MK Bikeability Olympics 2022

Supported by

Date/time: Thursday 7th July, 4-6pm. Awards celebration 6-6.30pm.

Venue: Sports Central, Elder Gate, MK9 1EN. The double netball court north of CMK Station and west of Network Rail.  Parking details below.

Aim: To encourage more cycling in Milton Keynes by celebrating the achievements of MK primary school pupils in Bikeability courses and raising awareness about the fun, health and ecological benefits of cycling.  This event aims to pilot and develop safety and control standards so Bikeability Olympics can become an established annual event.   (This event precedes the MK City Status Cycle Ride on 14th July.)

Safety: Ringway Infrastructure Services are providing cones and tape to mark the area off for safety.

Participants: Bikeability participating primary schools have been invited to select contestants up to 50 pupils in total.  Pupils from the following schools have registered: Bradwell Village School, Brooklands Farm Primary School, Broughton Fields School, Giffard Park School, Giles Brook School, Loughton Primary School, Orchard Academy, Oxley Park School, St Thomas Aquinas School, Two Mile Ash School.

Registration: Parents have given consent to the participation of their children including filming of the activities for video footage to be used on social media and website, and possible TV broadcast, to promote similar events in future.  Parents are required to indicate any health needs of their child, e.g. asthma pump. Parents are also expected to ensure that their child’s bicycle is roadworthy (see below).

Events (with contest organisers, each to be supported by one volunteer marshal from The Radcliffe School, in brackets) 

  1. Bike Detectives – testing Level 1 skills (Martin Swift, Cycle Saviours)  – see details
  2. Obstacle Course – testing Level 1 skills (Richard Allman, Bikeability Instructor) – see details
  3. Pump Relay Race – testing Level 1 skills (Nicky Newlands, Bikeability Instructor)  – see details
  4. Slow Race – testing Level 1 skills (Maria Riding, Bikeability Instructor) – see details
  5. ‘Quadrathon’ Road Ride – testing Level 2 skills (Dave Lewis, Bikeability Instructor) – see details

In the competition area, there will be four groups of participants, each with one representative from each school, in a carousel of events 1-4 above, so all will participate in each of the four events.  Each event will last no longer than 20 minutes, after which the contest organiser will instruct participants to move to the next contest in the carousel.  The ‘Quadrathon’ contest (contest 5) will be a longer event, 4.15-5.30pm, with one contestant from each school only. Each contest will be scored separately, with timings to the decisecond where timings used, and each contest organiser will report an overall Gold, Silver and Bronze winner for their contest.

Schedule:

  • 2.00pm – Organisers mark up contest areas
  • 3.30pm – Contestants begin to arrive, give names to Registration (Judges & Admin desk) and walk bicycles to their first contest area
  • 4.00pm – Announcement of contest rules – Richard Allman
  • 4.10pm – Road Ride contestants depart
  • 4.15pm – First round of contests 1-4
  • 4.40pm – Second round of contests 1-4
  • 5.05pm – Third round of contests 1-4
  • 5.30pm – Fourth round of contests 1-4
  • 5.50pm – All contest results submitted to Judges desk
  • 6.00pm – Awards ceremony and group photo
  • 6.30pm – End.

Arrival: On arrival, each pupil will be informed of their first contest (1-5) and asked to walk their bicycle to that contest area, leave their bicycles there and put any other baggage in the schools baggage area. Quadrathon contestants (contest 5) will be asked to leave their bicycles in the Obstacle Course area (contest 1). Bikes will be checked by the Context Organiser at this time to ensure they are roadworthy.

Awards ceremony: Medals will be presented by: Cllr Zoe Nolan, MK Council’s Cabinet member for Children and Families; Jo Lewington, Chief Environment and Sustainability Officer, Network Rail; Daniel Mullins, Operations Director of Ringway Infrastructure Services. Prizes will include Get Around MK tote bags for all competitors with shoe clip and bike lights donated by MK Council.  Parents may enter the contest area for the awards ceremony at 6pm. The Obstacle Course (contest 1) area will be reduced (cones and tape moved) to allow the audience to gather around the judges table.

Immediately after the Medals presentation, all participants will be asked to stand/kneel for a photo against the southern fence of the competition area.

Bicycle & clothing: parents are responsible for ensuring that their child’s bicycle is roadworthy (see Bikeability Bike Check) and their child is wearing school PE kit, with shoe laces done up. Contestants must also bring sun cream and a waterproof coat in case of extremely sunny or wet weather. Bicycles to be walked through gate at north-east corner of netball court, near pavilion.

Support: Adult volunteers from Network Rail will act as contest marshals, assisting contests 1-4 and Registration desk duties.  These volunteers will be supervised by Bikeability instructors at all times during this one-off event. Cycle Saviours will provide basic repairs to bicycles (bicycles must be roadworthy). Trek Bikes will be providing the bicycles for Bike Detectives.

Refreshments: Contestants must bring snacks and water and ask permission from their contest organiser to get them while the contests are in progress.   Parents and other spectators are welcome to purchase refreshments from the bar area of the pavilion.

Safeguarding & Risk Assessment: Children must be accompanied by parents or school staff. Only Bikeability trainers and other approved staff will be permitted to enter the contest area. The following risks have been identified and control measures will be applied:

RISKSIGNIFICANCEPROBABILITYCONTROL MEASURE
Personal injury due to collisionHighMediumContest areas to be sectioned with bollards and high viz tape, organisers to give clear instructions. Contestants to wear high viz vests.
Injury/fall due to bicycle not in correct conditionHighMediumParents advised to check bicycle before event. Mechanic advise and tools available for basic repairs.
Head injury due to fallHighMediumAll contestants to wear a properly fitted cycle helmet.
Injury due to slipHighLowContestants to be advised of surface conditions as part of general Risk Assessment announcement at start. In case of extreme weather, event will be postponed or cancelled.
Poor pupil behaviour due to confusion among contestantsLowLowAll instructions to be communicated clearly at start and throughout. Contests are designed to be engaging throughout.

First Aid: Bikeability instructors are First Aid trained.

Parking at Sports Central: Parking is very limited. Sports Central has only 12 spaces. It is best to park either in the surrounding public pay spaces or at the nearby multi-story car park or at Aldi, MK9 1EN, if shopping there!

For more information, contact:

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