British Cycling North West Region are pleased to announce the introduction of the North West Regional Academy, which aims to provide racing and training opportunities to those riders who wish to develop their cycling careers outside of the current pathway.
The current development pathway for riders exists within the Great Britain Cycling Team (“GBCT”) programme however all stakeholders involved in cycling acknowledge that this programme cannot cater for the development of all riders due to the high performance standards and limited numbers and that there is a need to provide support outside of the GBCT pathway for those riders that don’t make GBCT selection (Scotland and Wales have alternatives already available). Working alongside British Cycling and GBCT, the BC North West Academy is being set up to run in conjunction with the current structure, providing opportunities for those riders where the GBCT option is not suitable. Should the BC North West Academy prove successful, it is hoped that the model could be scaled up and rolled out across some of the other English Regions.
Our aim is to provide racing and training opportunities for all junior and Under-23 riders in the North West Region with separate programmes for male and female riders, but with the same level of support. However, given the number of female riders involved, we have taken the decision to open the opportunity to all female riders initially. It is anticipated that those on the programme will benefit from similar education and training to those on the GBCT pathway, whilst it is the aim of the Region that the racing opportunities will be made available both in the UK and abroad.
We recognise that we cannot achieve our objectives without the help of additional support and the success of this programme is also dependent upon us growing a pool of volunteers who will provide the support network to assist our riders in being the best they can be.
It is envisaged that riders will be self-funded at the outset, although support will be reviewed dependent upon the race. The Region will also look to support the volunteers assisting with the Region’s teams, by meeting any out of pocket expenses, although all racing and training opportunities will of course be subject to budgets.
This is a completely new project and the details are currently being finalised however it is envisaged that we will have a workgroup overseeing the running of the NW Academy and we will be looking to appoint Co-ordinators to assist us in the coming weeks, as well as volunteers who want to support from a coaching, mentoring, or technical perspective. If you would like to get involved in helping to shape the future development of the sport and our Region’s riders, then we would love to hear from you, regardless of your level of experience.
If you want to get involved as either a rider, or a volunteer, please follow the instructions below.
How to register interest for the 2021 NW Regional Academy if I am rider?
- Riders typically aged between 16-22 (Junior and Under-23 category for 2021)
- Fill in the rider expression of interest form COMING SOON
- We aim to involve all eligible riders who register their interest, whether that be in rider CPD or racing opportunities
- We aim to get back to all applicants by the end of September 2020, with the first seminars and training opportunities running throughout winter 2020/2021
How to register interest for the 2021 Regional Academy if want to be involved in a support role?
- We are seeking are wide ride of voluntary individuals who wish to be involved in the Regional Academy
- Fill in the volunteer expression of interest form in the link below
- We aim to be as inclusive as possible and will actively look to provide opportunities to those who register their interest in the project, whether this is in the form of online training or providing them with work experience on races
- We aim to respond to everyone who has confirmed their interest by the end of September 2020
