The Exmouth Recreation Centre's new gender-neutral changerooms were officially opened today, with Sport and Recreation Minister Tony Buti in town to mark the occasion.
The upgrade to the outdated changerooms, which catered primarily to male sporting needs, aims to support increased social interaction and inclusion for women and girls of all ages in the community.
The new facilities now include three female-friendly changerooms (two inside the building and one outside), adjoining toilet and shower facilities, and doors on all showers.
The State Government provided more than $142,000 through the Community Sporting and Recreation Facilities Fund (CSRFF) towards the changeroom upgrade, to accommodate Exmouth's surge in female sport participation rates.
The Shire of Exmouth contributed the remaining funding, with the project cost totalling $285,000.
The CSRFF is administered by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
Community groups and local government authorities can apply for grants towards projects such as new or upgraded playing surfaces, changerooms and ablution blocks, and sports storage.
As stated by Sport and Recreation Minister Tony Buti:
"Women's sport has experienced substantial growth in recent years, but unfortunately the facilities to accommodate women's sporting teams hasn't always kept up.
"The McGowan Government is committed to increasing female participation in sports and supporting projects such as this one, which is a great example of that.
"I am pleased that, thanks to the CSRFF, we are helping to level the playing field for women's sport in the Exmouth community."
As stated by Mining and Pastoral Region MLC Kyle McGinn:
"This is all about inclusion, ensuring sport is accessible to the entire community so that more women and more people of different abilities can participate.
"Facilities can make a big difference to clubs in attracting and retaining members.
"There are many sporting clubs in the close vicinity, and all will benefit from better quality changerooms and inclusive access."
