Get on your bikes, girls... Local students participate in #AndSheCycles initiative

Students from Ratoath College and Dunshaughlin Community College who are participating in the Green-Schools #AndSheCycles programme, recently took part in an exciting BMX session at the Ratoath BMX Track, embracing a new cycling experience in their community.

#AndSheCycles encourages girls to cycle in their everyday lives and to see cycling as a sustainable and active mode of transport to school. The session, supported by Cycling Ireland, gave the girls the chance to try something new, develop their cycling skills, and build confidence in a fun and supportive environment.

Speaking about the event, Green-Schools Travel Programme Manager Allison Phillips said: “We want teenage girls to feel confident, capable and excited about cycling, whether that’s riding to school each day or trying something new like BMX at their local track. With the support of Cycling Ireland, we are giving girls the skills, encouragement and opportunities they need to stay active and to see cycling as something that belongs to them. It’s about building confidence now that will last a lifetime.”

Taking place during Women in Sport Week (2nd – 8th March), the event was an excellent opportunity to celebrate female participation in sport. Participants strengthened their bike-handling skills while experiencing a new and fun cycling discipline, all in an effort to foster a lifelong love of cycling.

Paul Norton, Cycling Ireland Participation Manager said: “It was great to see the girls from local Ratoath and Dunshaughlin schools embrace a new challenge, most of whom have never seen a BMX track, let alone ride on one. With the coaching and guidance of Tom and Fiona from Ratoath BMX, the girls made unbelievable progression from basic handling skills in the car park to confidently riding full laps of the track. What made it even better, was to see the fun they were having and how they were encouraging each other. I hope that this gives them the confidence to try new challenges, be that cycling to school or returning to Ratoath BMX, who run women and girls only sessions from April.”