Soccer club needs showers for players
The Trafalgar Victory Soccer Club is seeking $200,000 for changerooms so their players, and opposition players, can shower after matches.
While grateful for the $1.6 million state and local government funding already injected into the facility, club president Mark Judd told Baw Baw Shire Council that showers were desperately needed for the growing club.
The facility, which caters for more than 270 players in the TVFC and Gippsland Football Club, has only one shower for referees, two female toilets and three male toilets.
At a special meeting to hear budget submissions last week, Mr Judd told council $200,000 would enable the club to expand existing changeroom facilities to cater for the two clubs’ teams including mens, womens and junior teams.
“This is a soccer resource issue. It is a booming sport and for 270 players, our changerooms are inadequate.
Mr Judd said the 270 players using the Trafalgar soccer facility each week equalled 12 AFL teams, 27 netball teams, 22 cricket teams or hockey hockey team.
He said the facility was currently used for training every week night as well as Saturday and Sunday competitions.
Mr Judd said the current ATCO hut style changerooms could not meet the needs of the growing clubs.
He said women’s and junior boys’ teams played at the same time and then later in the day under 16 girls and men were at the same time.
He said it also meant the club and opposition often shared changerooms.
“Most female players come to the game already changed into their gear or get changed in the car.
“It is not conducive for the inclusion of women in our sport.
“Our lack of shower and changeroom facilities are factors in losing players.
Mr Judd said the two clubs also were losing potential canteen revenue because players, who cannot shower after their matches, often got in their cars and left straight after games.
The Trafalgar soccer facility currently includes a co-tenancy agreement between TVFC and GFC. Mr Judd said there were 165 players with the TVFC, about 75 players in junior metro teams for GFC, as well as 100 kids involved in skills acquisition development squads.
Mr Judd said grants were available through the Latrobe Valley Authority and Trafalgar Bendigo Bank branch also had indicated support for the project.
But, he said, council also needed to commit funds.
He said the club proposed a multi-use facility that would serve the whole Trafalgar recreation precinct.
He said it could be located to provide facilities for junior football, the cricket club and boxing gym. “We are open to all those options,” he said.
Mr Judd said an additional $90,000 also would enable the club to instal more lighting at the facility so that training could be held on more than one ground.
When the facility was first developed, plans included full lighting.
However, only the eastern pitch is fully lit, which means training was restricted to that pitch.
“In winter we have to cancel training because we only have one lit pitch,” he said.
Secondary college principals around Baw Baw Shire have called for shade sails to be installed at the Warragul and Drouin outdoor pools.
On behalf of the Baw Baw Secondary School’s principal’s group, Deb Gentle made a submission to last week’s special council meeting for its draft budget.
Ms Gentle, who is Drouin Secondary College principal, said the principals of all private and public secondary schools in the shire requested council to fund the installation of shade sails at the two pools.
She said the schools valued the outdoor pool facilities to run swimming programs and annual swimming carnivals.
“However, we need to address the lack of shade at these two pools.
Ms Gentle said local government and schools had a duty of care to students to reduce their exposure to damaging UV rays.
She said schools have in place sun smart policies but the pools made these policies difficult to enforce.
“Schools are expected to provide their own shelters and that can be difficult to fund.
“We hope council will invest in providing shade for not only the schools but all citizens using the pool,” she said.