Daughters & Dads delivers bike and life confidence in Como!

The second instalment of the WestCycle-led Daughters and Dads Active and Empowered Cycling Program once again delivered crucial life confidence to girls and their dads via the beautiful medium of bikes!

Daughters and their dads or father figures praised the 7-week course that built bike skills and confidence research shows can benefit the large numbers of young Australian girls suffering from low self-esteem.

Not only that, the Daughters & Dads program has been proven to build stronger and healthier relationships between young girls and their father figures.

“We’ve had really good fun,” said one dad. “My daughter has learnt a lot about cycling – her technical cycling has improved a heap, she’s participated in tons of the activities and really enjoyed it. She’s a little bit upset that it has finished. It’s been great hanging out and learning about bikes and improving our cycling.”

Building sporting ability …and life confidence

“Daughters & Dads is all about creating environments where young girls can participate in sports, get active, develop critical thinking, have fun and gain the self-esteem and independence benefits that flow from that,” said WestCycle Schools Manager, Josh Curulli.

Daughters and Dads Active and Empowered emerged in 2015 out of research at the University of Newcastle showing the immense benefits of positive father involvement on children’s self-esteem, physical activity and overall health behaviours.

“It’s drawing on the positive roles fathers can play to inspire and motivate and nurture their daughters,” Curulli said. “At a time when cycling participation rates are falling among all children – including girls – these kinds of well-structured, research-backed programs have the potential to really change behaviours and attitudes among young girls – and build their confidence and resilience.”

“Programs like these mean more girls are more likely to engage in rough and tumble play and building confidence in their own sporting ability that can feed life-long sporting skill development – and, perhaps most importantly, genuine self confidence in life.”

Daughters & Dads Cycling is delivered by WestCycle in partnership with the The University of Newcastle, Australia and Healthway.

For more information about Daughters & Dads Cycling please contact Sarah Nisbet at [email protected]

Film by Patrick Boere Photography

more news items

ALL NEWS

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!).