Scottish Cycling Conference 2024: It’s All About The People

With a tag line “It’s all about the people; supporting those who shape our cycling clubs and communities”, this year will be heavily focused on the people who make our sport tick, day in, day out. 

This year, more than ever, we’re putting you in control of the topics you cover, with the first two sessions of the day delivered in an engaging discussion led manner, before key themes decide where you go next. 

Tailored to the needs and aspirations of you and your club, the conference gives you an opportunity to pause and reflect, connect with others and leave the day with some clear takeaways. Whatever your role within your club or group, the programme provides an opportunity for you to engage with like-minded volunteers from across Scotland, reflect on shared challenges and take a deeper look at your area of interest, leaving with an action plan and continued support from Scottish Cycling to bring it to life.

Conference Programme 

Club Vision & Purpose (10.00-11.30) 

We will kick start the day by getting straight to the heart of what you do and why you do it. 

When was the last time you have considered what your club vision is, and how closely do your activities match this? 

This discussion-led session aims to help you identify the areas you want to focus on over the next few years, and how we can work together to meet your aspirations. By the end of this session, we will group our ideas around three themes:  

1. Developing People 
2. Developing Riders
3. Engaging Communities
    

Action Planning (11.45-12.45) 

 The next session will split into three, based on the main area that you identified as being key to your club’s development. Scottish Cycling staff, who lead on each specific area, will kick off the breakouts by providing insight into best practice examples, with the rest of the session used to action plan and discuss how Scottish Cycling can support delivery. 

We are committed to supporting you in making these plans reality, so we will be sharing details of follow up calls and sessions on the individual topics that most closely align to your club goals. 

Afternoon Breakout Sessions (14.30-15.30)
 

1. Enhancing your coaching journey 

In this session we will explore the journey of coaches, working through some real-life examples to bring it to life. We want to help you make the most of your coaching journey, whether that’s through further personal development, enhancing practical skills, or simply instilling more confidence in what you’re delivering.  

Coaches will walk away with newfound understanding of the new British Cycling Framework, as well as further understanding of how, where and what to develop to become a better coach. 

This session will be led by our Coaching Development Manager Kevin Moran, who has been on both sides of the fence having represented Team Scotland at two Commonwealth Games as an athlete. 

2. Understanding the Performance Pathway

Join us for a workshop where we will explore and discuss the Scottish Cycling pathway from a performance perspective. This session will explore the make-up of the pathway, from local training environments to international success and everything in between. We will also share some insight into the talent development principles that sit behind the design of the Scottish Cycling pathway.   

This break out is ideal for anyone interested in supporting riders on the journey from local training environments to excelling on the world stage. 

The session will be led by Pathway Lead Mark Ritchie, who has been in post for a full year now, and has a wealth of previous experience in similar roles with GB Snowsport and UK Sport. 

3. Building a female-friendly cycling community 

 Through group discussion we will address some of the challenges we face in getting and keeping more women on bikes. From female athlete health to male allyship, we want to collectively offer examples of what’s worked in your clubs, share some best practice, and all leave with tangible actions to make our cycling community more welcoming and supportive for females.  

Everyone can play a role in building a female-friendly cycling community, and so this session is suitable for all attendees. 

This session will be led by Kate Jackson, who leads the delivery of the SXC Series and Mel Toner, Women & Girls Development Manager, who both bring a range of experience working and volunteering across the cycling community. 

4. Running Innovative Events

This workshop will shine a light on some of the innovative event formats we have seen on the Scottish Cycling calendar in the last couple of years and explore how we can add value to grassroots events with minimal effort. 

This breakout is perfect for anyone interested in events, whether you currently run them or not. 

This session will be led by our Events Manager Tarn Fynn, who over the last 12 months has introduced the first Gravel Crits in UK. 

Athlete Q&A (15.45-16.30) 

The final session of the day will see us welcome Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic medallists Jack Carlin and Jenny Holl to the Inchyra, where we will get their reflections on their successes in Paris, before delving into the people and clubs that shaped their cycling journey’s. 

Register

To secure your place at our conference on Saturday 16th November, please click here. Tickets cost just £5, and includes all refreshments and lunch, with all proceeds going to the Scottish Cycling Foundation. 

From 6.30pm we’ll be hosting our Awards Dinner at the same venue – tickets for that can be purchased here

We will also be running a separate officials conference the following day – details for that can be found here