PRESS RELEASE: Australian tech firm, Op Central, partners with Villawood Bendigo Spirit; the heart and soul of Bendigo

15.09.2021, Melbourne, Victoria

Melbourne based software firm, Op Central, today announced a new sponsorship of Villawood Bendigo Spirit; Bendigo’s own Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) team. This sponsorship is aimed at putting a spotlight on gender imbalances in a number of industries.

“We all know that tech has been a male dominated industry, just like most popular and highly televised sports tend to be male dominated.” says Kayla Russell, Chief Operating Officer at Op Central. “We hope that our partnership with the Spirit can encourage more women to get involved in these industries and shine a light on gender diversity.”

There is still a gender imbalance in Australia’s tech industry, with women accounting for only 28% of IT roles. Similarly, the popularity of professional Basketball in Australia tends to be skewed towards males; with the WNBL 2020 season attracting 3.36 million viewers, compared to the NBL’s 25.8 million.

“Op Central is proud to be playing a part in supporting women in technology with our strong female presence at all levels of our business, and in sport with this partnership with the Spirit.” said Kayla Russell.

“This is a great opportunity for the Spirit to partner with an organisation championing women, just as we do. Op Central and the Spirit can achieve more together and sport is a great place to start.” says Bianca Dufelmeier, Commercial Development Manager at Bendigo Stadium Limited.

“We don’t need to look far from the recently contested Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where women accounted for 59% of the gold medalists from Australia, to appreciate the excitement and high level of competition we can expect from women in sport. Partnering with organisations like Op Central allows us to continue to compete at the highest level and provide an amazing experience for the fans.” said Dufelmeier.

The opening round of the Chemist Warehouse 2021/22 WNBL season will commence on the 6th of November 2021. For more information or to purchase a membership, visit www.wnbl.basketball

About Op Central

Op Central is an Australian owned and operated software company, used by more than 13,000+ businesses across 37 countries. Clients range in size from 3 sites to 1,800 sites, and include many of the biggest names in Australian retail, hospitality, fitness, convenience stores, real estate and more.

For more information, visit www.opcentral.com.au

About Bendigo Spirit

Bendigo Spirit is Victoria’s only regionally-based sporting team competing in a national competition and are one of only 8 WNBL teams in Australia. From their beginnings in the 2007/2008 season, Bendigo Spirit captured the hearts of the strong Bendigo community.

In twelve seasons, the Bendigo Spirit have competed in six final series including two WNBL Championships in 2012/13, and 2013/14.

For more information on Bendigo Spirit, visit www.wnbl.basketball/bendigo