As you have probably noticed, there is a bit of an issue in the South East region with levels of volunteers available to fulfil all the roles needed to put on a race. This affects not just SCRL events but all events in the South East as a whole.
We lost last weeks racing as there are few commissaires available in the south east right now. Events #3, #5 and #6 also currently have no comm assigned as no-one is available. We also got three new event organisers on board that have been covering SCRL events this year but even that is not very many when you consider how many events we put on.
When these roles are met by only a few individuals, they end up doing the work time and time again, which means that in a very short space of time they reach their limit and we are back where we started.
So this post will cover a few of the roles that we think any racer should consider, in order to help racing in the South East survive. None of these require you to “give up racing”, on a permanent basis. If we had almost every racer able to fill these roles, everyone would have to sacrifice racing just one or maybe two events a year, and we could have a full calendar. We know it seems difficult fitting it in around other commitments, but this is exactly the same thing that current volunteers have to do.
Many of these roles come with membership benefits, such as free membership to Bronze level, or a discount of such on a higher level membership.
Commissaire
The officials appointed by British Cycling to officiate fair and safe racing. New requirements mean that almost all events require TWO commissaires to be in attendance so the need for qualified officials is higher than ever.
Our interest would be in more circuit or track commissaires (there are also others such as road, cx, mtb etc.) and trainees could potentially be able to complete at least a certain amount of those at Preston Park (if there are events to attend).
Read about this role and see training course availability here.
Event Organisers
Exactly what it says on the tin! Event organisers liase with the South East events co-ordinator before the beginning of each season to sort out the calendar for the coming year. They are also responsible for listing the event on the BC website and arranging all the requirements for the event itself.
Event organisers can also delegate this role for an event to other organisers through the BC online system so that they do not have to attend every event they list.
Anyone who chooses to be an organiser for SCRL events can do so in the knowledge that all the equipment needed is available and that there are experienced organisers in the league to help get you started and “hand hold” if needs be.
To get the organiser dashboard enabled on your BC account you must undergo a short training course, which can often be delivered online.
Read more about being an event organiser here.
Coaching
Coaches are able to deliver both general and specialised cycle training and coaching depending on the level of qualification.
The biggest contribution to SCRL would be more people able to lead track accreditation courses so that we could offer these more often. More frequent accreditation courses means more riders and a more successful and vibrant track league!
You can read more about becoming a British Cycling qualified coach here.
SCRL would be willing to consider subsidising or paying for an SCRL regular to undertake coaching courses. If you are interested please email committee@scrl.co.uk.