08 Young People (Under 25)

A new award for 2008 recognises the work of young people in cycling who take time out of their hectic racing, school and work schedules to volunteer their time to the sport. The amount of work taken on by young people and the enthusiasm with which they do it is commendable and highly appreciated by clubs around the country and by British Cycling itself. Nominations for the award are as follows:

Central - Tom Withers, Palmer Park Velo - Gary Clarke writes:
"Tom is currently a level one coach working hard towards his level two and has been a much valued member of Palmer Park Velo for the past eight years.

With National Level competitions under his belt, Tom is able to draw upon his experiences to back up the theory of his exercises when coaching other riders and is held in the highest regard by both the young riders and the other coaches in the club.

Tom is now balancing his coaching and competing commitments with the heavy work load of AS levels. He is a great credit to his family, Palmer Park Velo and the sport in general.

Palmer Park Velo fully support Tom's nomination."

East Midlands - William Hare, Spalding CC - Simon Watts writes:
"William began his cycling career with Spalding CC where his dad was a Go-Ride coach. He has since become a volunteer himself and has taken on responsibilities most young people his age wouldn't even consider. William's contribution has been particularly important in supporting Spalding CC's rapid expansion.

William is respected and valued by the club's committee and members that when he mentioned he wanted to promote his own grass track event, the club had the confidence to support him with the proposal.

Currently a Level One coach, William has the ambition to take his coaching to the next level whilst also looking to further his education by taking a Sports degree at University. This award is very well deserved for the work William has already been involved in and he is a great asset for Spalding CC."

Eastern Region - Ria Goodman, Ipswich BMX Club - Phil Townsend writes:
"Ria Goodman began BMX racing sixteen years ago at the tender age of six. She soon showed great potential and throughout her years of racing has taken numerous Regional and National titles as well as being five-times British Champion. At an International level, she has made the European Championship Finals three times and in 2006 came second in the European Series. Her racing pinnacle was achieving sixth place in the World Championships in Canada in 1997.

Away from the track, Ria currently holds the post of Secretary for the Ipswich BMX Club and represents her club on the BMX East Regional Committee whilst also representing BMX Racing on the Team Ipswich forum."

North East - Joe Curran, Hetton Hawks - Stephen McIntosh writes:
"Joseph joined Hetton Hawks as a novice three years ago and quickly developed into one of the club's most promising riders. Showing a positive attitude to younger members and a fierce desire to beat the fastest riders, he quickly established himself as a popular member of the club. In 2006, Joe became club captain where he was successful in his responsibilities of providing leadership and a voice for the young members at club committee meetings and giving a warm welcome to new riders in the weekly coaching sessions. Joseph has become an inspirational, approachable figure within the club structure that the younger riders look up to.

Part of the club captain role is to write a regular website blog which Joe has done without fail. This gives other committee members and young members a feel for how the club is progressing, as well as a voice to air achievements, views and improvements they would like to see. This continued without interruption throughout his GCSE year (in which he got 10 A's/ A*'s and a B), whilst he continued to compete in the under-16 age category on the road.

Due to this hard work he was nominated by the young members for a second year as club captain in 2007-08. He has also represented the club at the Regional AGM this year and continues to show a desire to continue developing the club coaching, administration and membership levels.

Joe has also assisted in the numerous events/trips the club organised in the two years he has been club captain and also written a bid for funding. Joe remains a valued and very popular club captain."

North West - Matt Winston, Bolton Hot Wheels - Alex Scoular writes:
"Matt became a volunteer through his involvement in cycling as a club member, racer and member of the BC North West Talent Team. For the past four years, he has helped run the scoreboard at the Manchester Velodrome on the Monday night Track League, Revolution series and Track Cycling World Cup events.

Matt was the event organiser for a round of the National Youth Omnium series at the Manchester Velodrome in 2006/2007, which was an extremely challenging role involving a great deal of planning and organising of other volunteers. He was the event organiser of the CDNW (Cycling Development North West) Youth League in 2007, which involved the disciplines of Road Racing, MTB and Cyclo-Cross. It was very well received by youth members in the North West and was seen as a successful vehicle for promoting the sport, driving up youth participation and encouraging entry level racing in the region. Matthew is also a qualified regional commissaire and has volunteered in this capacity at numerous CDNW events throughout 2006 and 2007.

Matthew has also helped coach at Bolton Hot Wheels Club and the Tuesday night youth training sessions at Preston Arena. Matthew's volunteer work has been greatly appreciated and he is very deserving of this award."

South - Lauren Barber, Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers - Rob Jefferies writes:
"As a valued member of the Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers, Lauren is heavily involved in competition, taking part in Track and Cyclo-Cross in the winter and Time Trailing and Circuit Racing in the summer.

Lauren regularly volunteers to help at BJW events and, as an elected member of the BJW committee, brings the views and aspirations of younger members to fore, helping to steer the club forward in years to come. Lauren is always willing and keen to assist the coaches in the BJW (Jets) Go-Ride and club track sessions, demonstrating various skills and techniques required as well as mentoring the younger and less experienced senior riders.

Lauren is aiming to be accepted on the Step Into Sport programme and hopes her work as a young volunteer will help her achieve this."

South East - Daniel Gerrey, VC Jubilee - Roy Page writes:
"Daniel spent two seasons racing at Preston Park Track, participating purely for fun and fitness. At sixteen years of age and knowing his limitations, Daniel unselfishly decided not to race but instead to support the local Track League events by volunteering as a judge and official. His quick eyes and skills at recording rider's numbers as they go past at speed enabled much more reliable and accurate results for these events, ensuring the riders' positions were correct. It is now a common sight to see the older judges gathering around Daniel as he usually gets the numbers that they have missed. The importance of his judging skills are emphasised when we have the World Junior Track Champion (team sprint) Peter Mitchell and other National record holders performing and appearing at these track competitions in Brighton.

Daniel has been volunteering for the last two years without any formal recognition and it's great to see that Daniel's efforts have been acknowledged by British Cycling."

South West - Jake Durrant, Mid-Devon CC - Mark Adams writes:
"Jake has been an ambassador of cycling for two years, promoting cycling and its benefits to the school children in the South Dartmoor area. Jake fits this in around his school work and cycling training."

WCU - Tim Austin, Cardiff Ajax CC - Caroline Gaye writes:
"Tim is one of Wales' youngest yet most enthusiastic commissaires. Qualified as a Regional Track and Road commissaire, he is a conscientious official and is already working towards achieving National status. Always happy to help out at short notice, Tim can be seen week in week out at events from evening track leagues to regional road races and track meetings across the country. When not commissairing, Tim organises his own series of races and is one of Wales' most valuable young volunteers."

West Midlands - Chris Jewkes, Wednesfield Aces - Kevin Turley writes:
Chris Jewkes from the West Midlands is dedicated to the sport of Cycle Speedway. He began racing at the age of eight and, like his father who raced in the sixties, it wasn't long before Chris established himself as a very talented young rider. Alongside his success on the track, Chris soon showed an interest on what was going on behind the scenes.

At the age of fifteen, Chris came second in the British under-16 Individual Final and in the same year he had achieved his main ambition of holding a regular place in the Wednesfield Aces first team. Chris is now captain of that team and this year he was presented with the Premier League team winner's trophy.

At Wednesfield Aces we are fortunate to have a lot of talented young riders, however Chris goes out of his way to help out as a volunteer. Chris is a key holder and therefore is always one of the first people to turn up and set the track out, whether for a weekend home match or a training session. Chris also helps out as a marshal every Tuesday night at Ashmore Park where the club can have up to 35 children turn up for training.

On many occasions Chris offers to drive the family van to transport the club bikes all over the country. Everyone at Wednesfield Aces really appreciates the work that Chris does for the club, and despite him only being young himself, he sets a great example to the younger members.

I have been involved in Cycle Speedway for years and it is not very often you come across a young individual like Chris who goes out of their way to help others. It is for this reason alone that I couldn't imagine a much more worthy winner of this award."

Yorkshire - Kirsty Cummins, Bradford Bandits BMX club - Peter Root writes:
"Kirsty Cummins became involved with BMX racing when her younger brother Michael started racing for the Club. Due to swimming injuries, she was unable to race but continued to attend the Club sessions and helped out in many ways, from getting the new riders kitted out with to helping with track maintenance.

On race days she can usually be found organising the riders on top of the start hill, making sure they get in the correct race and right lane. Her patience and friendly attitude is much appreciated by the younger riders as they get ready to race.

This year she attended the Regional BMX race official's course and became the youngest person in the region to qualify. Recently she took on the important role of finish line Judge at one of the Autumn nationals.

Kirsty Cummins is a valuable member of the Club and richly deserves this award."