Maryborough Municipal Olympic Swimming Pool among recipients of infrastructure funding

A number of regional sport clubs across Victoria are being funded to upgrade their facilities to boost participation. Victorian Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence visited Kinglake Memorial Reserve Oval to announce the 41 new projects which will be sharing in almost $24 million from Round 2 of the Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund (RCSIF), investing in women and girls’ change rooms, sports courts and fields and more.

Minister Spence noted “these projects will be a game changer for regional communities, giving them modern facilities they can be proud of.

“This fund is all about ensuring Victorians have access to high quality sport and recreation facilities close to home, which we know boosts participation and strengthens local communities.”

The Fund is a game-changer for regional Victoria, with 67 infrastructure projects and eight participation initiatives now supported, as part of the more than $2.4 billion invested by the State Government in community sport infrastructure.

The latest round includes:

• $3 million to upgrade and restore the Maryborough Municipal Olympic Swimming Pool Complex, including improved accessibility, a new access ramp for the learn-to-swim pool, refurbishment of servery and administration area and a new family changing room.

• $875,000 for drainage and irrigation as well as new drought tolerant turf and a synthetic turf cricket wicket for local cricketers at Kinglake Memorial Reserve Oval.

• More than $350,000 for a 500 lux LED lighting upgrade at Wangaratta’s Targoora Park so that baseball and softball players can play and train at night. This investment is one of nine projects funded in this round that will directly support female participation, with a total of $5.5 million in funding.

The Community Sports Infrastructure 2024 Outcomes Statement highlights the positive impacts of projects through initiatives like the RCSIF.

In the past two years alone more than 330 community sport projects have increased participation by almost 43% or more than 70,200 new participants, including a 19% increase in junior girls playing sport.

That’s more people of all ages and abilities swimming, playing soccer, netball, volleyball, skateboarding, cycling and more at a range of facilities from skate parks to netball courts, close to home.

Local economies are also winners, with more than 1,170 direct full-time jobs supported in the delivery of more than $538 million worth of community sport and active recreation infrastructure across Victoria.

The Victorian Budget 2025/26 is investing $20 million to continue providing new and improved community sports infrastructure through initiatives like the statewide Local Sports Infrastructure Fund, which will be open for applications in the coming months.

For more information about the fund and successful projects visit sport.vic.gov.au.