Women and Girls strategy launched by Scottish Cycling
Running alongside Women and Girls in Sport week, Scottish Cycling has launched its first Women and Girls strategy at the West Lothian cycle circuit, aiming to increase female participation.
Sports Minister Ms Maree Todd and double Paralympic champion Jenny Holl were present to launch the initiative, with hopes of seeing women fairly represented in cycling along with other sports. Women make up over 50% of the population in Scotland and uptake in cycling by women is rising, but Scottish Cycling aims to speed this process up to make cycling representative sooner.
Ms Maree Todd, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, said at the event launch: “Women & Girls in Sport Week is the highlight of my year every year, so to launch this strategy during this week is just fantastic. When we were discussing the UCI Cycling World Championships, which were held in Scotland last year, one of the opportunities we saw was to try and get more women cycling.
“Lots and lots of women would like to cycle, but very few of them do, and this strategy is about tackling that. I’m really keen that women and girls have the opportunity to participate in sport; that’s what this week is all about, and that’s what this strategy is about, and I’m absolutely certain it’ll have an impact.”
The strategy focuses on making tangible differences within the Scottish Cycling community to make the sport more female-friendly across the entire organisation. Scottish Cycling has already implemented initiatives to increase female participation, but the organisation feels it can do more.
Nick Rennie, Scottish Cycling chief executive, commented: “The launch of our first Women & Girls Strategy is a huge moment for Scottish Cycling and our community, and follows on from our commitment last summer to shift the dial on female participation in our wonderful sport.
“Scottish Cycling already has a number of initiatives aimed at females, which are slowly starting to shift the gender balance, however, that rate of progress isn’t quick enough for our liking, and so this strategy, and supporting action plan, aims to really accelerate our work in this area.”
Jenny Holl, double Paralympic champion, added: “It’s really great to see Scottish Cycling stepping up and pushing for more diversity within the sport, particularly in the women and girl’s space. For me, now is the perfect time – having watched the Elite Women’s Road Race at the Glasgow ‘Super Worlds’ last year, it’s clear to see that there is the support and appetite for women’s cycling in Scotland, we just need to help people access it.”
Key stakeholders have been consulted by Scottish Cycling to ensure its strategy and vision are clear and refined, making it accessible and understandable to everyone involved.
Five key focus areas have been outlined, named the five R’s; ride, race, role models, recognise, and relationships. Scottish Cycling is aiming to increase female members and event entries by 30%, increase retention within the Performance Pathway by 10%, and 20% more coaches by 2027.
Further details of the strategy can be found here, whilst the wider action plan can be found here.