#AndSheCycles Project Round Up
Cycling Ireland recently supported An Taisce’s #AndSheCycles campaign.
Run by An Taisce Green-Schools, the #AndSheCycles Ambassador Programme was established in response to this disparity, to empower teenage girls to take action in their schools and communities.
The campaign is driven by the data that in Ireland just 1 in every 250 teenage girls cycle to school every day, compared with 1 in 25 teenage boys.
Cycling Ireland and An Taisce, along with club volunteers and coaches, facilitated sessions across several disciplines for girls to get a taste for what cycling can offer in their local area.
71 students from 10 schools took participated in the programme across two weeks, with these sessions taking place in both Lucan and Ratoath BMX tracks, Sundrive Velodrome, Ballyhoura MTB trails, Castlecomer Discovery Park, and Lough Boora. A special thanks must be extended to John O'Reilly (Lucan BMX), Hugh Byrne (Sundrive Track Team), Aisling Cullen (Trail Bike Body) and Tom and Fiona Campbell (Ratoath BMX) for their expert coaching and support of this campaign.
Speaking at the first event, held at Ratoath BMX, Cycling Ireland Participation Manager Paul Norton praised the programme, saying: "It was great to see the girls from local Ratoath and Dunshaughlin schools embrace a new challenge, most of whom have never seen a BMX track, let alone ride on one. With the coaching and guidance of Tom and Fiona from Ratoath BMX, the girls made unbelievable progression from basic handling skills in the car park to confidently riding full laps of the track. What made it even better, was to see the fun they were having and how they were encouraging each other. I hope that this gives them the confidence to try new challenges, be that cycling to school or returning to Ratoath BMX, who run women and girls only sessions from April."
Speaking about the programme, An Taisce Green-Schools Travel Programme Manager Allison Phillips said: “We want teenage girls to feel confident, capable and excited about cycling, whether that’s riding to school each day or trying something new like BMX at their local track. With the support of Cycling Ireland, we are giving girls the skills, encouragement and opportunities they need to stay active and to see cycling as something that belongs to them. It’s about building confidence now that will last a lifetime.”
Throughout the year, #AndSheCycles ambassadors have been running cycling campaigns in their schools and communities, encouraging more girls to ride and helping to close the gender gap in cycling to school. Ambassadors gain leadership skills, practical knowledge, and tools to run effective campaigns and create lasting change.
For more information on the programme, visit https://greenschoolsireland.org/andshecycles/