Are dodgy change rooms keeping women and girls from participating in sport?
Key points: Sporting change rooms often fail to accommodate for women  Sporting change rooms often fail to accommodate for women Toowoomba Regional Council has announced $1.9 million in funding to upgrade Rockville Park sports ground  Toowoomba Regional Council has announced $1.9 million in funding to upgrade Rockville Park sports ground A lack of money is stopping other clubs from upgrading their change rooms  That's the question sport organisers and players are asking. Multi-code football player Jade Hubbard, of Toowoomba in southern Queensland, has seen her fair share of change rooms. On one occasion, she said her team was given the heave-ho in favour of their male counterparts. "We were getting dressed before our warm-up and we got chased out of the rooms because it was half-time and the men had to come in and do their team chat," Ms Hubbard said. She said an upgrade was sorely needed. "It might change the perspective of women wanting to get dressed in the change rooms because at the moment the change rooms are very open, so there's not much privacy and you do have the chance of someone walking in in the middle of that." Multi-code football player Jade Hubbard has seen plenty of outdated change rooms. ( Supplied: JimmyA Photography  On Wednesday, Toowoomba Regional Council announced $1.9 million in funding as a part of the recent budget for the upgrade of Rockville Park sports ground, home to local AFL and cricket clubs. Councillor Tim McMahon said the funding had been on the cards for a while. "It comes back to safety  women don't want to get changed at Rockville Park because of the facilities aren't up to standard," he said. "Rockville Park is not the only one that needs an upgrade and there are a lot of community groups waiting on their toilet and change room facilities to be upgraded but this year, that's the one that came out on top." Rockville Park received $1.9 million to upgrade its change rooms. ( Supplied: Toowoomba Tigers AFC  Competition manager for AFL Queensland in the Darling Downs, Mitchell Simpson, was thrilled with the decision. "According to the last survey, over 60 per cent of our (AFL Darling Downs) change rooms rate as poor and compared to a lot of other regions across the state, we rank really low in terms of the quality," Mr Simpson said. "I think having quality facilities and providing an environment that's safe and clean and enjoyable is a huge part of retaining players, so I think we'll see some massive benefits on the recruitment and retention as well," he said. "We have certainly been beating the drum for a few years now so it's really pleasing that the Toowoomba Regional Council has announced the $1.9 million for Rockville." Find more local news Tell us your location and find more local ABC News and information  While the funding is definitely a step in the right direction, the problem remains for many sporting clubs across the region. Female players have mentioned a lack of doors, cubicles, toilet roll holders and sanitary stations as just some of the issues faced on a weekly basis. While the funding is a step in the right direction, the issue remains for other clubs. ( ABC: Anthea Moodie  Rugby League Club coordinator for Toowoomba and Warwick, Jackie Stephson, said clubs were doing the best they could. "It is a brand new comp in the open women's rugby league so clubs juggle around the best they can to accommodate the men's and women's teams, which isn't easy for them  women have to get out so men can get in," Ms Stephson said. "I think the government and governing bodies look at it favourably, but it doesn't rise to the top of the list. "It has always been hard with community rugby league clubs everywhere, there's only a certain amount of money they have got."