were mentioned about 26 times in council’s summary of comments, responses and recommendations regarding the draft master plan.

A council meeting agenda from December 2014 states council modified its draft plan “to identify proposed netball facilities and potential location” in response.

“The need for new facilities, nominally including change rooms and toilets, to support netball in Rosalind Park is acknowledged,” the document read.

“This need was identified in the 2011 QEO Master Plan and so should have translated into the draft master plan.”

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Among those responding to the draft plan in 2014 were high-profile members of the netball community.

“Provide change room facilities for netball players and officials as well as permanent seating and shelter for spectators,” Netball Victoria northern region manager Pam Ferrari said.

Netball Victoria is involved in an ongoing audit of the region’s sporting venues, in conjunction with AFL central Victoria and local governments. 

“The lack of toilet, shower and administration facilities for netball is an embarrassment and has been totally overlooked,” Strathfieldsaye A & A Reserve netball coach Melissa Ryan said. 

Council was told two years ago by Gisborne star player Madeline Stewart that netballers were forced to use portaloos and portable offices for the finals. 

“There is inequality between the netball and football facilities,” she said.

“Instead of making the park prettier, the priority should be to provide more facilities at the netball courts.”

Her comments reinforce those recently raised by Cath Robertson, who described the facilities for netballers at the QEO as “primitive.”

She arranged a tour of Fleetwood Bendigo for Mr Fitzgerald on Wednesday to highlight the potential of modular buildings as an affordable solution to the community’s calls for female friendly facilities at sports venues. 

The idea was inspired by a modular building the company built for J.J. Clancy Reserve, the home of the Kilmore Football Netball Club, in 2013 for about $250,000.

‘He was impressed,” Mrs Robertson said. 

She said the tour had also been a learning opportunity for her, having become aware council would require at least a 10 per cent contribution to such a project. 

“If clubs know they have to contribute a minimum of 10 per cent they can work towards that,” Ms Robertson said. 

She was disappointed change rooms at the QEO were still an issue.

“It’s been put in writing that there has been talk of this for many, many years…. and there’s nothing,” she said.

The Rosalind Park Recreation Reserve Precinct Master Plan and Management Framework was the product of an almost 18-month process involving more than 1000 people. 

“An advisory committee has been formed to help deliver the key actions of the master plan and it will be wonderful to see this preeminent space progressively transformed over the next 20 year period,” Bendigo Mayor Rod Fyffe said following the announcement of the award.

But female friendly facilities aren’t an issue isolated to the QEO, or the City of Greater Bendigo.

The need for sporting venues to be inclusive and welcoming to all involved is driving change statewide.

The City of Greater Bendigo this week awarded the contract for the $2M Barrack Reserve upgrade to FNG Group.

Pressure is mounting on local governments to make sporting venues more inclusive. 

The state government this week released Female Friendly Sport Infrastructure Guidelines, recognising the need for change and outlining standards for planning and design. 

A Female Friendly Facilities Fund, part of the Community Sports Infrastructure Fund, also demands action from council.

Only local governments are able to submit applications directly to Sport and Recreation Victoria, and councils need to contribute $1 for every $1.50 the state government will provide.

Central Victorian councils and Netball Victoria are involved in the development of an AFL Central Regional Strategy, instigated by AFL Central Victoria. 

“Both AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria have minimum standards facility guidelines and it is our ambition that, over time, we reach those minimum standards across the 60 venues we are working on,” AFL central Victoria regional general manager Paul Hamilton said. 

“Critical to the success of the project will be the identification and assessment of both local and regional needs and the development of strategies that can collectively meet government, football, netball, and community stakeholder objectives.”

He said the audits were complete, but there was still work to be done. 

“We have met with all our nine local government areas and sports assemblies,” Mr Hamilton said. 

“We are examining club health check results.”

The facility and futures plan is due for completion in March. 

“There is a lot of work overall to bring our football and netball facilities up to minimum standards,” Mr Hamilton said. 

“Given the community benefits and interest, we hope to attract good support for the regional plan.”

A study by La Trobe University’s Centre for Sport and Social Impact, commissioned by AFL Victoria, found there is at least $4.40 return in social value for every dollar spent on a community football club.

Netball Victoria northern region manager Pam Ferrari said Netball Victoria was also completed a separate audit on its courts across Victoria. 

“We are hopeful of releasing that to local governments sometime in October,” she said.

She hoped both reports would help with planning for the improvement of sporting venues.

“Clubs frequently get to the stage where it’s all really bad and needs replacing,” she said.

She said there were some clubs that had taken care of their netballers well, but there were other venues where netballers had never had facilities. 

The state government has acknowledged the record numbers of women and girls getting involved in sport. 

But what does that look like in our region?

Calls for improved facilities at the Queen Elizabeth Oval, and sporting grounds throughout the region, are coming from the people who use them. 

Cath Robertson led the charge with her concerns about the facilities at the Queen Elizabeth Oval, where her daughter plays netball for Sandhurst.

Other football netball clubs then started to speak out about their facilities and work that was being done, or was needed. 

Star netballers Caitlin Thwaites and Chloe Watson have backed the calls. 

But netballers aren’t the only ones in need of the facilities.

The rise of female football is driving demand, as exemplified by the experiences of the Bendigo Thunder Women’s Football Club. 

Bronte Annand has attested to the need to address facilities for female football umpires. 

City of Greater Bendigo acting Active and Healthy Communities manager Lincoln Fitzgerald told us council had been upgrading facilities at soccer grounds. 

A Roy Morgan Research Young Australians Survey found more girls were playing soccer than netball.

According to the state government, more than 50,00 Victorian women and girls play a form of cricket. 

Bendigo District Cricket Association president Wayne Walsh has high hopes for the future for females in the sport.

Sports Focus program manager Shelley Mulqueen said club environments needed to be open and female friendly not just in a physical sense, but also within the culture of clubs.  

“If women and girls aren't made to feel safe, supported, respected and valued as equals within these environments, we will not succeed in the long-term,” she said.