A new programme helping Selwyn tamariki gain skills for life on a bike has officially launched in Selwyn.

The Selwyn Sports Trust, in partnership with the Selwyn District Council, have officially launched the Selwyn primary school cycle safety programme called iBike, led by New Zealand Triathlete and Selwyn local, Sarah McClure.

The programme is focused on teaching our tamariki to be confident around bikes and learning cycle skills that will set them up for life. The iBike Programme is focused on year 6 and 7 aged tamariki and is being rolled out across the entire Selwyn Kura network over the coming three years.

Selwyn District Councilor, Grant Miller, attended the launch event this week held at Southbridge Primary School and commented that the programme is an important part of the Council's focus on cycle safety, particularly around school roads, access routes and gaining the skills to be able to bike to school safely.

“Bike safety in primary schools has been a focus across the country for a number of years, so the introduction of the iBike Programme in our region is a significant achievement for the Council. Collaborating with the Selwyn Sports Trust on this programme has been fantastic and we are working towards expanding the programme in 2024 to include an on-road component (Grade 2)”.

Sarah McClure - a recent graduate of Lincoln University - has a great knowledge of bike safety, particularly on the Selwyn roading network, so her experience has been invaluable to the development of the iBike delivery.

“Every school and tamariki has a different biking environment to consider from a safety perspective, so it’s very exciting to work with each group and build the confidence around safety for each child in their school environment to create a lifelong love of cycling.

We cover all the basics from fitting your helmet correctly, getting on and off safely, maneuvering, signaling, emergency stopping with control all while using activities that are fun and challenging to build confidence. We also run safety checks on all bikes including their helmets, which is so critical to a safe bike experience,” commented McClure

Selwyn Sports Trust General Manager, Doug McSweeney, was excited by the opportunity the programme created for the broader community.

“We’re thrilled at the Trust to have a role model like Sarah leading this programme. She relates so well to all the young people who are involved in the programme, and I know she’s inspiring our tamariki to get active on their bikes with safety at the front of their minds.

Getting young people active is one of the Trust’s key priorities, particularly when safety is a component of this activity. The broader opportunity for us is to build confidence and capability so that young people are bikers for life. This then opens up the opportunity to drive behavioral change with parents, grandparents and whānau to get on their bikes and be active together with their tamariki,” commented McSweeney