Lucan BMX Welcomes Students for Introductory Session
Lucan BMX Club is one of many clubs around Ireland helping to promote and grow the sport of cycling. Based in St. Catherine’s Park and open to all, Lucan BMX is playing a key role of attracting new people into the sport.
Earlier this week, we joined Chairman of the club, John O’Reilly, as a group of Transition Year students came to the track to get an introductory BMX session.
This is the second group from Kishoge Community College to attend. The trips have been organised by teacher Michael Manners in conjunction with Cycling Ireland and are proving to be very popular.
Speaking about the growth and development of Lucan BMX, O’Reilly said:
“What I’m really trying to do is build the club to as big as we can get, last year we got to 175 riders – would love to get to 200 this year. Working with Cycling Ireland bringing schools out to us, like today, hopefully we can continue to grow.”
With a focus on enjoyment and participation, rather than being all competition based, O’Reilly has worked tirelessly to set up a club that is based coaching and teaming riders up for maximum enjoyment.
The track in St. Catherine’s Park not only offers a safe space for riders to train and practice their skills but also somewhere for them to socialise. Recent investment from Fingal County Council has further improved the facility.
Bikes and safety equipment are available to use free of charge, making the sport as accessible as possible.
“We have a good group of committee members that help out the kids. The aim is to try to build up the club to be one of the best clubs in Ireland.”
John O'Reilly showing the students around the BMX Track
O’Reilly is incredibly passionate about BMX and is keen to grow the sport, linking up with schools provides a great opportunity to showcase the facilities and what the club has to offer.
Speaking about the session this week, he said:
“We had a group of TY students from Clondalkin come out, we had 16 kids of all different abilities. It’s scary when you see some kids that are really terrified of bikes. Today we were working on building confidence and getting them on the track, teaching them how to go on the bikes and to keep them safe.
"Having a group of 16 isn’t the easiest but it was really fun so I’m looking forward to the next group.”
Interim Participation Manager with Cycling Ireland, Paul Norton said:
“It was great to see the Transition Year students from Kishoge Community College attending Lucan BMX track. I was blown away by how the kids threw themselves into session, especially some of the girls who I think, if they wanted to, could really progress, and excel in the sport.
"It seemed like they all enjoyed themselves and was a positive experience overall. It's no small feat to go from zero experience of BMX to riding the full track in such a short timeframe. I take my hat off to all of them.
"A big thank you to Michael Manners of Kishoge Community College and to John O'Reilly from Lucan BMX Club who volunteers his time, week in week out for the love of the sport.”