Melbourne is now the home of Australia’s latest dedicated women’s sports bar, The W Club.
Founded by Richmond AFLW player Tessa Lavey, and sporting coach Liz Quinn, the pair set out to create a safe space where people can come together to enjoy women’s sport.
After a successful pop up event at the Prince Alfred Hotel in Richmond last November for the AFLW final, Lavey and Quinn decided to find a more permanent home for their new space.
“We have not designed this place only for women,” Quinn said. “Although, of course, we understand that the majority of people who love women’s sport are women, there are a large number of men and non-binary folks out there who love it too!”
Lavey and Quinn’s own experiences of traditional sports bars found they were designed around men’s sports and the people who love men’s sports- namely, men.
“I, personally, love men’s sports! And we know so many women do too, but often those environments can feel unsafe – psychologically and/or physically – for so many people because of their ‘blokey’ feel and the emphasis on alcohol consumption and tribalism,” Quinn said.
“We wanted to created something different. A safe, welcoming and inclusive place for people to connect over and celebrate women’s sports.”
A warm welcome from the sporting community
The W Club is nestled in The Aviary, an Abbotsford pub purchased by Lavey and Quinn in the sporting heart of the city, close to Punt Road Oval and the MCG.
The two venues will exist alongside each other, with the same staff attending to The Aviary.
“In acquiring an already successful and established venue in The Aviary, we now have the space to provide fans of women’s sports a home ground to call their own; where they can come and cheer on their own team, or someone else’s, or just have a meal or a drink with friends. In fact we’d even love it if folks just dropped in to say hi!”
There’s a definite hunger for sports bars designed for women.
Australia’s first dedicated women’s sports bar, The Ladies League, made history when it opened its doors in Sydney last year.
Sadly, the pressures of running a new hospitality venture proved insurmountable, and the bar closed in the new year despite a huge swell of community support across the country.
The W Club is holding it’s first official “pub warming” on Friday, July 18, and will have a watch party for the Opals in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup semifinals.