Male only swim clubs under NSW parliamentary scrutiny

May 30, 2013

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The New South Wales Upper House has passed a motion calling on the Minister for Sport to refuse grants to winter swimming associations that continue to exclude women.

Six out of eight winter swimming clubs on the south coast exclude women.

This means female members of the remaining two clubs are also unable to participate in the South Coast Winter Swimming championships.

Labor MLC Lynda Voltz says that’s extraordinary and unacceptable.

“To exclude 51 percent of the population from them is not justified just on the basis that you don’t want to do it,” she said.

The clubs argue they’re entitled to ban women because they’re voluntary organisations, but Lynda Voltz says that doesn’t wash.

“Eventually over time they’ll see the sense in the argument that there’s no reason to exclude woman and why would you want to do it,” she said.

Image courtesy of Paul O’Farrell, CC BY-SA 2.0