Hitchin Nomads CC were represented at the recent British Cycling Go Ride Conference by Nick Senechal (Chair), Simon Doyle (Captain) and James Spence (Welfare Officer). The event, which took place on 17 March 2013 in Reading, is part of BC's outreach programme and featured a number of workstreams focusing on working in the community; child-centred coaching and also dealing with some of the subtleties and issues in safeguarding young or vulnerable people who may take part in club events.
The conference plenary session was used to restate what a great year 2012 was for BC and cycling in general.
BC's membership is now around the 70,000 mark, which makes it a force to be reckoned with from a lobbying and policy perspective alone. The emphasis for this year's conference programme has been on engaging with volunteers and recognising their efforts. A number of awards and accreditations were made.
BC's Director for Coaching, Education and Development, John Mills emphasised how important the coaching and volunteer community are and he went on to make direct links to the success on the velodrome in London 2012 to the Go Ride programme.
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| James Spence (Welfare Officer) standing next to Sir Chris Hoy's Olympic winning track bike |
HNCC Chairman, Nick Senechal commented, "The Go Ride Conference is an important way of helping the club and its officials up to date with the latest developments in the sport. The attendance of our officials at such events helps build on our excellent network with the country's governing body as well as ensures that we all develop our own personal development plans and continuing education."
HNCC Club Captain and Coach, Simon Doyle added, "The ability to network with other club's coaches and to share and swap best practice is invaluable. As a club we are developing a lot of material and ideas at the moment and it is good to see and hear how others have gone about building on cycling's new found fame and interest." From a welfare perspective, James Spence was a key contributor to the safeguarding discussions and is bringing many years of professional expertise to bear in his voluntary role with the club.
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| All former Go Ride and British Cycling participants - Clancy, Burke, Kennaugh, Thomas at London 2012 |
For Editors.
Hitchin Nomads CC is affiliated to
British Cycling's Central Division. The club is based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire and was founded in 1931
British Cycling is the governing body for cycling in England.
Go Ride is part of British Cycling's framework to increase participation and skills in cycling. Various conference write ups are available at the
Go Ride pages.
