We are making 2021 the Year of the Volunteer and shining a light on the brilliant work volunteers do for all forms of cycling across the home nations. We want to acknowledge the huge contribution volunteers make to cycling, and recognise the wide variety of roles undertaken to activate, support, lead, and deliver at all levels.
Each month, we are taking nominations from our across the regions and home nations. If you think someone deserves a mention, get in touch on social media with your respective regional or national teams or via @BCCoaches on Twitter.
A huge thank you and well done to all that have been nominated in June 2021 from everyone at British Cycling.
Name: Michelle Tonge
Region: North West (Horwich)
Role and/or Qualifications: Breeze Champion
Michelle has built an amazing cycling community in Horwich. She runs a huge range of activity and works incredibly hard to support, encourage and provide opportunities to get into cycling. As a Breeze Champion and Guided Ride Leader she has led over 200 rides for riders of all levels. Her Sofa to Saddle programme for beginners is hugely popular and often oversubscribed andE we have seen huge leaps in skills and confidence developed by the riders involved. She has organised hundreds of Ride Social rides from mountain biking to long distance road and traffic free rides. Her very popular group Horwich Ride Social has also recently received grant funding to support the training of new leaders to add to her great work. Michelle is an inspiration and force for good in the North West. She helps and develops other ride leaders as well as encouraging countless ride participants to love cycling as much as she does.
More about Breeze and Guided Rides
Name: Scottish Cyclocross (SXC)
Region: Scotland
Role and/or qualification:
Scottish Cyclocross (SCX) association have been extremely proactive with the updates to government guidance and opportunity to restart competition in Scotland by putting on a series of webinars to assist their event organisers and volunteers. They have delivered several sessions online to help people in Scotland get ready to return to racing and invited guests from England to share their experience of running events with covid-restrictions. These sessions have been hugely valuable to help give organisers and volunteers confidence to get events back up and running.
They have really gone above and beyond to support the cyclocross community and uphold the Scottish Cycling values of Aspiration, Integrity and Collaboration.
Find out more about Scottich Cyclocross https://www.scottishcx.org.uk/
Name: Jacki Patrickson
Region: North East
Role and/or qualification: Breeze Champion and Level 1 Coach
Jacki Patrickson is a Breeze pioneer, having trained in May 2011 and since then gone on to lead 200 rides in and around Durham. Jacki has consistently led rides of all descriptions and introduced many women to cycling. Her enthusiasm and passion for activating group activities makes her stand out as a breeze champion. Since 2014 she has organised for groups of Breeze women to undertake multi day tours in the north of England, London and from London to Paris and Durham to Koln. These groups have been mentored and supported through a training programme over many months and Jacki has motivated many women to tackle challenges they never believed they could rise to. She has grappled with complex arrangements for booking people and bikes at accommodation, transport and catering arrangements.
Susie Quinn, Breeze participant who will be riding the C2C this year with Jacki says ‘Thank you Jacki and well done, here’s to 200 more rides’.
British Cycling Values: Passion.
More about Breeze and Guided Rides
Name: Tony Russel
Region: South (FTP Racing,near Bristol)
Role and/or qualification: Events and Club Volunteer
Tony’s nomination is for the unequivocal support he has given to FTP Racing – a new club in the South region. Recently Tony has supported their FTP short BAR (best all rounder) series where he was involved in a range of activities before, during and after the event to make it the best possible. Before the event, Tony found extra sponsors and funding to provide additional trophies and refreshments at the events – setting a high standard for events to come. Tony was there before the start to put out signs and stayed throughout, finishing with ensuring the results went straight up on the website afterwards. Not only that, Tony promoted and brought to life a series of Zwift events open to members and non-members throughout the winter which were enjoyed by many.
“Tony is constantly alive with enthusiasm and support for the riders, the first to put their hand up when support is needed, often the first to arrive at events and the last one there at the end; still asking if anything needs doing. He has given up his own opportunities to race to help support others”
'Tony has been instrumental in supporting FTP racing in running their club/ team and allowing racing to happen.
British Cycling Values: Unity;Passion ;Integrity ;Innovation
Name: East Midlands BMX Clubs
Region: East Midlands
Role and/or qualification: All coaches & members involved in running the clubs.
All BMX tracks are at the heart of the community and there has been huge demand post lockdown for riders attending these sessions. EM BMX clubs recently attended BMX forum which highlighted the fantastic work these clubs do serving the community and also the need for additional volunteers allowing greater capacity for the demand post lockdown.
'We are looking to further support the need for volunteers with Flying Start bursary Level 1 course 14-18yrs'
Clubs Involved: Derby BMX Notts Outlaws BMX Huncote Hornets BMX Chesterfield BMX Worsop BMX Ozzy Wheels (Osmaston BMX) Shepshed BMX
And finally........
A special metion this month must go to the nomination from the South East, Ken Floyd. Ken was founder of Brixton BMX Club in 1981 and has been a passionate and steadfastly inspiring young people for over 40 years. Thank You Ken for your unwavering commitment to Brixton BMX Club, the wider community and the sport.
Name: Ken Floyd, Founder Brixton BMX
Region: South East
Role and/or qualification: Chair and Founder of Brixton BMX Club
Brixton BMX Club was established by Ken Floyde in 1981 following the Brixton riots. After seeing a BMX demo race at the Earl's Court Motorcycle show, Ken had the vision to start a club which aimed to support young people in Brixton through sport and to focus their energy into something that was positive and belonged to them. Over the last 40 years, Ken has been influential to several of the UK's most successful racers including Charlie Reynolds in the 1980's and more recently Kai and Tre Whyte and the Isadore brothers who race with Team GB today. Today there are over 100 affiliated BMX clubs in the UK alone while BMX racing has been an Olympic sport since 2008. Ken has played a huge part in this success and the growth and foundation of BMX not only across South London where he is embedded in the sport but UK-wide as the discipline has grown to see success at the highest level. From an Interview with Ken - "I wanted to get kids into cycling, so people growing up like me had the option I didn’t."
Ken Floyd grew up in poverty in North London and could only dream of buying a bike. After watching the Tour de France in '81 he found a way to start cycling and was inspired to start the Brixton BMX Club.
It is Ken's 60th birthday in June and he celebrates 40 years of founding Brixton BMX. Follows some wishes from just two people within the sport and speak volumes about his influence across South London and BMX:
From Charlie Reynolds: 'Happy 60th birthday to this legend Ken Floyd the fonder of Brixton BMX Club who gave me the opportunity to go to races when I first started. Ken spotted me in Brixton skate park 1982 and took me and other kids off the streets taking us in minibuses east over the southeast to events. Happy Birthday boss we love you! '
From Michael Pusey MBE aka CK Flash: 'I wish Ken a very happy birthday, this is the man that brought me to my very first bmx races in the late 80's. He created a BMX community in South London, we started at Brixton BMX Club with Tre & Kye Whyte, Lee Baker, Big Mike, Farran, Jason Lewis, Dean Reeves and Quillan Isidore and then moved on to Peckham only a mile down the road. It's the Brixton BMX foundation which allowed Peckham BMX Club to be one of the best clubs in the country. Massive thank you for keeping us off the streets and giving us opportunities to compete at national and international level. We wish you many happy birthdays to come. God Bless and Peckham BMX Club has your back Ken!'
Ken has shown passion over his many decades of volunteering since he formed the club. Ken has helped create Unity within his sport by welcoming and encouraging all to enjoy cycling, BMX and by helping to bringing the London BMX community closer together and especially so the South London Clubs who share resources and facilities amongst each other whilst maintaining a healthy and friendly level of competition when at events. If you ask anyone who knows Ken, his passion comes before anything else and he has helped many many young people who he would put before himself.
British Cycling Values: Unity; Passion; Innovation
Express your interest in courses and volunteering
Support more women into your club with our women & girls club toolkit
Become an event organiser
Volunteers: In Focus - January 2021
Volunteers: In Focus - February 2021
Volunteers: In Focus - March 2021
Volunteers: In Focus - April 2021
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