CWCC Youth Sessions Restart

September 2020 – Update

Hello everyone,

I hope that everyone is safe and well and are enjoying their summer holidays as safely as possible.

I firstly would like to begin with an apology, as I was hoping to give you plenty of notice of our sessions restarting. I like to be well organised and less than a week isn’t ideal but it is what we have to deal with now. I was hopeful that I would have found out around mid-August as our application for our sessions went in at the start of August, but as you can imagine, they are very busy down at Everyone Active and they have only today provided me with the confirmation update that I was hoping to have had weeks ago.

Apart from a small update a few weeks ago, I last emailed you all at the beginning of July and said that we have been looking at the potential restart date of September 2020. I have been working very hard over the last couple of weeks with British Cycling (Cycling Governing Body) and Everyone Active (In charge of Facilities at Middlesbrough Sports Village (MSV)) regarding the potential reopening of the cycling facilities at MSV and the procedures that we all need to put in place in order to make this happen.

I CAN HAPPILY INFORM YOU ALL THAT MYSELF AND THE COACHING TEAM PLAN TO RESTART OUR SESSIONS ON – MONDAY 7th SEPTEMBER 2020, 1800-1900pm.

During this time, there are a number of things that I need to share with you all regarding the use of both cycling facilities at MSV. There have been several changes that will affect, A) us as a club delivering the sessions and B) you as a parent/youth/rider attending your club’s sessions. Please familiarize yourself with the key points below before you attend any of our sessions:

• The facilities will ALL reopen on Tuesday 1st September 2020, hence why we are looking at having our session on the next available Monday, 7th September 2020.
• Sessions will continue for the remainder of the year until Monday 14th December 2020. Weather conditions permitting as usual.
• We are running at a revised time of 1 hour. So, our sessions for the foreseeable are now between the hours of 1800pm-1900pm.
• There is now a cycling-specific car park which is the car park situated at the end of the 4G pitches and the velodrome. There is a new entry point for getting on to the circuit too, which is situated to the back of the facility. You will now need to use the through path that gets you to the back of the circuit and enter through a gate that has been created (if you were following the circuit in a normal direction it will be when the turn goes downhill/uphill). Please see the attached diagram at the bottom of this post and familiarize yourself with it to prevent getting lost. Myself and other coaches will guide you in for the first few weeks too.
• Hand sanitizers are available at the entry point at both the circuit and the velodrome as well as our own at sign on.
• Please wear the usual suitable clothing for all occasions, gloves and a face covering are mandatory.
• Session are capped at 30 children per session within accordance to British Cycling guidelines set out by the government. This is strictly on a FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS (via email to myself, more info below). You CANNOT just turn up at the session as you will sadly be turned away. You will need to mail me with your child/children’s name and the date of the session/sessions that you are looking at attending (per month). Once the session is filled, any positions after this will have first priority at the next session unless space becomes available. Spaces will be given as fairly as possible and no preferential treatment will be given over anyone else. Hopefully this won’t become too much of an issue and it will be easy for me to maintain and police.
• The facilities are not open for the public to just turn up and use, so the circuit will be fully clear when you arrive for our booked session with ample time before and after to reduce the risk of cross over between other groups.
• The hut will be closed and only accessible to members of the coaching team. Toilet facilities in the hut can be used, but only in the extreme circumstance in order to limit any risk. The main toilet facilities will be accessible in the main building.
• Sign on will be outside the front of the hut, but please do not congregate here or anywhere on the site, remember to socially distance.
• Track and trace measures will be in place during sign on, all you will need to do is provide your name, name of your child/children and a contact phone number (essentially what you already do at sign on).
• Sign on will be carried out on site on a laptop, removing the use of paper and pen. The sessions are still €3 and cash is still accepted but online payment methods are preferred (more info about this later including monthly block bookings). Hand sanitizer and/or wipes will be available here too.
• Spectators are welcome, but strictly one parent per child if your household allows this. Please remain within your own bubble and remember to socially distance. Do NOT gather into groups. It is advised, if possible, that you return to your car for the duration of the session and return to collect your child/children at the end.
• Please educate your child/children on these measures too as the same also applies during the session. Coaches will remain vigilant and any child caught breaking these rules may be asked to sit out, or exit from the session.
• We aim to use little/no equipment as possible, but when we do, these will be cleaned and sanitized accordingly.
• There will no refreshments for sale and no chocolate/sweets given as a prize at the end (sorry guys I know!)
• If anyone within your own household shows any signs or symptoms, sickness or is unwell, please DO NOT attend the session. This is for your own safety as well as others.

This all being said, if you are interested in attending our sessions, can people please start to email/text/Facebook message/phone call/fax/carrier pigeon me their child’s name and if and when you would like to attend our sessions. These are unprecedented times for all of us right now and myself and the coaching team cannot predict how many people we are going to see at our sessions. I am happily extending the invitation to have all of you back. But unfortunately, we cannot have all of you back at the same time, as we are capped at how many we can have. I cannot force anyone to attend and I would never expect anyone to turn up, but we have to adhere to the rules. If we are caught breaking any of these points above, our sessions will be cancelled without refund, so I would implore everyone to work together to see ourselves through this very difficult time.

To contact me please use the following email address – youthdevelopment@clevelandwheelers.com

If you require anything further, please do not hesitate to get in touch and I will do my best to help you with any questions or queries.

Looking forward to seeing so many faces again down at the cycle circuit, even if you are wearing a mask!

Thanks & regards,

Josef George

Youth Development Officer Cleveland Wheelers Cycling Club