Tamworth Cycle Club’s new president, Min McDonald, has laid out her plan to continue the sport’s growth, saying her focus is on promoting racing while also striving to be “inclusive” of other elements.
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Previously TCC’s first women’s development officer, McDonald was entrusted with the position in a unanimous vote of confidence by the club’s board this month. She replaced Mark Stewart.
She has been appointed president at a time when the club says they are enjoying robust growth, with the upcoming launch of the much-anticipated Northern Inland Centre of Sporting Excellence – which will feature an outdoor velodrome and criterium track – expected to give the sport a big boost.
McDonald said: “Tamworth Cycle Club is a racing club, that’s in our constitution.
“But we also see that being inclusive and progressive in the way that we include women and juniors is important.
“That’s the future of the club – broadening our target base and including more people. And I think we’ll be focused on having more events that invite more of the community to become involved in the sport of road cycling.”
McDonald appears to be the obvious choice to push that agenda given the work she had put in as the women’s development officer.
She said she was excited to become president with “such a strong” board in place – “a very committed board who are all working hard in their individual roles”.
She added: “And I really see my role as being a facilitator of the amazing work that those people are doing.
“As you would know, I’m very passionate about women’s involvement in the sport. But I also think that as a region we’ve got an exciting time ahead with the development of the new sporting centre.
“And the infrastructure really opens up the possibilities for us to put Tamworth on the map as far as cycling goes in Australia, and I’m excited to be part of that process.”
Earlier this month councillors formally endorsed Tamworth Regional Council’s $4.45 million capital contribution to the Northern Inland Centre of Sporting Excellence.
The funds approved by councillors will be added to the $8.5 million secured from the Australian Government and the $4.25 million secured from the State Government.
The first phase of the project includes the outdoor velodrome and criterium track; an outdoor arena; a carpark and amenities at the Australian Equine Livestock and Events Centre; and an athletics centre.
