IN more than 50 years involved in cycling, Graham Seers has created memories to last a lifetime.
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The Port Macquarie Cycle Club life member added another chapter to his cycling book when he officially clocked on as chief executive of Cycling NSW on June 4.
And he’s looking forward to the challenge ahead as Australia aims to stay towards the top of the tree for many years to come.
There is not just one element of cycling in Australia that Seers is focused on improving, but he did admit junior development required nurturing.
“It’s all about juniors because juniors are the future,” he said.
“If you want to be there in the future, you need to make sure you’re offering opportunities to junior riders such as the experience to race in other environments overseas.”
Seers visited the Hastings last weekend where he witnessed some of the Junior Tour event which left him feeling the future of the sport was bright.
It’s very gratifying to see the young people not only from Port Macquarie, but from all over New South Wales come up and race in the Hastings region.
- Cycling NSW chief executive Graham Seers
“It’s very gratifying to see the young people not only from Port Macquarie, but from all over New South Wales come up and race in the Hastings region,” he said.
Seers already has experience with junior development which can be traced back to his days in Malaysia when he started a junior cycling program there.
“I designed and then implemented the program over there that offered children the opportunity to ride a bike from regional areas of Malaysia,” he said.
“The strategy is to initiate an international junior development program where we share it with Malaysian and New South Wales children.
“It means the young people of New South Wales will have the opportunity to travel and race in Malaysia.
“The Malaysian juniors can then travel and race in Australia so it will be an interchange program.”
The program would be rolled out in three different stages – including four countries – starting with Australia and Malaysia and then incorporating New Zealand and eventually Thailand.
“That way all four of those countries will already have a good cycling program,” Seers said.
I’m proud of being involved with Port and even when I haven’t been in the country, I’ve remained a member of the club.
- Graham Seers
“We’re adding to our junior development program so those kids are getting exposure at a younger age.”
Seers remains “a Port Macquarie boy” despite only visiting the area a handful of times since he moved to Malaysia almost eight years ago.
“I’m a life member of the Port Macquarie club and will have been a member of Cycling NSW next year for 50 years and Port Macquarie for 30 years.
“I’m proud of being involved with Port and even when I haven’t been in the country, I’ve remained a member of the club.”
It isn’t purely junior development that Seers will be focused on.
“The junior development will be an important portfolio for me, but masters, elite programs and women in the sport is also something we will be working towards,” he said.
“We want to increase women’s opportunity to be involved in bikes, so we have more women’s coaches and women can then interact with other women as to how to ride a bike and what to do.”