By Goya Dmytryshchak
After a player’s father told her she wasn’t fit to coach his children, Lisa Lymbery launched a project to improve inclusion and gender equity in Hobsons Bay sports clubs.
Lymbery, a cricket coach and head of community group Equal Play, is featured in a photographic exhibition that is the first part of a four-phase project, Female Friendly Framework.
Titled Awareness, the display showcases females from cricket, football, soccer, hockey, lacrosse and life saving, with the photographs accompanied by stories.
Lymbery’s story is from a conversation that happened just last year.
“I had a father say to me I can’t possibly coach his children because I don’t have any children of my own,” she said. “This just brings to the forefront that there’s still a hell of a lot of way to go.
“I was dumbfounded to be honest – I was really taken aback. This is probably why I’m driven to really make change. I don’t want other women and girls to leave sport.”
In phase two of the project, Lymbery is conducting research for her masters degree at Victoria University to help develop a female-friendly framework among Hobsons Bay sports clubs.
“The aim of this is to ask the women and girls in Hobsons Bay – not just those involved in club sport, but everyone – what they would consider are the elements that would be needed for a club to become their ideal sports club,” Lymbery said.
The final phases are implementing the framework at six local clubs.
Awareness is at Altona North library from December 22 to January 5, Altona Meadows library from January 7-20 and Williamston library from January 22 to February 5.
