‘Sykkelkids’

Children & youth

Jul 8

Who: The Norwegian Cycling Association

What: To initiate greater excitement towards cycling in students’ early education, thereby creating a positive ripple effect on both the climate and public health.

Where: Bergen

Project period: 2024

About the organization:

The Norwegian Cycling Federation (NCF) was founded in 1910 and has grown into a nationally recognized sport in Norway. We are a special division of The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) and are members of the European (UEC) and International (UCI) Cycling Unions. Road cycling is one of the world’s most popular sports, and in Norway we have 8 disciplines that are administered by the NCF. The federation consists of 15 employees, and we have around 40,000 members and 400 clubs across the country. NCF’s aim is to facilitate the sport of cycling in Norway, by building new facilities and ensuring that our youth, adults and national athletes have the resources to train and compete. We also rely on our capable trainers, commissaries, organizers and volunteers to keep the wheels turning. NCF wants to be a sporting organization with high values, and we work tirelessly to achieve our goals to be a sustainable organization.

About the project:

‘Sykkelkids’ is a bicycle training program offered by The Norwegian Cycling Association (Norges sykkelforbund), aimed at students from the 3rd to 5th grades at schools across Vestland county. The goal of the project is to initiate greater excitement towards cycling in students’ early education, thereby creating a positive ripple effect on both the climate and public health. The Sykkelkids program has been offered in the Vestland county of Norway since 2015, and to date over 25,000 students from 20 different municipalities have participated. The project is well established in Bergen and has received good feedback from schools, teachers and students alike. Many consider this program as necessary to improve the cycling skills of students and stimulate a general increase in activity at school. Today, the program consists of a group of capable bike instructors who travel around to schools in and around Bergen, taking with them the equipment necessary to provide a modern and effective training course. The course runs over two days with roughly 2.5 hours of theoretical and practical training, covering the foundations of cycling as well as exercises for practising and mastery. The instructors construct outdoor obstacle courses within the school area where students have the chance to improve their balancing skills, turning techniques and general control of the bicycle. In addition, a short cycling trip in the nearby area allows students to gain experience maneuvering in traffic and ensures safer road users in the future. The course is adapted to each student’s capabilities, with emphasis on the level of enjoyment experienced.