FINALLY the Australian sporting landscape is catching up to what a group of six passionate Ballarat sportswomen lobbied hard for recognition 50 years ago: women can play.
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These six women - Lorna Opie, Aileen Eyres, Alice Andrews, Marj Baker, Thora Blackbourn and Alma Henderson - hatched a plan in late November 1971 to form a sportswomen's club arm of the Sportsmen's Association of Australia.
Only, women at that stage were not allowed to join the SAA. It took more than a year, with support from the Ballarat branch's male leaders, to appeal to the SAA national president to change the constitution for a female associates branch to foster and celebrate female athletes in the region.
This was almost 10 years before girls were allowed to compete in Ballarat Associated Schools' Head of the Lake rowing regatta. It was still deemed physically inappropriate for young women to get in the tub.
And yet, looking at the SAA Ballarat Associates Branch's decorated sportswomen of the year roll call and you will find Olympic rowers such as Emily Martin (Ballarat Grammar) and Kat Werry (Ballarat Clarendon College).
College duo Katie Jackson and Lucy Richardson are preparing to be guest speakers for the branch's next dinner, celebrating 50 years of the club, to update members on their bronze medal winning performance in the pairs final for the world under-19 rowing championships in Paris last August.
The club has always worked to promote female athletes from the region with grants to take their games to the next level.
Long-time branch member Anne Jones said much had changed in the women's sporting landscape since the first Ballarat Sportswoman of the Year winner Sandra Griffin, athletics, was declared in 1975.
"There are so many more sports for girls to get involved in now with the emergence of soccer, cricket and football for girls," Ms Jones told Press Box. "It's not just the Matildas in the [FIFA] world cup this year but the Aussie cricketers winning the ashes and the Diamonds winning the netball world cup.
"It used to just be netball in the winter, maybe tennis or softball in the summer, then basketball and badminton started for girls. Now the sky's the limit. If we can get young girls playing sport, they're more likely to want to keep playing sport."
Jones said Ballarat had a wealth of roll call of impressive female athletes who have made a mark in elite arenas. Along with Martin and Werry, the likes of Olympic swimmer Shayne Reese, Olympic badminton player Kellie Lucas and Olympic javelin thrower Kathryn Mitchell have earned the club's sportswoman of the year crown multiple times.
While Mitchell, aged 41, continues to set new standards on the world stage, there are plenty of young emerging athletes such as Sara Kennedy already breaking barriers.
Kennedy, a talented footballer and cricketer, two summers ago became the first female called into action for Ballarat Associated School's marquee boys cricket competition. She was 14 years old.
As much as the landscape is changing, we still need champions such as the SAA Ballarat Associates Branch helping make sure our female athletes take their games to the highest levels and get the recognition they deserve.
This is what helps drive change for all girls at the grassroots.
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