‘Changing Gear’ a programme bringing cycling opportunities to young people
Overview
Plenty of kiwi teenagers are still sound asleep at 6.30am. So when a sporting programme attracts over a dozen participants at that time every week, even in the dark of winter, you know it’s made a successful connection.
The enthused 11-18 year olds are members of ‘Changing Gear’, an Upper Hutt programme launched in April, 2007. Changing Gear introduces them to cycle training, opening diverse opportunities to learn skills and develop fitness, plus compete on the regional and national stage.
Changing Gear also succeeds from an organisational perspective. It’s an excellent example of how a local council can partner with a private sporting provider, and with the generous support of a funding agency, deliver an effective and popular programme.
Background & partners
The greater Wellington region has just two road cycling clubs (for a population of 300,000+). And while secondary school cycling is booming in some parts of the country, that’s not the case for the capital. The lack of a comprehensive school/club support structure is a real barrier for the region’s keen young cyclists. Cycling is a difficult sport to master. Support and coaching can make all the difference to a rider keeping engaged with the sport.
In 2006, Upper Hutt had a number of children and teens interested in cycling and multisport – but no support to foster that enthusiasm. As is often the case with successful community ventures, the idea for Changing Gear grew from a conversation between two friends and enthusiasts: Marty Grenfell, who at that time worked for Upper Hutt City Council (UHCC), and Eddie Bright, a long-time cyclist, cycle coach and director of Cyclosport NZ Ltd.
The conversation led to a proposal. Before long, a community partnership between UHCC, Cyclosport NZ, and Youthtown was in place. Youthtown provided the funding, as did UHCC’s Activation, an Active Communities initiative. “Youthtown have been totally supportive since day one. They have made professional coaching affordable for all the kids involved,” says Eddie.
The Upper Hutt YMCA also got involved, providing the ideal venue and support to set up a training gymnasium with 30 wind trainers. The YMCA offer their facility at a discounted rate. The wind trainers were purchased with Youthtown funding from Cycletec bicycle importers, also at a discounted rate.
The initiative
Changing Gear sessions are held twice a week during the school terms. In winter, sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6.30am-7.25am. In summer, the Thursday sessions shift to the afternoon, around 4.30pm-6.00pm.
The morning sessions see the cyclists put their bikes on the wind trainers located at the YMCA. Afternoons involve fun on-road racing such as criteriums (multi-lap races), time trials and hill climbs. The Changing Gear programme also includes aspects such as road safety and skills, stretching, core stability and nutrition.
Changing Gear is for anyone aged 11-18, regardless of ability – so long as they can ride competently. There are about 20 enrolled on the course, with around 14 to 18 attending each session. “We have a real hard core who have been with Changing Gear since day one – they’re obviously captivated by the programme,” says Eddie.
Parents enrol their children for a term at a time, paying UHCC $115 for 12 weeks (24 sessions), which covers the operating costs. All children receive a fluro yellow cycle top and high visibility vest, which they must wear for all on-road sessions. Breakfast is provided at the end of all the morning sessions.
Eddie organises all aspects of Changing Gear and leads the training. Several parent volunteers help out for the on-road sessions, though there’s no formal roster.
“You have to keep the enthusiasm up all the time,” notes Eddie. So while the children are riding on the wind trainers, for example, he might share the latest international cycling news and updates on Team Cyclosport, a women’s road cycling team which he directs. “It keeps the enthusiasm up and makes them aware of the world of cycling.”
Team Cyclosport includes Rachel Mercer, a 2009 world road cycling championships representative. Rachael has joined in a number of the Changing Gear sessions, demonstrating good cycling technique, and showing the young riders what’s possible with time and effort.
Initially the UHCC Activation team provided hands-on support for Changing Gear, which has reduced with time. This has worked really well as part of the programme’s planned transition to being fully run by Cyclosport NZ.
“Changing Gear fits in superbly with the rest of the Activation programme,” says Activation Manager, Maria Roddick. “We’ve agreed clearly defined goals, and they’re being delivered on. There’s no burden on the Council team to keep the programme operating – from our perspective, it just happens!”
Key benefits
- Focus with fun. The Changing Gear programme has a clear focus on building towards competition. It sets goals, and applauds effort and achievement. Crucially, however, that’s all done within the context of making things enjoyable. “Kids thrive on fun challenges,” is Eddie’s summation.
- Open to all. Racing bikes are expensive. To minimise barriers to participation, it’s fine for children to turn up on a mountain or street bike, so long as it’s roadworthy. “We make no big deal of the equipment,” says Eddie. By and large, the participants are keen young athletes, but there are no set standards to meet, and there’s effort to recognise everyone’s performance and commitment at all levels. “We have kids who are not competitively minded but they are coming for health and fitness reasons,” he says.
- Professional organisation. Organised cycle sport demands careful planning and management because roads are inherently dangerous places. By contracting Cyclosport NZ, UHCC links into a highly professional programme, run in the safest possible locations, with risk-management systems in place. On a day-to-day basis, the council recreation services team doesn’t need to have any involvement. No council staff or resources are needed for organisation. “We’ve developed a real level of trust in the operating relationship,” says Maria. “If you’re contracting out a service, the operator needs to maintain standards that are every bit as high as your own – it’s no different from a council-run programme.”
- Knowledge to perform. Eddie shares a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of training. “We talk about bike position, technique – all the things that will make the kids good cyclists,” he says.
- Accountability for council. Changing Gear offers UHCC accountability and transparency – there’s no guesswork about how things are going. Success is judged by numbers, and by feedback from parents. The contract with Cyclosport NZ is renewed each year, so goals can be reassessed and if need be, amended. Eddie is contracted to deliver the programme and liaises with Activation staff to ensure there’s no risk of cost over-runs for UHCC.
- Reasonable cost. Thanks to the annual funding support from Youthtown and the low cost of the YMCA facility, the membership can be kept to only $115 per child, per term. If a child attends all 24 sessions, that’s under $5 a time, including the breakfast after morning sessions.
- Opening the pathway to competition. Changing Gear creates a clear pathway to competition – about six participants have already moved into club cycle racing. There’s a commitment to opening up as many opportunities as possible. For example, in September 2009, Eddie and Marty (who now works for the Hutt City Council) organised the Wellington Secondary School Road Cycling Championships. Some 65 riders took part, including many of the Changing Gear team.
Looking ahead
“This is a fantastic time for cycling. We need to be really positive. But we have to be really sure we have best practice in everything we do,” emphasises Eddie. “Cycling is such a hard sport: you can’t just stop and have a breather! You have to make cycling attractive, to make the kids feel special.”
Looking ahead, he says a major challenge is to get the region’s school sports coordinators actively promoting cycling – and entering teams into regional and national schools’ competition. At present, cycling is clearly not one of their priority sports, even though they’ve been kept in the loop about Changing Gear.
“There also needs to be a seamless transition between being a secondary school cyclist and being a club cyclist.” He’d like to see clubs offering more races specifically for children (instead of mixed handicap racing), as well as more mentoring: “Clubs have to be geared up to offer support to ensure retention”.
Activation could help this. The Activation team is currently working with local schools and clubs to improve participation of young people in sport. Plans are in hand for developing this role further, perhaps involving Changing Gear.
So long as Youthtown’s vital funding continues, the Changing Gear programme is set to continue, and ideally expand. Already, there have been children travelling to sessions from beyond the Hutt Valley. It seems more than realistic that Changing Gear programmes could be established in other parts of the Wellington region.
“We’re really pleased with how it’s all going. Parent feedback is excellent,” says Maria. “So long as that continues, and so long as we have the funding, we’re committed to Changing Gear. It’s an excellent model for a great sport and recreation service.”
Contacts and links
To know more about Changing Gear, visit www.cyclosport.co.nz . To discuss the programme with Eddie Bright, please email eddie@cyclosport.co.nz or call 04 233 9479. For the council perspective, please contact Maria Roddick by emailing maria.roddick@uhcc.govt.nz or calling 04 527 2169.
Updated | 06 Nov 2009.
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