Sports Management Q2 2011 - UUM

GRASSROOTS
around the country, which allowed very
little time for individual development.
The newly structured programme will
allow young riders to develop bike skills
and an all-round knowledge of BMX racing
on a British Cycling platform aimed at
developing the very best BMX riders.
Hayes’ programme includes a BMX
skills award badge system for riders at
three different levels; beginner, intermediate
and expert. He says these
progressive awards increase the riders’
skills base and allow regional coaches to
“better evaluate riders’ progress, while
allowing young people and their parents
a proper guided pathway for their potential
progression to Talent Team and the
Olympic Development Programme”.
Playground to podium
British Cycling now offers people a
chance to develop their basic cycling skills
through its Go-Ride national development
programme for schoolchildren and
club members. Within these sessions,
qualified Go-Ride coaches pass on their
knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport
through interactive activities, which develop
bike riding skills and competition.
Links are made with local Go-Ride
community clubs to help young people
develop their skills across a network of
more than 230 clubs around the country.
Additionally, with support from principal
partner Sky, British Cycling has launched
Go-Ride Racing – a new youth entry
level competition programme designed
to bridge the gap between school/club
coaching and open regional competitions.
Talented riders are then nominated
by their club to attend Regional Schools
of Racing, which provide opportunities
British BMX World Champion Shanaze
Reade will ride at the 2011 UEC European
Championships in Birmingham
32 Read Sports Management online sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital
Above: An artist’s impression of the
new indoor BMX centre in Manchester.
Right: Building the Redditch BMX facility
for young people to link up with British
Cycling Talent Team coaches.
All Go-Ride coaches support BMX
through their activities in schools and
community clubs. Former world champions,
Dylan Clayton and Sam Foakes,
act as inspirational athletes for the
sport, while a third Go-Ride coach has
also been employed through the sport’s
legacy plan – associated with the BMX
World Championships. Organised by British
Cycling, UK Sport and Birmingham
City Council, the event will be held at the
National Indoor Arena, Birmingham two
months ahead of the Olympics. It is expected
to play a pivotal long-term role in
taking the BMX discipline to a new level
of public interest.
Building for the future
Birmingham’s Perry Park will soon boast a
new international-standard outdoor BMX
track and will welcome the world’s best
riders for the 2011 UEC European Championships
in June this year – where a young
audience will be inspired by the likes of
BMX World Champions Shanaze Reade.
The track in Perry Park will be the new
home of Birmingham BMX club, while
a new BMX facility has also recently
opened in nearby Redditch, where it’s
hoped BMX racing will continue to inspire
youngsters for generations to come.
Birmingham’s new tracks are just two of
British Cycling’s most recent investments
into cycling facilities. Previously BMX
tracks had become unsustainable, due to
a lack of funding and investment from local
authorities. It wasn’t until the inclusion
of BMX as an Olympic sport that these
authorities realised current infrastructure
would not deal with the sport’s growth in
popularity and investment was needed to
ensure the sport moved forward.
Since then, British Cycling has invested
its capital funding to establish a network
of national tracks, each requiring funding
of up to £450,000 – to provide facilities
that include fences, floodlights and clubhouses
etc. Assistance has also been given
to clubs which put a sustainable business
plan in place to enable communities and
future cycling stars to use the facility for
generations to come.
The first facility of this model was Platt
Fields in Manchester. Opened in June
2008, in conjunction with Manchester
City Council, Platt Fields is now used
regularly by the local community and for
training purposes by the GB Cycling Team.
It’s also used to host regional and national
events throughout the BMX calendar.
Indoor BMX centre
Funded in conjunction with Sport England
and Manchester City Council, British
Cycling’s biggest facility investment is the
£25m indoor BMX centre in Manchester –
the first purpose built arena of its kind in
the world. Due for completion in August
2011, the venue will be capable of holding
major events while catering for the
local community and providing a base for
GB riders in their preparations for London
2012 and future Olympic Games.
Located adjacent to the successful
Manchester Velodrome, which has already
earned a worldwide reputation for
hosting major events and providing opportunities
for people to get involved in
the sport, it’s hoped that this new BMX
venue will enjoy the same success. �
Issue 2 2011 © cybertrek 2011