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Presidents Update to all members
11 Oct 2021
Presidents Update
I hope you and your families are well during these uncertain times. It’s been great to see our club members remaining active during the lockdown, whether that’s riding neighborhood loops or getting onto the home trainer. Special thanks to Shaun Perry and Ryan Mui for organising online rides to keep us connected.
Like all of you, I am eagerly awaiting the end of the lockdown so we can reconnect in person and enjoy some of our favorite group rides and races. The purpose of this letter is to provide some details of the Executive Committee’s planned arrangements for post lockdown reopening and update you on the outcomes and actions from the 2021 Members Survey.
I take this opportunity to encourage you to support our sponsors, Luminar, Velocipede, Blacktown Dental, Lexus of Parramatta and Mongrel Joes. All are small businesses that have been impacted by the lockdown and are deserving of our patronage. As you may have seen Velocipede have recently relocated to SHOP 6, 9 Salisbury Road, Castle Hill.
I look forward to seeing you out on the road soon and, all going well, we will be back together on 27 November at our Annual General Meeting and social night.
Reopening Arrangements
Having reached the 70% double vaccination target, the NSW Government has announced that from Monday 11th if you are fully vaccinated people can outdoor sport and exercise at gatherings in groups of up to 20. Unvaccinated children 15 and under may participate in outdoor public gatherings for sport and exercise and count towards the total number of people. We have confirmed these arrangements with Cycling NSW as being consistent with the Public Health Order.
We will be restarting club group rides from this week for people in groups of up to 20 people. For the Saturday universe ride this may mean splitting into two groups. We will be relying on the honesty of our members and associates so please don’t turn up if you don’t have evidence of you having the double jab. Based on the Government's current reopening plan we expect these restrictions will be loosened once the 80% double vaccination target is reached.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/rules/rules-for-fully-vaccinated-people-nsw#toc-sport-and-exercise
2021 Members Survey – Results and Actions
Thank you to those who provided responses to the 2021 Members Survey, it was again an exceptional response from members reflecting a high level of engagement. Satisfaction with the club membership had fallen since the 2019 survey and this is something that the Executive Committee has been working hard to improve during 2021. A summary of the responses is provided in Attachment One. During 2021 we have been progressively acting on the suggestions and issues raised in the survey and using them to inform how we prioritise our activities. A summary of these is detailed below. We welcome your feedback and suggestions so please reach out to any of the members of the Executive Committee with your ideas and suggestions.
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Survey Feedback
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Actions During 2021
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Future Planned Actions
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Promote racing and riding participation through improved communication.
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Introduced weekly ride post for email and social media and specific event posts for grandfondos and races.
Saturday morning verbal updates on Universe rides (thanks Phil Gates).
Implemented Saturday virtual ride during lockdown on Zwift (thanks Shaun Perry).
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Continue weekly ride post and race event posts.
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Promote participation and membership though beginners’ rides and advertising.
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Held Saturday beginners’ rides for 6 weeks in Autumn from Velocipede.
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Update club membership brochure.
Advertise membership through local bike shops and local print and social media.
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Coordinate PCC presence at Sydney club races.
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Posted participation at Sydney club races and organized participation in AusCycling Esports Series https://auscycling.org.au/page/esport-club-nationalseries (thanks Ryan Mui! )
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Improved coordination of participation by club groups at Sydney club races and online events.
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Clarify process for financial assistance to attend competitive races.
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Publish a new club policy on race financial assistance on the website and email this to members.
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Encourage Juniors through advertising safe riding events, providing discounted/free club cycling kits and schools outreach.
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Commenced Merrylands track nights (thanks Chris Moutter) and advertised these on social media.
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Continue Merrylands track rides.
Clarify Juniors Kit policy and membership support. It is our intention to enhance our support of racing members especially juniors up to U23.
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Improve members benefits from sponsors.
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Published benefits package from club sponsors as part of 2021 renewals (thanks to all our sponsors for their ongoing support!).
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Continue to develop support packages with existing and new sponsors.
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Organize club participation at Grandfondos, preferably Bowral.
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Work had started on promoting the Bowral Classic , but covid squashed planning.
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Coordinate club participation at future Opens and Grandfondo events.
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Organise club cycling trips
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Organised a club trip away to Bright Victoria, which unfortunately had to be cancelled (thanks Graeme Elder and Andrew Cooper!)
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Organise another trip away in 2022.
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Improve communication through preferred channels – facebook, website and email.
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Increased communication through preferred channels with more regular facebook, website and email communication.
Developed and launched new website to improve useability and make new and events clearer, see Attachment Two (thanks Bob Shields!)
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Continue with increased club communication of rides and activities.
Update some of the older website content.
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Develop a closed race circuit close to Parramatta as an alternative to Oakville.
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Have met with Parramatta Council and Local Member Dr Geoff Lee.
Have reached out to other local cycling clubs (i.e. LACC and Parklife) and Cycling NSW to support.
(thanks Chris Moutter and Phil Gates)
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Engage with Sydney Olympic Park Authority (SOPA) alongside Cycling NSW and other local clubs to support a redevelopment of the Armory Track.
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Online registration and increase payment options for Oakville race days.
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Introduced cashless payment system for race days and pre-race registration on Buncheur. https://www.buncheur.com/ (thanks to Shaun Perry!)
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Continue to simplify race day registration arrangements.
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Improve execution and follow up of Executive Committee actions.
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Committee has focused on delivering specific measurable outcomes (thanks to all ExCo members!).
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Continue to monitor accountability within the Executive Committee so that changes are implemented.
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Attachment One : Member Survey Responses
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Item
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2019
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2021
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Response Rate
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46 (6 under 35 years)
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68 (7 under 35)
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Frequency
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3-5 Days 66%
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3-5 Days 58%
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Preferred Days
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Saturday and Sunday 80%
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Saturday and Sunday 70%
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Sunday Rides
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N/A
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M7 Sackville Mt White
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Grand Fondos
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N/A
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Bowral Classic 39%, Bathurst 21%
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Grand Fondo Organization by Club
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46% Yes
38% Accommodation Dinner Meet up
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Improving Racing and Riding Participation
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Improved communication – social media, email other.
Coordination of PCC groups at races.
Beginner Social Rides
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Number of People Racing and
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36% race
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Preferred Race Day
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33% refer Saturday (Tuesday and Sunday also high)
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Race encouragement
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Coaching and race specific training rides.
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Race team
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35% would join a PCC race team
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Universe extras
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24% (15) would do Universe extras
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PCC Race Sponsorship – Seniors and Juniors
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59% unaware and 77% don’t know process to apply, 56% unaware of Junior club race support outside of Sydney, 76% don’t know how to apply
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Encouraging Juniors
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Advertised specific safe off-road rides.
Schools outreach.
Free PCC kit.
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Important objectives
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60% Member cycling participation (racing, fondos volunteering), 17% Grow membership
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New objectives
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Introductory, social rides, communication and better execution.
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Encourage membership
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Beginners rides, off road, advertising.
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Beginner introductory rides, advertising (bike shops/schools).
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Happy with membership
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85% yes.
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52% yes.
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New benefits
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Better organised rides/communication, better deals with sponsors.
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Preferred communication channel
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Oakville Calendar - Email 40%
Other riders – 51% Facebook.
Weekly rides- 55% Facebook.
Social Calendar – 38% Facebook, 35% Email
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Social Events
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72% Spring Grand Fondo
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75% Easter Grand Fondo
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Courses
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52% First Aid, 37% Coaching
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How to night
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64% Bike Maintenance
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29% Di 2, 27% Basic Bike Fit
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Volunteers
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44% Yes
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33% Yes
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Other
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Coordination and clear communication, develop a closed racing circuit, plan for Oakville future, focus on outcomes.
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