Our vision for women’s cycling 2013-2020 - six month update
A JOURNEY OF INSPIRATION AND OPPORTUNITY Women’s cycling strategy six month update
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2 A Journey of Inspiration and Opportunity
Our vision for women’s cycling 2013-2020 - six month update
Following the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, British Cycling was the first National Governing Body to review women’s participation and success in the sport.
This six month report shows the progress that we have made across all areas in collaboration with Sky, Sport England, Local Authority partners, clubs, coaches, leaders, volunteers and our members.
The review identified a number of gaps and the need for a fundamental change in the way British Cycling develops, grows and sustains women’s cycling at all levels.
We are particularly pleased with the momentum we have gained in such a short period. Our staff, event organisers, volunteers, and the media have responded positively to this new opportunity.
Never shy of being ambitious, in March 2013 we launched our Women’s Cycling Strategy with a bold commitment to get one million more women cycling by 2020. The strategy has seven key areas of focus: • • • • • • •
More women cycling more often Creating opportunities to ride and race A pathway that keeps women engaged More women running the sport More women involved in governing the sport Increasing female members Campaigning and commuting
The GB Cycling and Para-cycling Teams currently have 10 female world champions so we are not short of inspiration at the elite level. Now we just need to make sure that we are getting women engaged at all levels of our sport. If you have any views on the report or would like to contribute to women’s cycling in any way email: inspiringwomen@britishcycling.org.uk We look forward to another period of growth and new opportunity for women in cycling. Stewart Kellett Director of Recreation and Partnerships, British Cycling
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Our vision for women’s cycling 2013-2020 - six month update
More women cycling more often
Creating opportunities to ride and race
Since March, British Cycling has more than doubled the number of female-only (Breeze) rides taking place, bringing the total number of rides to over 7,000 since the programme began in June 2011. Since the women’s strategy was launched, the Breeze participation project alone has led to almost 23,000 more women getting on bikes.
British Cycling has seen a steady increase in the number of women taking part in sportives – personal challenge rides. Since April, an estimated 24,000 women have taken part in British Cycling registered sportives – a 7% increase on last year. British Cycling’s Cycle Sport team is now working on creating a package of information that organisers can follow when putting on female-friendly sportives.
More than 37,000 women have attended Sky Ride City events – mass participation, traffic-free cycle rides – so far in 2013. Over a third of the total attendees were women. Sky Ride Local rides have also inspired 6,000 women to take part so far this year. In the last six months, British Cycling has introduced around 10,000 new girls (under 16) to the sport of cycling through the Go-Ride programme. On top of this, 1,000 young women, aged 16+, have participated in female-only rider development sessions. British Cycling’s online social network for cyclists – Social Cycling Groups – has inspired over 4,000 women to take part in mixed-sex rides so far this year. British Cycling is also putting plans in place to refresh its website and the way it speaks to people who are new to cycling. This includes ensuring that its content covers the basic information that people need to get started, doing away with jargon, and better promoting local opportunities for people to get out there and start riding.
We are also working hard to encourage organisers in entry-level racing to put on more opportunities for women to compete. Regional Event Officers have been tasked with increasing the number of womenonly road and circuit races as well as ensuring that there is a clear pathway across all disciplines from grassroots to elite. Increasing participation in competition, alongside the number of female race licence holders, is also a key target for this team. There are already marked improvements happening in this area. Since 2012 there has been a 44% increase in the number of organised women-only road races and a 61% increase in the number of circuit races. The Women’s National Series had a total of 10 events in 2013, an increase of over 50% on 2012; five of the events were run in conjunction with Men’s National Series events on the same day. 2013 is already off to a flying start, having seen a significant increase in the number of women in racing in formal cycle sport events – up by an impressive 24% year-on-year.
In 2014 a new race – the Women’s Tour 5 Day International Stage Race – will be introduced into the calendar in the UK. Organised by Sweetspot, the Women’s Tour will take place from 7 to 11 May 2014 and has been given 2.1 status on the UCI International calendar. This status puts the event into the highest echelon of races, second only to World Cup events and should ensure the presence of most of the world’s top riders. The Women’s Tour will be based at venues in East Anglia and the East Midlands and will take in surrounding regions during the course of the race. Final details of stage starts and venues will be confirmed in the coming weeks. Club membership among women and girls is booming. Kent Velo Girls is just one Go-Ride club that is going from strengthto-strength with over 170 female members. New women’s clubs are emerging through the evolvement of the Breeze network; just one of these is Leicester Women’s Velo joining the likes of the Hull Sunday Girls to be created by Breeze champions. An audit has found a further 115 women’s groups and clubs across the country with whom we can now start to engage.
12,000
TOTAL FEMALE MEMBERS
2,000 NEW FEMALE BRITISH CYCLING MEMBERS SINCE MARCH 2013
19
%
INCREASE IN FEMALE MEMBERS* *YEAR ON YEAR, SINCE MARCH 2013
PERCENTAGE OF FEMALE MEMBERSHIP WHO RIDE: AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK
AT LEAST THREE TIMES A WEEK
70 40
12 IN
RATIO OF FEMALE MEMBERS COMMUTING BY BIKE
% 44
FEMALE BRITISH CYCLING MEMBERS IN A CYCLING CLUB
37,000 WOMEN HAVE ATTENDED
MASS PARTICIPATION EVENTS TO DATE IN 2013
6,000 WOMEN RODE IN
10,000 GIRLS (UNDER 16)
HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED TO CYCLE SPORT IN 2013 THROUGH:
BRITISH CYCLING NATIONAL YOUTH FORUM
5
BOYS
7
GIRLS
58%
FEMALE REPRESENTATION ON THE FORUM
4,000 40 WOMEN HAVE TAKEN PART IN SOCIAL CYCLING GROUPS THIS YEAR
589
WOMEN TRAINED AS RIDE LEADERS IN 2013
YOUNG WOMEN
JOINED THE CYCLING AWARD FOR YOUNG VOLUNTEERS PROGRAMME THIS YEAR
% 424 44
OF THESE WOMEN ARE NOW
BREEZE CHAMPIONS, PROMOTING FUN, FRIENDLY BIKES RIDES FOR WOMEN
23,000 WOMEN HAVE ATTENDED
INCREASE IN ORGANISED WOMEN-ONLY ROAD RACES
1,463 {23%}
SINCE WOMEN’S STRATEGY LAUNCH, MARCH 2013
OF BRITISH CYCLING COACHES ARE WOMEN
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A pathway that keeps women engaged British Cycling is working hard to ensure that it has clear pathways for women looking to get involved in cycling at all levels of the sport. The detail of the pathway is now being developed. Some key improvements so far include:
• For the first time, British Cycling’s
Go-Ride programme now features female-only coaching sessions for girls and young women.
• The GB Para-cycling Team has recently launched a drive to find new women to go for gold in Rio. Harriet Gordon, British Cycling’s Paralympic Talent Development Manager, has been appointed to find new talent owing to a shortage of women with an impairment competing in cycling.
Our vision for women’s cycling 2013-2020 - six month update
More women running the sport Since March 2013, British Cycling has trained 10% more female coaches than in the same period in 2012. The sports governing body is also involved in a femaleonly coaching pilot in the South East with the aim of encouraging more female coaches to enter the sport. Almost a quarter (23%) of British Cycling’s coaches are female. There are now 1,463 trained female coaches up from 332 in 2009. Over a third (39%) of British Cycling’s tutors – people are deployed to run coaching courses – are now female, an increase of 26% since 2009. British Cycling runs coaching scholarships and of the last six scholarships on offer, four scholars are female. British Cycling has taken steps to provide further support and development opportunities for commissaires – cycling’s race officials – that are progressing through the pathway. As part of this work we have been working with the UCI to host the new Elite National Road Commissaire Course for the first time in the UK. Four women are registered for the course, two of which are British commissaires that have progressed through the system in the UK. In 2009, when British Cycling’s Ride Leadership programme was launched, 22% of ride leaders trained were female. In comparison, 48% – so almost half –
of Ride Leaders trained so far in 2013 are female. This year we have trained 589 women to lead rides. 424 of these have been trained as Breeze champions responsible for inspiring and leading other new women on led rides. In November, an all-female Mountain Bike Leadership course will be hosted by Plas Y Brenin – Sport England’s National Mountain Sports Centre – for the first time. The qualification enables people to lead mountain bike rides. British Cycling is also hosting a number of Mountain Bike Leadership courses specifically for Breeze champions – women who lead female only recreational rides. This will allow the Breeze network to expand and provide professional development opportunities for our champions. Since March, 40 young women have joined British Cycling’s Cycling Award for Young Volunteers programme. There are 45 young men on the programme, making the gender mix near equal. In addition, British Cycling’s National Youth Forum – established in June to empower young people to help develop opportunities for their peers, providing the chance to ride, race and volunteer in cycling – has seven young women sitting on the group and five males, meaning female representation makes up 58% of the group.
More women involved in governing the sport British Cycling’s workforce gender split has moved forward positively in the last six months. Almost 40% of its workforce is female. Recent appointments include a Paralympic Talent Development Manager and a new Digital Manager. Our aim is to create more opportunities for women to become Board members between now and 2017. We will provide an update on this area next year.
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Increasing female members
Campaigning and commuting
Since March, British Cycling has gained around 2,000 new female members – a 19% increase since the women’s strategy was launched in March. British Cycling now has a total of over 12,000 female members. This means that the governing body is well on the way to meeting its target of 25,000 female members by 2020.
Over a third of women surveyed have told us that their main barrier to getting on a bike is concerns about safety. Since March, British Cycling has worked alongside the government to influence their Cycling Cities ambition strategy – including getting a commitment from the Prime Minister that all new roads and junctions will be ‘cycleproofed.’ The sports governing body has also been instrumental in securing the most popular Parliamentary debate ever on cycling and is a key member of the government’s Cycling Stakeholder forum. Our push for the government to review its sentencing guidelines to ensure better justice for cyclists when things go wrong on the roads has also been realised.
Over 70% of British Cycling’s female members are riding at least once per week with almost 40% riding at least three times a week. Almost one in two commute to work by bike and 44% are members of a cycling club.
For more information about British Cycling’s ambition to get one million more women cycling by 2020 visit: britishcycling.org.uk/women
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Our vision for women’s cycling 2013-2020 - six month update
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Women in cycling: Case Studies
Maryam Amatullah, Leicester
Caitlin Tromans, West Yorkshire
Challenging perceptions about women’s cycling
Helping to shape the future of women’s cycling
Keen to encourage her daughter to enjoy some fun and fresh air, Maryam started riding her bike regularly four years ago. But she felt, in her own words, ‘odd’ when out cycling wearing the hijab (Islamic head-covering). This started an incredible journey promoting bike rides to women from all backgrounds, and Maryam’s battle to challenge the belief still held in some communities that cycling isn’t an appropriate hobby or mode of transport for a woman.
Caitlin has been a member of East Bradford Go-Ride Club for 10 years. After volunteering at a number of club sessions and joining the Cycling Award for Young Volunteers programme, she decided she would like to play a more active role and recently qualified as a Level 1 Coach. Caitlin now coaches other young riders at the club every Saturday morning, and has used these hours to gain her Platinum Award, which recognises young leaders who have achieved over 72 hours of volunteering.
Now a Breeze champion for British Cycling’s pioneering women’s programme, and a qualified cycle leader, she encourages, supports and inspires many women who wouldn’t otherwise have considered getting on a bike.
Due to her commitment to the sport, Caitlin recently achieved a position on British Cycling’s National Youth Forum – a group of young people selected to shape the future of cycling for their peers. As her area of focus, Caitlin wants to encourage more young women to get involved with cycling and remain in the sport.
Emma Luck, East Sussex
Helping other women to get active and feel good In 2012, weighing over 20 stone, Emma realised she needed to get fit and healthy. Fast forward to now and Emma has lost over eight stone, trained to become a Breeze champion, inspired new women to get on their bikes, and has completed the British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton ride alongside 50 other women. Speaking about her experiences as a Breeze champion, Emma said: “I have a saying that you are your own inspiration. People have asked me how and why I enjoy cycling so much. So I thought instead of talking about it, I would help give them that feeling that cycling gives me, the feeling of freedom, accomplishment, and happiness. That is why I decided to become a champion because all women deserve to feel like that – to feel like a woman at one with her bike.”
Helen Scott, Halesowen GB Para-cycling Team pilot
Helen Scott is a dedicated elite rider, who has many accolades to her name – including two medals from the London 2012 Paralympics. She is also looking to do more coaching and is working to complete her Level 3 Track Coaching Award. Helen cites Tim Buckle, a Talent Development Coach, as the person who inspired her to get into coaching. He was her first British Cycling coach, and part of the reason why she still rides her bike today. On getting more women on bikes, Helen says: “When females perform at the highest level, it has a knock-on effect throughout the sport and encourages more females to get into coaching, as well as riding. As a kid, I did not see any difference between male and female coaches – a coach is a coach. But when you progress through the sport, there are no women going for the top coaching jobs. We need to provide opportunities for more women to enter the sport and give them the chance to demonstrate what they can do.”
Beth Coley, Erica Howe, Louise Marsden & Jen Smart
Michele Radant, Devon
Four members of VC Norwich – Beth Coley, Erica Howe, Louise Marsden & Jen Smart – hatched a plan about this time last year to give road racing a go in 2013. They can’t quite remember how it happened or whose bright idea it was but it had led to them racing alongside some of the best women racers in the country.
Michele has played a key part in bringing together the staging of a women’s only ride alongside one of the most established Sportives in the country.
VC Norwich
They were all existing club cyclists and had been enjoying club rides and local time trials but decided to see ‘what else was out there’ and push themselves by trying some circuit and road racing. By the time the Elveden series got underway – a mere 60 minute drive from Norwich – they were all accomplished road racers and put lots of effort into encouraging other women riders to enter. The fact there were never less than 25 women on the start line for this new series of races is due in no small part to the VCN girls enthusiasm and support and their ‘leading by example’ approach. British Cycling’s Regional Event Officer had a direct link in securing Elveden as a venue and encouraging the organiser to run a women’s race at each of the five rounds. This gave VC Norwich a platform from which to launch their attack on other regional and national races.
Go-Ride Volunteer Coach and Breeze Champion
The Dartmoor Classic Debutante was born when Michelle and other Mid-Devon Cycle Club members put forward a proposal to stage a women’s only ride at the 3,000 rider-strong main event. They were supported by Andy Parker, British Cycling’s Regional Event Officer for the South West. Given the existing distances were a step too far for many sportive newcomers, there was a desire to stage something suitable for newer and more casual cyclists. The event - which took place in June drew just under 200 riders to take part in the challenging 35 mile course. There are now plans to stage another event next year.
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British Cycling Stuart Street Manchester M11 4DQ T: +44 (0) 161 274 2000 E: inspiringwomen@britishcycling.org.uk britishcycling.org.uk