As a club BMCC considers safety & welfare a vital part of creating a healthy environment for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy cycling.
The club has a team of welfare officers who have completed British Cycling approved safeguarding training and are all DBS checked. The welfare officer role is defined by BC as follows:
“Why does your club need a Club Welfare Officer?”
It is mandatory for clubs in England and Wales who have under 18s or vulnerable adults as members or users of their services to appoint a Club Welfare Officer (CWO).
Club Welfare Officers play a key role in maintaining British Cycling’s high standards in relation to vulnerable groups participating in cycling: allowing piece of mind for participants, their families and cycling clubs by ensuring those working with young people and vulnerable adults are suitable to do so.
We would encourage clubs to recruit two interested volunteers to take on this challenging but rewarding role. It is important to highlight however that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and all at the club should do their bit.
Your welfare officers also collate incident reports in the unfortunate event of accidents taking place. These are used to help the club promote safer cycling.
The club has trained a number of members in basic First Aid and intends to make this training available on a regular basis.
We have also taken steps to encourage and coach new ride leaders for our social rides ensuring all such rides are lead competently and safely.
We also have generic risk assessments in place for our weekend social rides as well as our Time Trial events at Weston on the Green.
(Please see the relevant sub-sections of the safety and welfare webpage for further details on First Aid, Risk Assessment & Insurance.)