|
|
|
Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
WOMENS CYCLING BIG LOSERS AFTER ISC GRANTS ANNOUNCED
By email to IrishCycling.com
14 Feb 2008,
|
Email this article
|
Below is the response from the Women's Commission to the article on Carding on your website.
In yesterday’s press release announcing a €9 million High Performance package, I wonder if I am alone in my dismay at the measly €12,000 allocated to our female cyclists. This is just over 5% of grants allocated to CI. We have several riders racing competitively at the highest level, on UCI teams, World Cups, World Championships – and not one of them has qualified for the carding scheme, due to clauses in the criteria.
While the Irish Sports Council and Women in Sport are extremely supportive of our efforts in developing women’s cycling, it’s somewhat frustrating for our High Performance Riders to find themselves hitting walls within their own Federation.
Cycling Ireland proudly boasts an allocation of €215,000 to athletes within the sport. The only female recipients were Paralympic athletes Catherine Walsh and Joanna Hickey (tandem pilot). They will receive €6,000 each to assist them in their preparation for the Beijing Games this year. The rest of the paralympic athletes (male) will each receive €12,000. Am I missing something here?
Our top athletes – Siobhan Dervan, Louise Moriarty, and Jenny Fay, who are racing at the top level in the world, walk away with nothing. We need athletes competing at this level to pave the way for the future.
Is this lack of support that is demonstrated here from CI not completely destructive? Or maybe I have completely missed the point?
Heather Boyle, Secretary
Women's Commission
------------------------------------------------------------
Ed,
I couldn't believe my eyes when I seen the grants allocated to cycling from the Irish Sports Council. Why are none of our top ladies getting a grant after all they ride world cup races, world championships and ride for UCI trade teams! All of our ladies have acquitted themselves well against the top riders such as Cooke, Vos, Kupfernagel etc. but still they don't seem to be getting the support from the NGB.
Is this a case of just plain old inequality or do they have to win a GP Plouay or another of the World Cup races to satisfy the 'criteria' required for a grant?
I am not suggesting that any of the boys on the list shouldn't get the money however I do believe that the level that Dervan, Moriarty, Fay and previously O'Hagan have been riding at should be recognised and supported after all, their results have been more or less the same as the chaps!
What message does this send to them? What message does this send to the Women's commission and the efforts that they have put into developing the sport from a female perspective. At the moment that is the most active branch of our sport with a multitude of training camps, coaching sessions, testing etc. and its down to Valerie Considine and her team.
Another 2 omissions from the list are Ciaran Power and Paul Griffin. Griffin is probably our most successful cyclist from last year and Power has the ability to repeat his 13th place of the last games but these are not getting a cent.
Thinking about it I suppose its not inequality its probably just because they are women!
Anto Moran,
Ravens CRC
|
|
|
|
