April 20/10 11:14 am - Para-cycling Camp a Success

Posted by Editoress on 04/20/10
 

The weather was not super cooperative, but it did not scare anyone away. Last weekend, seven participants were initiated to para-cycling at the National Cycling Centre – Atlantic Canada in Dieppe. For the occasion, Luc Arseneau, head coach, tagged along Canadian Cycling Association’s Sébastien Travers and Vélo NB’s Sheila Colbourne to initially talk about the sport in a class session on Friday, and then put words into action on Saturday morning.

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“It was great to see everyone succeed, and especially to know that everyone liked their first experience with the sport. They all said they wanted to be back, and most importantly, most of them said they had friends who wanted to give it a try as well;” mentions Luc Arseneau.

The next step for this program is to now identify where these participants fit in with the Long Term Athlete Development stages and line them up with a cycling program to fit there needs. Equipment and events are also an important part of the development of the sport in our region. Further research will be done by the Centre and its partners to find specific bikes and Velo NB will be looking at integrating certain events onto its calendar.

Sheila Colbourne, Executive Director of Velo NB was also very pleased with the camp: “This camp really represents a first step, but a huge one. We will now all work together to develop this very important side of our sport.”

Other events will also take place to pursue the development of para-cycling in Atlantic Canada. Namely, a tandem demonstration (for visually impaired) will take place in Charlottetown on May 23rd and some discussion have also started regarding a hand-bike (for tetra and quadriplegics).

For further information, or if you would like to try para-cycling, do not hesitate to contact your National Cycling Centre at 506-877-7809.

Courtesy Luc Arseneau, ChPC