Caitlyn Beardsmore, 18, began volunteering four years ago and currently helps run weekly after-school sessions at Abbey Road Primary School.
She also splits her time volunteering as a coach with Nottingham Clarion and Beeston Road Club and has helped countless children of all abilities discover the joy of cycling.
It was only a matter of time before Beardsmore’s efforts received national attention and she has since been recognised by the British Cycling Awards for her transformative impact on countless lives.
“It feels incredible,” beamed Beardsmore, who is currently a student at Nottingham Trent University. “I didn’t expect it at all. It feels really good to be recognised for the things that I’ve done.
“I’ve always had a passion for coaching people and helping them to get better at cycling. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a child.
“I’m currently doing a Primary Education Qualification at university and that’s something that goes hand-in-hand with that.
“My old primary school teacher, Helen Dussek, who is also one of the coaches at Nottingham Clarion, was originally the one who inspired me.
“She started a bike club at the primary school and it’s been going before I started and created so many opportunities for the students there because there were trips and residentials around it and I hope that eventually I can do something similar and set up a bike club at whatever primary school I end up teaching at.
“We’d have day trips practicing skills that were transferable not only to racing but cycling more broadly and that fed into Nottingham Clarion and Beeston Racing as well.
“We recently had children with learning and coordination difficulties who weren’t able to ride a bike come to us and after a couple of sessions they were riding their bikes smoothly and enjoying it and having just a great time.”
The British Cycling Awards are an annual opportunity to recognise and reward the contributions of members, volunteers, clubs, and riders up and down the country.
Among Beardsmore’s other achievements is a 24-hour charity bike ride she helped organise with Abbey Road Primary School.
Held in support of children and young people mental health charity YoungMinds, the ride raised almost £3,000 and created memories to last a lifetime for pupils, teachers and volunteers within the local community.
“It was such a great day,” added Beardsmore.
“Each class in the school got a 20-minute slot where they could ride around the [1km] track at their own pace and everyone got the opportunity to.
“At the end of the school day loads of the kids came back and we had about 12 people at 3 o’clock in the morning come do laps and it was incredible to see how passionate they were.”
Could you develop your skills, meet new people and bring huge impact to your local community through volunteering? Get involved with British Cycling volunteering opportunities at https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/volunteering
