2026 President's Report

2026 has been an interesting year for cycling, both at the club level, and at the national level. We’ve seen some clubs raise concerns about the direction that AusCycling and the sport of cycling more generally are taking, and have seen what I felt to be a disappointing response from AusCycling to these clubs. I won’t go into the politics of this issue here, but I’m more than happy to discuss these issues over a coffee.

Having said that, the issues have been aired, and it feels that AusCycling has at least begun to demonstrate that they have been heard, so I hope that this is a turning point for the sport.

My focus for this year, and for the coming years, is on maintaining and increasing membership and engagement in PACC, and addressing the declining participation in cycling events across the State and the Country. The causes of this are many, but I believe that to turn things around, we must focus on three core areas.

The first is delivering on what we already do well.

• PACC is known for delivering high quality cyclocross events, time trials, and a range of entertaining events such as the Roller Frenzy during the TDU.
• These events are a draw to the sport and to the club, but they take a lot of work to deliver.
• To support this core area, we need to ensure we attract and retain volunteers.

The second is ensuring that PACC as a club is a vibrant and welcoming club.

• To this end, we’re focusing on organising some social rides and events, as well as regular track sessions at Hanson Reserve, which are accessible to nearly everyone.

The third is actively attracting young riders and their families.

• PACC has a low rate of junior membership, and without changing this, we’re going to go the same way as some other clubs who have effectively ceased operating.
• This year we published a Role Statement for a Junior Development Officer. We haven’t had any takers for the role yet, but this is a high priority.

The biggest initiative to support the third core area is a junior bike skills program called Bike Club, which we’re running on Tuesday nights at Hanson Reserve. This program is teaching kids from 5-12 years old, and was initially developed by Lee-Anne Fleming who ran the program in Term 1 to seven energetic kids. I and Stephen Nelson have taken over delivery of the program, and we now have 18 kids enrolled, and we still have nearly 10 kids on a waiting list for next term. We’re hoping that the kids involved in the program will participate in our CX events, and that their parents will also get involved as volunteers in the future.

If you’d like more information, please reach out to me.

Maeve Plouffe and I are also exploring a summer school holiday track camp at Hanson Reserve, so watch this space.

Women and Girls

I’m also delighted to announce that we have a Women and Girls Sub-committee, aimed at informing the board on any issues surrounding participation of women in PACC’s events, as well as ideas for attraction and retention of women and girls in the club. I’d like to acknowledge Susan Mitchell, Alfie Trimming, Virginia Riches and Kayla McSporran, who are the members of that subcommittee.

What’s coming up?

PACC’s Friday Night Social Rides are starting on the first Friday of every month, starting in June. Please join us at Plant 4 Bowden for a cruisy ride towards Port Adelaide, returning to Plant 4 for a drink and dinner. We’d love to see more PACCers coming out in club kit, and we promise a social paced ride!

Our regular Motopacing sessions continue on Thursday nights, with a massive thanks to Troy who facilitates these sessions.

Bike Club on Tuesday night is a hoot, and you’re welcome to come out and help out, run the BBQ, or just hang around and chat. We’d love if you could share the word with any friends who have kids between 5-12 who might be interested.

We’d also love people to run additional sessions. We’d love to see more training happening at Hanson, but our existing coaches and volunteers are at capacity.

The CX season is underway, and Troy has set up an exciting season between the tape. All events are now on EntryBoss, and there will be a season pass for the series. Giant Adelaide is sponsoring the series, and any rider who takes part in every round and the State CX Titles will be in the running to win a bike!

Finally, I’d like to acknowledge some of the Board Members who are not continuing.

• Aaron Brown has been on the board for two years, and his expertise and knowledge around the track has been invaluable. We’re so excited to see his son Will racing on the world stage, and will track his progress eagerly.
• Troy, whilst he’s remaining involved in the CX and Motopacing events, is also stepping down after two years. Troy’s efforts in running our CX events over the last few years have been legendary.
• Tim Tuppence has been on the board since 2022, and his passion for CX has been incredible, as well as his ability to build and maintain relationships with sponsors and stakeholders which has been of massive benefit to the club.
• Finally, someone who has been on the board of the club for more than 13 years, has served on the board of AusCycling after it was created 5 years ago, and has been a driving force for cycling in SA, Gemma Kernich is stepping down. Words fail me, and I can only hope you’ll still answer my phone calls.

Here’s to onwards!