Kiddies Club

[shanethepainter]

Hi All,
Couple of my lads are looking to get more involved in MTB'ing,
I would like to organise a regular spin for the younger members,
(or progeny of members).
Anyone else out there with a few whipper-snappers who would like to follow in the glory of their parents legendary exploits??
(they're my kids so I can lie to them about my daring escapades on the bike!)
I would figure on doing a regular saturday and occasionally an evening midweek spin, ages 10+?, however as I might not be available to spin on these all the time it would be nice to share the duties.
Opinions on membership etc?
your comments etc on a postcard to........,

No,seriously anyone who might be interested let me know
Shane.

[Byrner]

I can't offer to take any spins Shane, but if you want to, you're more than welcome to let them have a go at our Club league on Thursdays, they could do 1 or 2 laps if you were willing to supervise them
Richie

[Alfie]

obviously they'd have to go off before or after the race as some of the "grown-ups"
get very competetive(aggressive).
it would be great to see some kids coming through into the sport though problem is people without kids cant be bothered organising stuff for kids anymore parents out there?

[shanethepainter]

Thanks Lads,
might be a bit soon to stick them into a race, while the eldest lad (12) did the Djouce trail challenge last year it might scare the youmger fella off completely,
what I was hoping is that there'd be other parents (with kids in tow!) willing to get stuck in too,
Didn't realise your club league had started?
might tag along with the older fella,
Would still like to hear from other parents or older brothers/sisters,
Shane.

[Byrner]

you should have a look at the Sorrento website, Aiden Ryan does a fair bit of stuff with younger kids and hes a 20th level coach or something.
Alfies right about the club legue, what I had in mind was a single lap, after all the grown ups had gone off.
My daughter has no interest whatsoever in mtbing I'm afraid and I haven#t a clue where my other children are !
Cheers Richie

[Byrner]

well isn't that just like Kids, I bought Sophie her first real MTB today...the Pink Demon machine has been thashed..I thought I'd lost her forever to the trampoline gods..looks like the Sprocketicons MTB Club will be here sooner than you think..!!

[Basil Fawlty]

Maybe she changes her mind as often as her daddy... ;-)

On a serious note, it'd be brilliant to have a sort of youth development scene in the club like what Aidan has done in Sorrento. These sort of things take a lot of commitment though. And there's always the dreaded child protection business.

[Fat Fecker]

I'm sure my boys would join in, but kids have so much on their plate these days. My lot do Tae kwon-do tues & fri, and rugby on sat, so finding time that suits everybody is hard. A lot of parents are unwilling to travel too. I plan to build a short xc track in the forest behind my house for my lads... maybe we could create something there, and I'd help supervise a spin on Sundays, or Saturday afternoons?
There is also some issues with working with children, swimming coaches /lifeguards etc need Garda clearance. On that bases, parents would have to accompany their children.

[Byrner]

Howdy,
i'm not afraid of that child protection business. i'm going to do the course anyways. Limiting a sport because of fear and red tape is not the way things are meant to be.
But we willl still insist on parental cooperation.
once a month will do us fine,
Richie

[Basil Fawlty]

The child protection stuff isn't actually anything to be afraid of, but it can put people off. The garda vetting is just a record check, you have to supply all addresses that you've lived at, it takes ~ 6 weeks before clearance comes back. What's more messy is that child protection policies need to be in place, central to this is a reporting mechanism which must be strictly adhered to in any cases of known, alleged or suspected child abuse. Possibly this could be run through CI, I'm not sure. There are basic principles too, such as ensuring that an adult is not alone with a child - OK in a group situation, but a pain in the tits when it comes to things like the first child is dropped off by a parent who then wants to head off, or a parent arrives late to collect a child, or a leader is dropping children home by car etc. Easiest way, as you mention, is that we insist on parental co-operation. Written consent, including any medical details, is also strongly to be recommended.

Probably the most straightfoward - and worthwhile - approach is to have a fairly informal start to it, with strong parental support, thus avoiding a lot of the red tape. If the potential and interest are there, the thing can develop as needed.

[Fat Fecker]

I have nothing to hide either, I already have Garda clearance for the Airport, it's just a consideration. I'd gladly do something once a month. Do you think people would travel up here to the Alps for it? If you think they would, I'd maintain a challenging kid friendly trail.

[Byrner]

lets see how this Saturday goes, if we get the amount that have shown interest then we'll take the official route.