We are facing the imminent loss of social indoor netball in the inner west.

With CitySide, the only known provider of indoor social netball in the City of Maribyrnong, moving netball to Aberfeldie, the Council now faces a complete lack of accessible indoor social netball opportunities locally. This decision will immediately impact hundreds of players, the majority women.

This isn’t just a matter of sport - netball at Whitten Oval has become a place of friendship and belonging.  

Moving games to Aberfeldie – about an hour away on public transport – will mean some players will give up social netball.    

For women, particularly those aged 25-54, options to play in social sport are already scarce. Indoor social netball offers more than physical activity, it provides:

• A vital sense of connection and community;
• A safe, structured space for mental and physical wellbeing;
• A low-barrier entry point for women to continue playing or reconnect with sport and;
• An environment supportive of gender diverse and inclusive participation. 

The numbers tell the story.

Despite recent gains, women and girls remain critically underrepresented in community sport participation. In Victoria, the male sports participation rate in 2023 was 18.3 per cent, and the female participate rate was only 10.1 per cent. 

The desire to be involved in community sport is there, but continued effort is needed to retain, re-engage and support women in their sporting journeys.  

Mixed netball also plays a vital role in fostering inclusivity, providing a place of welcome and encouraging participation for everyone in our community. 

We welcome and commend Maribyrnong City Council’s commitment to ensure gender-equitable outcomes in sport and recreation across our community. The adoption of the Fair Access Policy Action Plan and the integration of equitable Allocation Criteria mark vital steps toward removing systemic barriers that prevent women, girls and gender-diverse people from participating in community sport. 

We also acknowledge the strategic planning outlined in the Maribyrnong Indoor Sports Stadium Strategy,  which over five years ago identified a significant shortfall in the availability of indoor courts of between 4 and 12 additional indoor sports courts to service the demands for indoor sports over the next 25 years with an immediate need for a 4-6 court facility.

While two new courts as part of the Rec West West Footscray redevelopment (funded by Maribyrnong City Council and the Victorian Government) are welcomed, and McIvor Reserve has been slated as a future location, the shortfall remains. We urge Council to ensure the Rec West project and future projects, are funded and delivered with a clear gender equity lens.

Given netball is the number one participation sport for women in Australia, and the top team sport for adult women between the ages of 25-54, its absence in the Maribyrnong LGA undermines not only local participation but Council’s own equity objectives.

We are calling on Maribyrnong City Council to:

• Embed gender and access equity as a central overlay in all current and future sporting facility allocation processes including venue hire, procurement and partnerships.
• Actively engage with social netball providers, including CitySide, to understand barriers and explore opportunities to retain or attract netball competitions within the LGA.
• Prioritise short-term indoor venue access to enable social netball to continue operating locally while long-term facility solutions are developed.
• Champion netball as a key participation sport within community sport policy and strategy development.

Without swift action, hundreds of netballers will lose their only local opportunity to participate in social indoor netball - a sport that fosters community, builds resilience and improves health outcomes.

We urge Council to work with us and the broader sporting community to find an immediate and long-term solution. Let’s ensure Maribyrnong remains a leader in creating inclusive, vibrant and equitable sporting opportunities for everyone.