PACC site logo

Port Adelaide Cycling Club members will have received notice from AusCycling of a Special General Meeting to be held on 23 April 2026, calling for the removal of the AusCycling Chair Craig Bingham.

Background:

In mid 2025, members of the Harlequin Wheelmen cycling club began communicating with clubs, accusing AusCycling of seeking to ‘divide and conquer’, and minimising clubs’ input into the governance of our sport. Whilst the tone of the communications was hyperbolic, they did raise some legitimate concerns, including:

  • Failing to effectively support cycling in Australia below the elite level;
  • Inadequate engagement with stakeholders;
  • Lack of transparency and accountability, particularly with regard to membership costs.

The original proposal from the Harlequin Wheelmen called for a return to ‘state-based management of cycling disciplines’. Whilst the PACC Board shared some of the concerns, particularly in relation to the lack of support for non-elite cycling, there was no proposal which the Board saw as solving these issues.

More recently, members of the Canberra Cycling Club and Midlands Cycle Club began reaching out to clubs also calling for a special meeting, but this time setting out a more coherent list of concerns and proposal for various resolutions at a SGM.

You can read here:

PACC did not sign the requests to call a SGM, but sufficient clubs did, and the GM has now been scheduled.

There are concerns raised by Mr Lindsay and others about the fact that although 4 proposals were put forward, only one has been placed on the agenda for the Special General Meeting, raising a concern about transparency and how much AusCycling is prepared to listen to its members.

The problem:

When it launched, AusCycling proposed a 3-phase approach. ‘Horizon 1’ was titled ‘Strengthen the Foundations’, and promised to engage more riders, grow the number of coaches and officials, build credibility and trust in the AusCycling Brand, and create a sustainable economic agenda.

Horizon 2 was to focus on ‘driving tangible growth’. Whilst AusCycling has acknowledged that it did not meet its Horizon 1 goals, it’s not clear how AusCycling has reflected on its performance or how it intends to 'catch up'. The PACC Board shares concerns regarding the future of cycling in Australia. We recognise that whilst more people are riding bikes than ever before, fewer people are connected to cycling clubs. Races are getting harder and harder to organise, more expensive, and fewer people are taking part. Many clubs are shrinking, volunteers are harder to source, and there doesn’t appear to be a coherent plan from AusCycling to address this.

PACC has written to AusCycling asking for a report into its Horizon 1 results, and what its plans are to reverse the trends of dropping member numbers and increasing costs. We will advise you if we receive a meaningful response.

The proposal to devolve AusCycling back to a set of State-based organisations was not rational, and fortunately that proposal is not on the agenda.

We do share concerns that the leadership of AusCycling has not demonstrated its ability to support clubs and grow members. However, the Board is not convinced that removing the chair of the AusCycling Board will necessarily lead to improvements. We understand that the challenges facing clubs are not limited to cycling, and that reduced involvement with community associations is a feature of the 21st century.

So this is where you come in. Your feedback to the Board will be incredibly important in shaping our response. Do you think that the current leadership of AusCycling deserves more time to implement its Horizon 2 Strategy, or do you think that AusCycling has had enough time, and has failed to meet its goals? 

Your feedback by 10 April 2026 would be greatly appreciated, by email to [email protected].

, , , , ,
No Comments

You must be authenticated in order to add a comment.