In what is a significant boost to women’s cycling in Britain, almost £1 million was announced as allocated by Sport England to British Cycling yesterday. The goal is to boost participation rates by 80,000, either by enticing former cyclists to return to the sport or by getting others riding for the first time.
At the top level, British Cycling is very successful in world sport, with current and former world champions Emma Pooley, Nicole Cooke and Victoria Pendleton plus the promising young rider Lizzie Armitstead (pictured) all racing with success.
They act as role models, giving encouragement to those who are racing at a lower level; the National Lottery funding of £992,159 would in help to get people to the stage before that, where they are riding the bikes for fun, fitness or to train. That would clearly have a significant effect on the grassroots level.
The money will be used to fund a programme called the National Women’s Cycling Network, which will be delivered by British Cycling.
“We are delighted that Sport England has awarded us funding to roll out this ambitious project designed to get more women on their bikes,” said BC’s Chief Executive Ian Drake. “We have had significant success in increasing participation in cycling through Sky Ride, developed with our principal partner BSkyB, and we will take our experience in this area to launch a bespoke programme for women that will be delivered by women.
“Our female athletes are the best in the world and we want to use that as an inspiration to attract thousands more women to our sport.”
Last month Sport England released figures which showed that one in eight British women participate in sport, compared to one in five men. The gender gap of 2.761 million compared to 4.176 million is a considerable one, and although the gap is closing, more needs to be done. Since 2008, the number of women cycling once a week has decreased despite an overall increase in cycling participation.
“We have many fantastic female athletes in this country, but not enough women participating at sport’s grassroots,” said Minister for Sport Hugh Robertson. “More needs to be done to encourage women to participate in sport, particularly those from disadvantaged communities.
“The £10 million being invested by Sport England will give women the chance to try out new sports as part of a dedicated programme and hopefully keep them in sport in the future.”
The plan is that the 1,000 women will be trained to become ride leaders over the next three years, then be able to organise group rides in their areas. This will in turn enable others to take up the sport, and will hopefully be a self-perpetuating process. One long term aim is to encourage 20,000 women to cycle at least once a week.
The general plan syncs well with the general push to increase sports participation as a result of the London 2012 Olympic Games.