The track commission have been very pro-active over the years in helping to develop riders and their latest plan will hopefully channel more into the elite ranks.
By Brian Canty
A new initiative which aims to improve the quality of Irish track riders by providing financial support has been launched.
The track commission, overseen by Alan Neenan and chaired by Aidan Reade, believe this will expose riders to higher levels of track competition and provide them with the best training possible.
Reade said some of the best domestic road riders are handmade for the track but if a velodrome arrived in Ireland tomorrow it would take a while to get up to speed and compete with the best out there.
So by providing financial support through this new scheme, the commission are hopeful that riders can avail of the fund, race more on the track and Ireland can churn out greater numbers of riders capable of competing at the highest level.
Advertisement
“This is nothing to do with high performance unit,” said Reade.
“It’s more to do with the development of high-performance riders.
“We want to get people in from the youth and junior categories and be able to expose them to a couple of races in Newport and Manchester and places where there are velodromes.”
The initiative is all about providing financial support, though in Reade, Hugh Byrne, Frank O’Leary and Nicola McKiverigan they’ve a quality team of coaches to provide direction and advice.
Related News
“It costs a bit to get over to race these events and clubs might not be able to afford it.
“Say for example, at the moment if it costs €300 to send a rider to a track meet in Manachester, roughly €100 would come from the club, €100 from the provincial body and maybe €100 paid for by themselves.
“This new fund will account for the person’s own expense, though. It’s not a huge amount but it’s a token and it’s a help.”
Some riders have already availed of the fund, with one rider using it to get to Ireland for a recent track meeting held at Sundrive Road.
Indeed, funds will only be allocated where travel outside the country of residence is involved.
So riders cannot get funding to attend a track meet in the country they reside in.
There’s ‘only’ €10,000 in the kitty to see the scheme run, but Reade reckons it can go a long way and will also be a good way of gauging the interest of riders to compete.
Some of the eligibility criteria include; riders must be track accredited and have prior track racing experience and riders who already have access to overseas events as part of a national development squad (talent team, national junior squad, high performance etc) will not be eligible to apply.
For more information check out this link.
Topics
