Officials are crucial to the smooth running of all competitive events on the Scottish Cycling calendar. As the sporting landscape continues to evolve, with volunteering habits changing and events being added to the calendar, events are reliant on a relatively small pool of individuals who currently support the delivery of events in a commissaire role.
In the off-road disciplines in particular, the additions of Enduro and Gravel have put an even bigger demand on the experienced group of Mountain Bike commissaires we have in Scotland. The remote locations of these events often require significant travel from volunteers to attend events in these disciplines.
We recently surveyed the current pool of trainee commissaires, to understand what barriers they faced when looking to progress through the British Cycling commissaire pathway. Regional B commissaires attending events in a training role, face a significant financial commitment to gain the experience and confidence required for their upgrades, and that this is slowing their development significantly.
To help address these barriers and support trainees in their journey to becoming qualified commissaires, Scottish Cycling have developed an Officials Fund, recognising the commitment and value individuals in these roles bring to the sport. This fund sits in tandem with the recently launched British Cycling Volunteer & Officials bursary programme for people based in England.
Scottish Cycling will be offering up to £100 accommodation expenses for agreed event attendance in line with the official’s expense policy, and up to £100 travel expenses to individuals attending events in a development capacity as a Regional A or Regional B trainee. Individuals can apply for multiple events a year.
The full application process will be communicated to trainee and Regional B commissaires directly. If you have a passion for cycling events and would like to be an integral part of making the sport happen, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].