With three weeks to go until the 2022 Scottish Cycling Awards take place at Hampden Park, the first shortlist has been announced, with four clubs in contention to win Club of the Year.
At the heart of our community, the Club of the Year accolade is much coveted, and typically signifies everything that is great about our sport. A close-knit community that organises group activity, rides, events and enhances the development of people in whatever way they want to progress or express themselves.
Named on the shortlist for Club of the Year in 2022 are:
- Elgin Cycling Club
- Falkirk Junior Bike Club
- Glasgow Gals
- Vanelli Project-Go
We received a range of great applications, but ultimately only so many clubs could make the shortlist – in fact we actually made an exception to our usual shortlist of three.
Elgin have enjoyed a fantastic 2022 and is truly welcoming and inclusive club that opens it’s arms to anyone. From those getting on a bike for the first time through to racers, there is something for everyone. Notably the club has a 50:50 gender split, putting a lot of work into attracting and retaining females. Such activity this year included women’s taster racing to help remove the barriers to getting into road racing. They hosted a number of other great events and continue to innovate and push the boundaries.
Falkirk JBC use cycling to improve people’s lives, be it children who have never owned a bike through the Rock Up & Ride scheme, to holiday hunger programmes in the Falkirk area – both of which encourage people to make cycling a lifelong habit and be part of their growing club. Running multiple sessions a week, the club is focused on young people, so much so that a large part of their coaching workforce are under 18s. Whilst participation is their biggest focus, they do still have a number of riders competing well at a national level, and they have also hosted multiple events across different disciplines this year, from grassroots to elite level.
Glasgow Gals encourage women to get on a bike, no matter their ability level, confidence level or prior experience. Covering the whole East End of Glasgow, the club work in partnership with Women on Wheels, Cycle Roots, Cycling Sistas and The Glasgow Women’s library to offer new cycling opportunities for women who are new to cycling, or may not have considered it before. Club rides and events can be both social and/or aimed at increasing activity levels, all aimed at having a positive impact on women’s mental and physical wellbeing.
Vanelli Project-Go has historically been known as a men’s race team, but this year they have pushed their boundaries and significantly enhanced the women’s racing scene in Scotland. Now with a 28 strong female section, the club have achieved racing success at a local and national level, inspiring others to give racing a try.
To make the shortlist, each club must have been nominated by members of the Scottish Cycling community, with the criteria stating:
This will be awarded to a club or cycling group who has enjoyed a stellar 12 months, achieving success in one or more areas, such as, but not limited to: Number of active coaches/volunteers, delivery of events, youth development, talent development, participation, community links or racing success. The size of the club relative to the impact it has had will be factored into the judging.
Good luck to Elgin Cycling Club, Falkirk Junior Bike Club, Glasgow Gals and Vanelli Project-Go – the winner will be crowned at our Awards Ceremony on Saturday 26th November.
Volunteer of the Year
Shortlisted for Vounteer of the Year are:
- Carol Thompson
- Colin Chisholm
- Matthew Ball
A founding member of Glasgow Gals, Carol Thompson has driven club membership to over 150 members in five years, her voluntary efforts making the club a truly welcome and inclusive one for women of all abilities. A friendly, welcoming face, Carol inspires and encourages so many recreational cyclists across Glasgow.
Commissaire extraordinaire, Colin Chisholm is well known for his officiating, but his volunteering spans many facets of our sport. A stalwart of the off-road scene in Scotland, Colin is also an event organiser, SCX committee member, coach and rider - it's hard to fathom how much he gives to the sport. He was recently crowned Community Champion of the Year for Sport and Recreation at the Cycling Champion Awards 2022.
A serial volunteer, Matt Ball is one of the founding members of West Lothian Clarion, and one of the visionaries behind the creation of the clubs youth section. He also spent many years as Club Secretary and Head Coach, before focusing his time and energy on championing the West Lothian Cycle Circuit, which after £1.25 million of funding, is now nearing completion. His energy and passion for the sport know no bounds, and he continues to coach and support riders and the club each and every day.
Recreational Cycling Award
Shortlisted for the Recreational Cycling Award are:
- Graham McCallum
- Pauline Capaldi
- Kirsteen Ross
Since attending his first Scottish Guided Rides Ride as a participant two years ago, Graham McCallum has become a powerful advocate for cycling in his local Burnside community. Despite the pandemic slowing progress, he became a Ride Leader in October 2021 and has since built a group of men and women, who did not cycle much beforehand, boosting their fitness and confidence through his Guided Rides – some of his rides also include children as well. In just two years, Graham has led an astonishing 152 rides, 50 as a Guided Ride leader in the past 12 months, engaging with over 600 participants.
Kirsteen Ross champions female cycling in the Kinross area by creating Breeze and women’s only club rides, and making sure everyone, no matter their ability, feels welcome. Constantly growing the numbers on her rides and encouraging people to go that bit further of faster, Kirsteen is an inspirational figure, who has also recruited a number of other females who have gone on to become Breeze Champions. She has also driven up the number of female members of Kinross CC, using Breeze as the perfect platform to facilitate this.
A Breeze Network Scotland Champion since 2018, Pauline Capaldi has led over 150 rides and dedicates a lot of personal time and energy to supporting women to cycle. Pauline works hard to promote Breeze and her rides via the Breeze Scotland social media pages. Her rides are incredibly popular because of their regularity and wonderful and encouraging nature, making cycling a safe, enjoyable and sociable experience for women who are nervous about getting started on a bike. Not done there, Pauline is also a member of our Women’s Development Group, which aims to encourage more women into the sport.
