IT takes a lot of courage for our civic leaders to admit that Reid Oval is no longer head and shoulders above other facilities.
Cr Jennifer Lowe deserves a special mention for daring to enter the toilet facilities and stand next to a former shipping container, which now doubles as change rooms for the netballers. Who knows what hides in there?
It is not the council's fault the facilities at Reid Oval aren't up to scratch. When the football changerooms were built, I suspect teams were only allowed to have 16 players, and the warm-up consisted of a pie with sauce, a ciggie and a can of VB.
Then some genius decided to increase the number of players per side to 18 to make sure a few more mates could join in, introduced an interchange bench and then, more recently, decided 21 was the perfect number.
And to make it even more difficult for the Reid's changerooms, some Einstein discovered warm-ups lasting longer than the first half were necessary to avoid injuries.
Players are at greater risk of injury in the changerooms than on the field at Reid these days, especially in the away rooms.
The carpet, which has more blood, sweat and tear stains than the floor at a Collingwood cheer squad year-ender, should have been rubbed out for life a decade or two ago for tripping. Picking up your boots is even fraught with danger, your head hits one wall and your butt the other.
Just as well the professionalism of footballers has increased, you wouldn't want to be six foot six inches tall and weigh 18 stone in the old measure trying to squeeze in through the door 20 minutes before the game.
It is not the council's fault that when the Reid was built women were supposed to make sandwiches and shelter in a shed relocated from Old McDonald's farm.
Heavens above, women were only allowed to wear long pants in those days. Our predecessors couldn't have imagined women would have been allowed to wear lycra body suits and run, push and shove on an asphalt court in a manner far from ladylike.
It is clearly beyond the council's control that there are no facilities for netballers. It's all Germaine Greer's fault.
Now that the Reid's shortcomings are well documented, it is time for the level of professionalism in the sports to be reflected in the facilities. No doubt the council has given some thought to this.
To add to your deliberations, how about charging the people who use these facilities three times a week for the privilege? Apparently these days men and women are paid considerable amounts to play sport but unless they own a house in Warrnambool, they don't actually contribute to the upkeep of these facilities.
I recently discovered that it costs $9 to play a game of basketball ($7.10 to train) and $4.60 to go for a swim at other council facilities.
Yet these footballers and netballers who are PAID to play - and if they are not, they get financial rewards for their performances - play and train for FREE.
Maybe $5 a week per player would be sufficient. If a club has 100 players, that's $500 a week.
By season's end you could buy several shipping containers, join them together and form a series of sound-proof corporate boxes where the city's elite could share a cup of tea and a biscuit while watching the side-ways rain pelt down on the muddy centre.
They may even be prepared to chip in some spare change for an electronic scoreboard for their amusement, revamped playing surface and facilities.
Times have certainly changed. It is a tough job council has trying to keep up with the changes, let alone predicting the future, but I am confident the council will continue to make courageous decisions.
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