Rwanda to host African women’s cycling camp

Rwandawill host the inaugural African women’s cycling camp set for January 2016 at the Africa Rising Cycling Camp (ARCC) in Musanze District. According to ARCC Logistics and Marketing manager Kimberly Coats, the one-month long training camp is aimed at boosting women’s cycling on the entire continent. “We need all the countries to come together to do that. Two women cyclists from each country and a women’s coach to go through an intensive one-month training program and also have the coach learn coaching techniques and learn how to do training programs,” explained Coats. Women cyclists and coaches from Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, hosts Rwanda and Zimbabwe will get a practical insight on the sport. Coats pointed out that, “The UCI (International Cycling Union) organises on these coaching courses, they sit in the class, they take a test then they do not do anything with it. “There is too much theory and not enough practical and we need coaches to be able to leave here and be able to write training programs for a girl, a junior and elite.” The American is keen on curbing the scarcity of female cycling coaches on the African continent with the vision that this will encourage more girls to embrace the sport. “We need to start developing women coaches because women have different needs from men. Male coaches do well in some countries but some cannot really have a male coach for a female team. We have to get more girls into the sport when girls see women who are coaches, they will be more inclined and comfortable to hopefully pick up the sport,” she noted. The Rwanda Cycling Federation (FERWACY) has mandated all the eight clubs in the country to sign up at least three female riders by the end of the year. Rwanda has four active female cyclists including; two-time national champion Jeanne d’Arc Girubuntu who is currently training at the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland. The other three are; Olympians Benitha Uwamariya and Clementine Niyonsaba as well as Beatha Ingabire, who alongside Girubuntu, have competed at the Africa Continental Cycling Championships.

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Rwanda to host African women’s cycling camp