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An award winning evidence-based program to enhance the physical and emotional wellbeing of girls

Since 2015, Daughters & Dads has been encouraging girls and their dads to play sports together like cricket, football and basketball. It’s an evidence-backed program delivering life-changing results to girls, dads and families.

WestCycle is pleased to bring bike riding into the self-esteem boosting program in Western Australia for the first time, with support from the University of Newcastle and Healthway. It kicks off in January 2024.

The 9-week program is structured for girls aged 5-11 years old with a combination of theory and practical sessions. It teaches fathers/father figures positive parenting strategies and how to become an effective coach and mentor and to engage their daughters in sport.

Daughters develop critical thinking skills and build their confidence, bravery and resilience; while at the same time developing closer relationships with their fathers as they progress through the program, while experiencing the joy of cycling and enhancing their bike riding skills and capacity.

A key program element is to challenge parental bike safety concerns that frequently block kids riding to school and riding bikes more often.

The Benefits
  1. Fathers (or father figures) are taught key parenting and coaching skills to improve their daughter’s sports skills and social-emotional wellbeing
  2. Daughters make rapid skill improvements as they work with Dad as their ‘personal coach’
  3. Daughters and dads are empowered to recognise and address gender prejudice in sport and broader life
  4. Daughters and dads are given the skills and encouragement to ride more often for transport and leisure
The Program

Daughters and Dads Cycling is a 9-week health and wellbeing program. 

The first session is a 2-hour dads-only session covering: 

  • The unique influence of fathers/father-figures
  • Unique challenges our daughters face
  • Engaging your daughter in cycling
  • Maintaining your bike

Daughters and dads then attend together for the following eight weeks. Each week includes an Empower Session and Active Session. The Empowerment Sessions focus on developing daughters’ social-emotional wellbeing skills, understanding of cycling, how to ride safely and how to maintain their bikes. 

The Active Sessions include rough and tumble play, cycling skill practice and cycling games. 

Why Daughters & Dad Cycling?
  1. Only one in three cyclists in Australia are female
  2. Engages girls in a more supportive/safe cycling environment
  3. Opportunity to teach dads to effectively coach/engage their daughters
  4. High quality program where girls have greater involvement, learn useful safety and maintenance skills, gain motivation and have fun! 
  5. Dads can accelerate their daughters skill development through 1-on-1 coaching, demonstrations and physical play
  6.  Provides a program that is more than just practical skills (e.g. Empowerment Sessions to increase social-emotional skills)
  7. Opportunity to enhance girls’ social-emotional wellbeing through cycling and quality time with their dad/father figure
  8. Includes a home program to increase engagement and affinity with cycling and bonding between daughter and dad
  9. Empowers girls (and dads) to address gender inequity
Interested in participating?

For information on the program commencing in May 2024, please contact Sarah Nisbet on (08) 6336 9688 or [email protected]

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(08) 6336 9688

[email protected]

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Acknowledgement of Country
WestCycle acknowledges the Traditional Custodians throughout Western Australia and their continuing connection to the land, waters and community. 
We pay our respects to all members of the First Nations communities and their cultures, and to Elders both past, present and emerging.
Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries

Tim Roach

Elected Director | Off Road

Tim has been in senior leadership and strategic development roles for more than twenty years. He is currently Director of Executive Education in the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University and is a past Assistant Commissioner and General Manager in the public service. He is an Accountant (FCPA) and sits on the Divisional Council of CPA Australia.

Tim has been involved in racing mountain bikes, BMX and triathlon for many years, both as a father of two children who race and as a past and current bike racer. Tim is the current over-50 State Champion in downhill mountain biking. He is also a very regular and enthusiastic transport cyclist; frequently seen in a suit and tie riding to meetings in the city on a mountain bike.

Denise Sullivan

Chair | Governance & Risk Committee

Denise Sullivan has a career spanning over twenty years in senior management and executive roles in the state public and not-for-profit health sectors.

In her usual role of Director Chronic Disease Prevention with the Western Australian Department of Health, she leads the development of state chronic disease and injury prevention policy and planning frameworks and contributes to the shaping of the national preventive health policy agenda.

Her professional interests cover many aspects of chronic disease and injury prevention encompassing health communications, health promotion and research, public policy on health and workforce planning and development.

She has a particular interest in furthering collaborations with other sectors with a mutual interest in promoting a more active and healthier WA community, and creating and sustaining environments that support this. Denise is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Leadership WA Signature Program, and an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and the Australian College of Health Service Managers.

Denise is a recreational cyclist and recent convert to mountain biking (although trainer wheels still on!).