We hope you are all keeping well in these difficult times.
First we would like to share an update on club sessions and the latest Government and British Cycling guidance around Covid-19 as Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Lancashire and South Yorkshire move into the Governments Very High Risk, Tier 3 category. Whilst this places significant restrictions on meeting others and travelling, Youth Sport is largely exempt from the Tier 3 restrictions at the moment. You can still travel to and take part in organised Youth Sports (Under 18 years) events and training sessions both indoors and outdoors. This means that our Velodrome and Tameside sessions can continue to go ahead at present. We still need to be vigilant and stay safe by following the instructions in the Rider Briefings and all other government guidance.
Velodrome Sessions – we are currently running a Beginners session for those new to track cycling or are thinking about joining the club. 8:00am – 9:00am on a Saturday morning. Places limited to 12 riders and on achieving an appropriate standard of riding participants are invited to join the club and progress to our intermediate sessions. Bookings are via the link on the club website (link below).
We also run intermediate sessions on a Saturday morning 9:00am – 12:00am and Advanced sessions on Wednesday 6:00pm – 8:00pm. These are for full (first claim) members of the club. Progression to the Advanced sessions is by invitation of the coaches. Bookings via the Online Booking System (OBS) link below.
Zoom Sessions – we are continuing to run a 30 minute short sharp interval session via Zoom at 7:00pm on Thursday evenings. Suitable for Rollers or Turbos. Remember to warm up beforehand and expect a good hard training block (but it only as hard as you want it to be). Use the usual zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89828948696?pwd=ZWNrb2tXT01EaXNGMjc2UnUxQ3B2UT09
Tameside Circuit Sessions – we will continue to run outdoor circuit training sessions once a fortnight on Sundays 11:00am – 1:00pm. These provide a chance to work on circuit racing skills as well as getting a good endurance workout. Sessions booked via OBS link below.
Other Training opportunities – BC Development Centres are open to Youth B and A riders andprovide a good endurance workout with riders from a mix of local clubs. Our local session is at Tameside Circuit on Tuesday evenings, there are also Development Centres at Doncaster on Wednesdays, Lancaster and Leeds on Thursdays. Bookings are via the BC event Pages (search for Development Centre).
Membership Renewal Time – Club membership renewals are open for 2021 from the 31 October. This year are asking you to renew your membership via the British Cycling website. Membership expires on 31 December 2020 and anyone who has not renewed their membership by 15 January 2021 will be assumed to have left the club and will no longer be able to ride our sessions in 2021. Please go to www.britishcycling.org.uk and log into your profile using your BC membership number and password. Once logged in you need to :
- Click on My Dashboard in the top right of the screen
- On the left of the screen click on About Me then select Clubs and Teams
- Make sure that either Eastlands Velo or Sportcity Velo is selected as your primary Club then click on Club Profile and select Buy Club Membership at the bottom of the page.
- Select the appropriate membership level and complete the transaction.
You will receive a confirmation email once the membership has been approved usually within 48 hours and your membership card will be available to collect when you register at the next Velodrome session you attend.
Membership fees remain as last year:-
Youth 8-15 years £20, Junior 16 and 17 years £25, Adult 18–120 years £30, Family £50
All memberships will be subject to a £1 booking fee levied by British Cycling. New members who have joined the club since 1 October will have their membership extended to the end of 2021 and do not need to do anything. If you have any problems renewing your membership please ask at a session or contact us by email (link below).
First Claim Membership – Eastlands Velo has a policy of requiring full club members who wish to ride our sessions to be “First Claim” members. This means that Eastlands Velo or Sportcity Velo must be selected as the riders Primary Club on their British Cycling members profile. We expect riders to represent the Club when racing and to wear club kit with pride when racing and training. If you wish to represent any other club or team for a specific event or discipline we ask that you let us know so that we can all avoid any problems with race licence registrations etc.
As a club we believe that we should all be proud to be a part of Eastlands and Sportcity and continue to show our commitment to the great history of the club in supporting and developing young people in their cycling careers. We also believe that proudly wearing your kit and identifying with your club shows off that pride and respect for your fellow members and the officials and coaches of the club who provide a huge amount of their volunteer time so that you can train and race.
The club continues to be affiliated to Cycling Time Trials, the Manchester and District Time Trial Association and The British Schools Cycling Association so you can also represent Eastlands and Sportcity when taking part in Time Trials and Hill Climbs and also BSCA events.
Online Booking System – we have been using the Bookwhen.com system now for a couple of months and we are very pleased with the way that it is working for the club. There are a few tips which will help you and the club officials to make best use of the system.
- The main members page has details of all events open to members of the club. Beginners sessions are booked via a separate link from the club website.
- There will always be two or three dates available for each type of event. Please only book on one date for the level or event you are riding. Once you have ridden the session you can book on the next session. This ensures that there are always other sessions which riders can book on even though their first choice is booked up.
- If you cannot attend a session due to self isolation for example, you can transfer your booking to a later date by logging into the session using the reference in the confirmation email you would have received. Please, if possible transfer your booking rather than cancelling as any refunds which may be due are not processed automatically and incur additional costs for the club.
- If the session you want to attend is full please use the Waiting list function (at the top of the info box on the right of the page). This helps us assess demand for sessions and, if a place becomes available you get the chance to book on.
- If a session is full with a waiting list and a place becomes available the first rider on the waiting list will receive an email to tell them. They have one hour to complete the booking and make payment. After one hour the next on the waiting list is contacted and whoever books on first gets the place.
- Please make sure you read the Briefing notes for each session so that you know what is expected of you when you attend.
Congratulations…to former club member Charlotte Robinson who has secured a place with the British Cycling Senior Academy recently and our Chairman, Matt Rotherham, who continues to be part of the Para Cycling Podium Programme along with ormer members Jason Kenny, Matt Walls and Simon and Adam Yates who all are part of the Great Britain Cycling Team squad.
And Finally…… We know that several members have had to self-isolate over the last couple of weeks due to exposure to Covid and we understand how hard this can be. Thank you for doing your bit to protect everyone and remember that you can still train at home on Rollers/Turbos as well as joining in on our Zoom session each week. If anyone wants to talk to one of the coaches about what to do or how to stay motivated please drip us an email and we will get back to you.
Its also time when some of out members are looking to move on to different clubs and teams as they move into Juniors. You can of course stay with Sportcity if you want to but if you are moving on please let us know and keep in touch. We love to hear about what our former riders are up to.
Till next time…..
Club email: escvelo.general@gmail.com
Coacheing email: escvelo.coaching@gmail.com
Online session bookings (OBS): https://eastlandsandsportcityvelo.bookwhen.com/
Club Website:www.sportcityvelo.com
Members Facebook Page: Eastlands & Sportcity Velo Members
Public Facebook Page:www.facebook.com/eastlandsvelo