Cycling BC’s Quebec & Nova Scotia HopOn Visit.
In partnership with Cycling Canada, Cycling BC’s iRide program has been adopted across the country under the name “HopOn Canada” to help more children get on bikes and help instructors start their leadership journey with helpful training tools.
Over the past year, instructors from 8 provinces have completed NCCP Community Coach training, additional eLearning, and orientation modules to prepare them to teach HopOn in their home province. During the Covid-19 shutdown, portions of the orientation took place over ZOOM, but with restrictions easing this past summer, Cycling BC visited both Quebec and Nova Scotia to help kickstart their HopOn programs.
Cycling BC’s iRide Manager, Ben Chaddock, spent three days in Montreal and three days in Halifax.
“Getting back out there and visiting with all of the passionate sports leaders across our country was important to me. We are at an important time for cycling in our country, and discussing ways forward in-person is a healthy way to discover how we can share the lessons learned at iRide and support the success of the national HopOn program,” said Chaddock.
In Montreal, two learning facilitators completed an LF Content-Specific Delivery module and the HopOn Orientation module to prepare them to facilitate HopOn instructor training in their province. The event was hosted by FQSC, Quebec’s provincial cycling organization, at the 1976 Olympic stadium.
“With so many of my coaching mentors here from BC having raced at the Montreal velodrome, I’ve heard stories about the sports complex and the old velodrome for years. So it was a real treat to visit the facility, learn about the ‘76 games, and better understand cycling’s history in Canada.”
The trip continued to Halifax, where two learning facilitators and six instructors completed the training. The three-day visit hosted PEI Cycling’s executive director, Mike Connolly, and Nova Scotia’s provincial team head coach, Jon Burgess. They completed all three days and are now ready to lead HopOn instructor training in their province.
“We started our visit by reviewing the principles of NCCP learning facilitation, the core concepts from the HopOn eLearning module, and spent the afternoon finding our voice on our bikes. We welcomed the new instructors on the second day and started with a brand-new icebreaker game, MasterMind, based on the popular board game. It was a great way to build cooperation and feedback skills.”
The Halifax event included a free HopOn skills session for local children. This provided incentives for the new instructors as they would be teaching real kids just before the end of the day.
To learn more about Cycling Canada’s HopOn program, please visit their website.
