Mid Lancs Become The First BMX Club In The North West To Achieve Go-Ride Clubmark Accreditation
News Posted 20th November 2008
Mid Lancs BMX have become the first BMX club in the North West to become a Go-Ride Clubmark Club. In total there are 11 Go-Ride Clubmark Clubs in the North West but Mid Lancs are the first of the North West BMX community to become a beacon club that British Cycling and other organisations can be confident that young people will have the best possible cycling experience with.
In the Preston area young people will be directed to Mid Lancs BMX because now that they have achieved their Clubmark Accreditation people know that they have excellent operating standards with respect to:
Safeguarding Young People
Sports Equity
Coaching
Club Management
There are several Go-Ride BMX clubs following in the footsteps of Mid Lancs and they are busy demonstrating the excellent practices that earned Mid Lancs their Clubmark status. Practices such as delivering regular coaching and racing opportunities for young people and communicating regularly with members via their website at http://midlancsbmx.com/. However, an important practice was that of developing some volunteers within the club to ensure that the activities are sustainable and of the highest quality. The club recruited parents, extended family and club members to become volunteers within the club and fill 3 key volunteer positions. One of those positions was the Go-Ride Contact. The Go-Ride contact attends a 2-3 hour workshop called A Club for All where they will get tips and advice about ensuring that the clubs membership is a far reaching as possible, and how to keep people involved in the club. For Mid Lancs BMX the Go-Ride contact is Lisa Clarke and she will act as the first point of contact for anyone interested in joining the club. Lisa will also help the club communicate regularly with existing and prospective new members via the website, newsletters and flyers.
The second key role is filled by Tina Strickland. Tina is the Club Welfare officer and acts as a confidential point of contact for anyone who is concerned about the welfare of anyone at the club. She will address minor problems reported with the coach, problems such as equipment faults, or pass any more serious problems to the relevant authorities. The training that Tina undertook was another 2-3 hour workshop called Safeguarding Young People, and now along with the Contact and Coaches, she enjoys free silver membership.
The third key role is that of Club Coach. The club coach will deliver regular coaching and racing opportunities for young people and Mid Lancs have an abundance of those. Tim Williams and Dylan Clayton deliver coaching on Wednesdays and Sundays during the summer, and Sundays throughout the winter.
BMX is an excellent form of cycling sport for young people to race in because it is fast and fun as they traverse the bumps and burms around the Coppull Track. The racing scene is also very easy to get involved in because racers under 9 can even participate in the age category racing. The next race the club will be promoting will be the third round of the Winter Series which also has a Christmas Fancy Dress theme with prizes for the best outfit. There is a family atmosphere in the club with many young racers and siblings attending races or coaching sessions and because of that, there will also be an early visit from Father Christmas at the 7th December Winter Series race.
If you would like to get involved in the first Clubmark BMX Club in the North West and ride the Coppull track in Chorley, Lancashire you can get more information at http://midlancsbmx.com/ or e-mail lewis.clarke@tiscali.co.uk.
