The Bristol and Saracens women’s rugby teams switched offices and had to shower in a nearby gym, away from the stadium, for their match last month – while the men’s teams playing on the same pitch that day had to had full access to the locker rooms.
While the men’s teams changed in the single set of changing rooms at Ashton Gate Stadium for the “double header” of the men’s and women’s fixtures, the women’s teams were in offices in a stand at the ground.
The situation at the October 19 match in Bristol illustrates one of the challenges facing women’s football as clubs attempt to grow the sport.
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Bristol said in a statement: “The decision to host a double-header at Ashton Gate was made specifically to increase the audience for the women’s match, both at the stadium and on television via TNT Sports.
“We were delighted with this day which attracted almost 4,000 supporters to the stadium just for the women’s match and 18,000 in total. Unfortunately, stadium designs rarely have the luxury of space to accommodate multiple locker rooms. So there have been many discussions with our performance and operations teams (on the women’s and men’s side) about how best to organize a double match as quickly as possible. time between matches to support fan engagement.
The club added: “We chose to use the stadium’s old changing room in the Atyeo Stand to allow the women to have a separate stand in which to prepare. After the match, they walked to to a nearby private gym to access separate showers while the match was in progress. The men now occupied the Ashton Gate changing rooms before their kick-off. stadium to attend in the men’s match This plan was agreed by both clubs before the double match.
Bristol also said it was “constantly looking for new ways to grow and amplify the women’s game.” Our unique club philosophy allows our women’s and men’s teams to train side by side in a state-of-the-art facility at the Bears High Performance Center.
It is understood that one of the main reasons the men’s teams have not been set up in offices is the minimum standards in the Men’s Premiership. When Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) was asked if it could see the minimum operating standards for the women’s league, the league responded that it was not a public document.
The women’s match was attended by 3,534 supporters. Bristol have also hosted standalone matches for the women’s team at Ashton Gate, with a match against Sale last season attracting 2,800 spectators. Bristol’s women’s stadium, Shaftesbury Park, has a capacity of 1,500.
Last season, reigning PWR champions Gloucester-Hartpury also took part in a double-header with the men’s teams against Leicester at their Kingsholm ground. The men played first thanks to the televised selection and used the locker rooms, leaving the women’s teams to change in a separate room before the match. The women’s teams were then able to use the locker rooms at halftime.
The club wanted to play the double due to its charitable nature, as the encounter between the two clubs is now known as the Slater Cup in honor of former player Ed Slater, who was diagnosed with MND. Gloucester-Hartpury has no plans to stage more double headers in the future.
Leicester did not respond to multiple requests for information about its facilities for the double headers.
Exeter have never staged a double header and Saracens have no plans to do so. Ealing, Sale and Loughborough say they have enough facilities to accommodate all the teams on the double-days.
Harlequins travel to Twickenham for their double header, which has two changing rooms. However, when they were forced to move their annual double-header from the Big Game to the Stoop due to train strikes in 2022, they placed the Quins men’s and women’s teams in the home and away dressing rooms . Bristol’s men’s and women’s teams were then moved into the club’s players’ lounge, separated by a wall, to change. Quins have also hired showers for the away teams. It is understood the match could have been canceled if the measures had not been put in place.
A PWR spokesperson said: “One of the key aims of the Women’s Premiership is to grow the game and bring new audiences to watch women’s rugby. Dual fixtures can help some of our clubs achieve this goal, as we have seen this season.
“With our clubs, we are always looking for innovative ways to attract new supporters to women’s rugby and last season we saw a record cumulative attendance of over 100,000 supporters at our stadiums.
“We saw with the huge success of the Big Game, which set a world attendance record for a women’s club match last December, that double matches can be a game-changer for some of our clubs, players and supporters. “