A swimmer was left stunned after her surf club informed her she wasn't allowed to be naked in the communal changing rooms.
According to News.com.au, Nada Pantle used the changing rooms at the Terrigal Surf Lifesaving Club after enjoying a morning swim on New South Wales Central Coast.
However, she was blindsided after receiving a letter notifying her that she had "breached the no nudity clause" - which was implemented by the club to maintain a family-friendly environment.
The note states that the regulation was created because of its Child Safe Policy and added: "Should you continue to ignore the procedures/rules, you will be subject to disciplinary action and/or including termination of your membership," as reported by 7News Australia.
Pantle spoke with ABC about the letter and said that it made her feel embarrassed, explaining: "They didn’t say what I did or who had made a complaint, but it sort of implied I’d done something almost sexual."
The swimmer also felt it was hopeless to expect people not to strip when getting changed: "At some point, you’ve got to take your clothes off to get your other clothes on."
"That’s why we have change rooms. I almost feel like I’ve been body shamed," she added. Another member, Wendy Farley, echoed a similar sentiment and said that it sends a "bad message for all women," per Daily Mail.
"Young women are so focused on hiding their bodies and feeling ashamed of their bodies," she continued, as cited by The Guardian. "They are conflating getting changed with sexually abhorrent behavior."
The Terrigal surf life-saving club contains 949 members, with over a third being under 16. The CEO, Jon Harkness, has spoken out about the policy and revealed that it was put in place because junior members had raised the issue.
"Numerous young people have raised the issue that they've felt uncomfortable in the changerooms at Terrigal and we need to make sure young people feel safe at all times," he told the outlet.
"What the club is trying to achieve is a balance so people can still use the facility but with modesty," Harkness went on. "If a child is inside and two adults come in and get naked to use the shower, they're going to feel uncomfortable."
The CEO has announced there are objectives put in place to update the changing rooms by placing individual cubicles. He also remarked that Pantle's complaints were "a little bit unreasonable given the circumstances".
"Surf Life Saving Australia is more than inclusive to all people from all cultures and with different shapes and body sizes," he added.
Nevertheless, Pantle has since resigned from the club, but has left these parting words: "Nothing beats parental responsibility and supervision in change rooms," as shared by ABC.
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