News Alert |

Ballarat has always been a thriving sporting city. We have always punched well above our weight in sporting facilities, events and achievements.

However, for too long, and in too many sports, there hasn’t been enough attention paid to women’s participation. 

Encouraging female participation in sport and recreation is a key goal for the City of Ballarat.  

In 2018, we adopted the Active Women and Girls’ Strategy because we know that active and engaged communities are healthier and happier.  

One recent initiative that aims to create more opportunities for female participation is the Girl at the Bat program. Kicking off this Sunday, Alfredton Baseball Club is hosting four free female-only come and try training sessions in a bid to attract more women and girls, aged 16 years and older, into the sport of baseball. The Sunday sessions will be held at Prince of Wales Reserve, Gillies Street, from 10am-12pm on 23 February and 1, 8 and 15 March.  

The sessions will provide a safe and welcoming environment for women and girls to explore baseball, and it will increase social connections between different groups of women and girls.  

Another sport which is also addressing the gender imbalance is BMX. The Ballarat BMX Club recently held a series of female only coaching clinics. The aim was to attract more women and girls into the fast-paced adrenaline-filled sport.  

As a Council, we are proud to offer promotion and in-kind support to both these initiatives.  

And while on the topic of BMX, don’t miss your chance to see Cr Des Hudson and I go head-to-head in The Great BMX Race-Off this Sunday. Kicking off at 10.30am, the race will be held at the recently upgraded Ballarat BMX Track at Marty Busch Reserve in Sebastopol.  

The new track, which was funded through the State Government’s Pick My Project initiative with support from the City of Ballarat, enables riders to participate in the sport year-round while also providing a local boost to the Olympic sport of BMX through race meets and events. 

This week, you may have noticed that we have removed all the Smarter Parking meters in the Eastwood Street Car Park. After consulting with many retailers and other stakeholders in the area, we have returned the car park to a time-limited, two-hour free area.  

The two-hour time restriction will be enforced through regular patrols of the car park by the City of Ballarat’s licence plate recognition vehicles. 

As a Council, we will continue to work with our community on Smarter Parking to answer your questions and address your issues.