West Wales Cycle Racing Team (WWCRT) are the winners of the Disability Sport Wales first insport club of the month as they became the first cycling club in Wales to successfully gain insport Ribbon status and Go Ride accreditation.
The WWCRT is ran by husband and wife team Michael and Dawn Tarling who launched the club two years ago with the aim of introducing cycling to as many different people as possible across the Ceredigion and North Pembrokeshire area.
The clubs key message is “fun, inclusion and participation” all of which they have achieved or are successfully trying to attain. Achieving insport status has given the club structure and allowed best practice that may have not been known previously to be put in place according to Club Secretary Michael Tarling who also states that insport accreditation “tells potential new members that we are a club committed to inclusivity for all and, hopefully, will make them feel welcome.”
Originally for under 18’s, the clubs success led to expansion to all ages and abilities. Within the approximately sixty regular members of the West Wales Cycling Racing Team the youngest is five years old whilst their oldest member conceals his actual age. WWCRT member and Paracyclist Dan Butler has competed for Wales on a number of occasions highlighting the diverse range of people involved in the club.
Cycling activities include road riding, time trials, road racing, mountain biking, track riding, cyclocross and weekly indoor spin and turbo sessions. To ensure the club delivers on their key messages of ‘fun, inclusion and participation’ themed nights have been introduced such as a Nativity special and Winter Olympics, all of which are inclusive and encourage participation.
Chief Executive Dawn Tarling explained that WWCRT joined the insport Club programme because “We have had a number of members with disabilities and we were concerned that we were not offering them the same level of participation as other members. insport gives us access to courses and knowledge that we can lean on to adapt our sessions so that everyone gets the most out of it. Hopefully it makes us more attractive as a club to both disabled and able bodied members.”
West Wales Cycle Racing Team is a club who are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment for any person wanting to try the sport of cycling. To achieve the insport Ribbon award demonstrates the clubs commitment to creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all.
Michael Tarling highlighted the inclusive message the club has always had but is now being recognised for, “We've always tried to be an inclusive club from when we first started and our overriding aim is that everyone should be able to get enjoyment from being on their bikes and being active. We've tried to adapt our sessions to make sure everyone can participate on a similar level. We try to focus on what people can do rather than what people can't and hopefully that means we deliver sessions that are positive and enjoyable for all.”
Gemma Cutter Disability Sport Wales Development Officer said of WWCRT : “West Wales Cycle Racing Team are the first cycle club in Ceredigion and Wales who have successfully completed the Go Ride and insport accreditation. The club understands inclusion and how it looks, they work hard to adapt and include people of all ages and abilities in their sessions, and I look forward to seeing them supporting potential future paracyclists from the area.”
Michelle Daltry, Partnership Manager, Disability Sport Wales:
"West Wales Cycle Racing Team are an exceptional example of how the sport of cycling can be adapted to provide a range of opportunities regardless of ability or disability. We are delighted to present WWCRT with insport Ribbon and announce them as the inaugural insport Club of the Month. insport strives to make sport accessible for all but we simply can't achieve this without the passion and commitment of clubs, coaches and volunteers, thank you to the club and to all those involved in supporting this process".
WWCRT have also achieved Go Ride Clubmark accreditation alongside the insport ribbon. The Go Ride programme provides a fun and safe way to introduce young riders to the world of cycle sport and provides a platform to improve bike handling skills.
Georgina Harper, Welsh Cycling National Development Manager “West Wales Cycle Racing Team have demonstrated that cycling can be inclusive and accessible to everyone, from grass roots upwards. We are delighted to see the club jointly achieve both their Go Ride and also insport ribbon accreditations, the first in Wales to do so. We hope that this will be the first of many cycling clubs in Wales. A huge well done to the club, and all those involved in making the process happen.”
So what’s next for West Wales Cycling? The clubs aim moving forward is to achieve the next insport Club level, bronze and become part of a network of accredited clubs who share experiences and best practice. The club is also hoping to host a paracycling event in August as part of their races. Michael and Dawn want WWCRT to be considered as the ‘right club’ for everyone in the Ceredigion area regardless of standard or ability and will help promote cycling further. This will be achieved if the club continues being fun, inclusive and with a focus on participation, the key areas of the clubs success thus far.
More information available at: www.wwcrt.org.uk and www.facebook.com/WestWalesCycleRacing
