NO more sports change room ablutions for women in the vicinity of urinals is one positive outcome of the new female-friendly, accessible change room facilities at Toormina Oval.

For the use of both men and women, the new change rooms, storage spaces and accessible pathways at Toormina Oval were officially opened on Friday 19 August by Coffs Harbour City Council Mayor Cr Paul Amos and Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh MP.

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Smartly designed with their purpose in mind, the change rooms have cubicle showers with locks, there’s a multitude of plug sockets, the water taps are high enough above the sink for people to get their water-bottles under to fill up, the toilets are tucked around the side of the space so they are not the first thing you see as you walk in, there’s spacious surfaces around the mirrors and a whiteboard for planning ‘match strategy’.

All things both men, women and children will appreciate, and far from what was previously available for the sports community using Toormina Oval.

“Council was delighted to provide facilities that encourage more people to take up and enjoy sport,” said Cr Amos.

“The recent Commonwealth Games was a great example of how women’s and people with disabilities’ participation in sport is on an equal footing with men and it’s up to us to ensure we do what we can to give everyone access to sport opportunities.

“Local grassroots sporting grounds are where the medal-winners of the future start their journey,” he said.

Sawtell Football Club, North Coast Football’s largest soccer club with around 550 members, will be the main beneficiaries of the new facilities, with cricket and Little Athletics participants also regular users of the ground.

Club President Simon Portus said, “We have seen a significant growth in female player numbers at Sawtell FC from 32 percent of total players in 2021 to 36 percent of players in 2022.

“Across the North Coast Football region female players make up on average 28 percent of total registrations.

“This growth is due to a number of factors and the female change rooms are definitely a part of that.

“Most of our club’s growth in female players has been in senior football (17 – 30yr olds) and these are the players that use the change rooms the most.

“In 2022 we have had 31 senior women players register as compared to fourteen in 2021.”

Council contributed $408,000 to the project while the NSW Government provided $215,823 through the Stronger Country Communities Fund.

The project complemented a range of security improvements previously undertaken at the Toormina Sports Complex precinct to help reduce crime and antisocial behaviour.

Council has also installed new public toilets on the site at a cost of $303,000 – another key upgrade for the overall precinct masterplan.

Mr Singh told NOTA, “This is really important for the longevity of sports in Toormina – this oval is now a really good sports precinct with the velodrome on one side and the BMX Track on another side.

“The facilities this new building provides helps keep women in sport and makes competitions more viable.

“Sport plays a massive role in making the Coffs Coast a great place to live and it’s extremely important to provide the very best facilities for all participants,” said Mr Singh.

Kimberly Grech, Treasurer of Sawtell FC told NOTA, “This is the first year of First Division women’s soccer for our club, we haven’t had enough women to make a team before, and to be able to give them this change room is wonderful.

“It will help us to grow our women’s side of the club and encourage more girls to come into soccer,” she said.

The Club has been able to make use of the new facilities since last April, while the bollards, accessible paths and drainage were finished in June after weather delays.

By Andrea FERRARI