Alberta Bicycle and St Albert BMX Coaching & Leadership

Through the Take the Lead grant, St Albert BMX in partnership with Alberta Bicycle Association were able to provide financial support for girls and women interested in coaching and leadership in BMX. This funding helped cover the costs of coaching certifications, first aid training, and commissaire training, making these opportunities more accessible.

With three BMX tracks in the Edmonton area, ST Albert BMX opened these opportunities to women and girls from all three clubs. The goal was to support women and girls at every stage and create a support system where they could learn from and encourage each other along the way. Whether they were curious about coaching, working toward certification, or interested in becoming a commissaire or taking on a more visible role through on track first aid, the clubs wanted to help them take that next step.

As a sport that is male dominated, the barriers that women and girls experience, especially in pursuing leadership opportunities required the organizers to learn more about how they might be able to address these barriers. The project supported meeting women and girls where they were in their leadership journey. This included a variety of opportunities with different leadership opportunities, not only coaching. The project supported building leadership capacity at many levels within the organization while increasing women in leadership representation at events.

The project was also successful in working to increase the diversity of women in leadership as well as for participants. As the BMX season is over, many participants shared that this leadership experience will be transferred to their roles in leadership in other sports like, snowboarding, ringette, rugby.

"I am incredibly proud of what they have accomplished this year. I know they are not slowing down. If anything, they will continue bringing more women and young people into coaching and keeping the momentum going. We have not only created more opportunities for women to become coaches, but we have also started changing who is seen as a coach and leader within BMX. I believe this is one of the most lasting impacts of the project."