A unique girls-only mountain biking programme, Bellas on Mountain Bikes, is helping to encourage more girls into the sport while growing friendships, building confidence and increasing physical activity.

Investment secured through the Kiwi Sport fund helped the Bellas on Mountain Bikes programme come to life, introducing girls aged 11 to 13 from West Auckland to the sport through an eight week programme.

Delivered by an all-female team of coaches and assistants, Bellas on Mountain Bikes set out to provide girls the opportunity to not only learn mountain biking in a friendly, welcoming and supportive environment, but to build their confidence off the bike as well.  The sessions focused on connecting the group, learning new skills through playing on bikes and overcoming challenges, all with the ultimate aim of getting the riders into mountain biking and bridging the gap for girls to begin mountain biking in a club environment.

For acting head coach, Adrienne, the goal of the coaching was all about fun.

“My goal was to keep it fun - it needs to be fun or what’s the point.  I’ve had a great time and they’ve had a great time. Their skills have improved so much from being a little hesitant to ripping down grade three tracks and doing it nicely,” says Adrienne.

Sport Waitākere Community Coach Advisor, Mick Coultard, says there are several barriers to trying out mountain biking as a sport, particularly for young girls.  

“Mountain biking isn’t the easiest sport to get into, and not all parents are able to show their kids the beauty of riding a bike in the forest. Programmes like Bellas on Mountain Bikes provide an opportunity for young women to take part, and we’re glad to see many who have decided to continue on with the sport,” says Mick.

“The programme has empowered the girls to take ownership of their rides and draw inspiration from the amazing women role model coaches.  All this contributes to building their confidence in the sport and forming strong friendships.”

The concept for Bellas on Mountain Bikes started over a coffee between cycling enthusiasts Mike Beale from JafaKids Mountain Bike Academy, and passionate mountain biker Bernadette Mark who is also heavily involved in several Auckland cycling clubs.  With two young daughters, Mike could see the need to enable more girls to get into mountain biking, while Bernadette was driven to create more opportunities for women and girls to get on their bikes and ride.  They both also saw the potential wider benefits of growing confidence and resilience in the girls, both on and off the bike.

With the support and guidance of Sport Waitākere through the KiwiSport funding process, along with the coach training provided by Mick Coultard, the formula has proven a winning one all-round. 

The outcomes that weren’t fully anticipated included inspiring parents to follow in their daughters’ footsteps and take up riding.  This included getting more adult females (the mothers) riding, bringing families together to ride local trails and competing in mountain bike events. 

As a result of this project, the girls and their families are continuing to ride, including meeting monthly to ride various mountain biking locations around Auckland. Fourteen of the young riders and their families even took part in the well-known Whaka mountain bike event in Rotorua – sharing the experience with hundreds of other like-minded mountain bikers.

Plans are now afoot for the second instalment of Bellas on Mountain Bikes in early 2020.

Article added: Wednesday 04 December 2019