Go-Ride Experiences Olympic After Effect
News Posted 8th September 2008
Following on from GB's fantastic performance in Beijing, Tiverton BMX in the South West of England, Peebles CC in Scotland and VC Londres in London report back to us on how the Olympics has affected them.
The Olympic Gold rush has inspired many young people to attend Go-Ride Olympiads in local clubs throughout the Olympic Games. To read the reports from these events, click on one of the following links: Halesowen A & CC, Sutton CC/De Ver Cycles, Chippenham & District Wheels/Spalding and Guernsey Velo
With the Games now behind us, the news is not slowing down. Despite not medalling, Shanaze Reade's passionate performance in the BMX no doubt had an impact on the young people of Tiverton in the South West. Tiverton BMX delivered two sessions attracting between 30 and 50 young people, of which 45 were new to the sport. This influx of interest led the club to host a special welcome day for new young people giving them the chance to race against other newcomers on the 4th September. Having seen so many young people enjoying BMX at the club, parents and club members pledged to volunteer their time to help deliver top quality structured BMX riding activities for these young people. The organiser and Coach of Tiverton BMX, Paula Hallett, reports “the biggest buzz for me was having more than one of the new parents saying to me that they couldn't believe the atmosphere and how brilliant all the children were at interacting with each other and so supportive of the younger children.”
Peebles CC were one of two Scottish Clubs to deliver Olympic themed activities and the numbers from their sessions tell a familiar story with 37 new young people joining their Olympiad. Peebles CC had 18 volunteers for the event which included the club's coaches, families and other club officials to help out with tasks including catering and marshalling. With such a large fleet of volunteers the young riders had an excellent environment where there was always someone to tell of their exploits and get encouragement to try, try again and do new things. Following this success, Peebles CC are expanding on several fronts. Firstly is to expand their coaching in local schools where they provide opportunities for young people to experience more cycling fun with Peebles CC. Secondly is to expand on the activities that are delivered at the club. Peebles CC are predominantly a Mountain Bike Club but by expanding the riding and racing activities, young people will be able to have more fun and learn more skills in racing such as Cyclo-Cross, Downhill or BMX . Finally, Peebles CC is looking to expand its pool of volunteers. Many parents are keen to help and with the club boasting a healthy membership their support is welcomed. In response to the offers of help many members are undertaking the various first aid, coaching and safeguarding young people courses required for them to continue to deliver the high quality Go-Ride activities that the club currently delivers.
VC Londres and Herne Hill Youth CC are two Go-Ride Accredited Clubs based at the former Olympic track at Herne Hill. The two clubs regularly deliver excellent track activities for both young people and adults with recent sessions at Herne Hill playing host to over 70 new people on consecutive weeks, attributed in no small part to the Olympics. Herne Hill is a dedicated cycling facility with no traffic used for track racing. The challenge now facing the cycling community is that of legacy and therefore sustainability, a challenge being met head on by the Go-Ride Team and British Cycling. With plans submitted for more facilities alongside the indoor velodromes for the 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games, the recent recruitment of 15 new Go-Ride Coaches and planned recruitment of a National Volunteers Development Officer will help ensure that clubs have the structure in place to deliver regular activities for young people. These are some of the recent developments that will enable the Go-Ride Team to meet the challenge of sustaining and building on these activity increases to ensure that more young people are more active, more often in cycle sport.
