In November 2020, we launched our new Start Club Riding Fund, in order to help increase the number of people participating in regular club cycling activity across Scotland. By introducing new members to the club environment for the first time, and promoting diversity and inclusion within our network of safe, progressive and inclusive clubs, we hoped to support clubs to develop a nation of cyclists.

We know that our cycling community misses out when prospective members feel that our sport isn’t for them, or if current participants stop cycling due to the barriers they face. As part of our commitment to remove these barriers and create an environment of Cycling for All, the Start Club Riding Fund sought to provide financial and organisational support to clubs looking to increase and diversify their ride leaders and create inclusive club environments.

The awarding of funds to successful applicant clubs enabled them to fund the training of volunteers to achieve or qualifications. It was our hope that by supporting clubs to increase such capacity, they would be able to welcome new members who may have otherwise declined to participate in club activity. Furthermore, we identified three key groups that are currently significantly underrepresented within our community, and welcomed applications from clubs that could demonstrate their commitment to increasing the number of individuals from these communities delivering and participating in club activity.

These three groups are:

-        Women and Girls

-        Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic participants

-        Participants from low-income households

In total, nineteen clubs applied for funding from this programme, requesting significantly more funding than was available to distribute. This challenged our Club Development Team to identify those applicants whose proposed projects were strongest, and to ascertain how best to disseminate our limited resources. Careful consideration of each application resulted in eleven applicant clubs receiving funding to support their aims in introducing new members to the club environment and developing club diversity and inclusion.

The successful applicant clubs, the awards they received, and their project goals are outlined below.

Clubs have one year from the date of the funds being provided to them to complete their projects and provide reports to Scottish Cycling, assessing the impact these funds have. We are looking forward to supporting these clubs as they embark upon these exciting projects, and to seeing the results of their work over the coming months.

For more information on the Start Club Riding Fund, click here, and to search for a club in your local area, follow this link. Please direct any queries about club development to ClubDevelopment@scottishcycling.org.uk, or contact your region’s Club Development Coordinator.