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ycling in Australia will enter a new era after two years of planning, with 16 legal entities representing the sport at national and state level across four disciplines – track, road mountain bike and BMX, all coming together to form a single governing body, AusCycling.
BMX Australia, Cycling Australia, Mountain Bike Australia and their state bodies voted in favour of joining the new unified nationwide organisation, which will commence operations on November 1.
From November 1, members will have the ability to race all disciplines under one licence, clubs will have access to a range of new programs and resources, and further benefits will be introduced as the organisation evolves.
Warrnambool Cycling Club secretary, Richard Adams, said he was extremely happy for the sport.
“We have been waiting for this change for a long time…it’s a fantastic step,” Adams said.
“It’s been frustrating for many years having had to race under different licences.
“We appreciate the efforts of the new generations in Cycling Australia has brought to this issue and removing a lot of blockages related to old issues.
“It’s good this decision has been made,” he said.
Adams said the creation of AusCycling would make it easier and more appealing to newcomers to the sport with licences to be available for all levels of cycling.
Warrnambool Mountain Bike Club president, David Sagnol, highlighted that the streamlining of licenses would save members hundreds of dollars each year.
“If I pick one membership, I don’t have to do all three but it saves me $700 if I did want to do all of them,” Sagnol said.
Sport Australia believes the approved AusCycling model is a more modern and efficient governance structure that has the potential to deliver greater benefits to the Australian cycling community.
AusCycling is expected to have more than 50,000 individual members and over 400 affiliated clubs once it commences.
