RWANDA

Since the recreational activities are allowed again after the long lockdown, the training sessions in Rwanda started again. It was not easy at the beginning to get all the kids together again, because many moved away. And after almost two years of not being able to train, they pretty much had to start from scratch again. The kids are so hardworking and always train as much as they can, so that they can participate in competitions soon.

How do the training sessions work at the moment?

During the vacation season, they train on Mondays. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9-11am. If there are no vacations, they train on Thursdays and Fridays. Some do not have school on those days. On Saturdays and Sundays, everyone trains from 9-11 am.

Jonathan always sets the clock for 5 minutes and then the other group switch to bikes. They are divided into groups, so everyone can participate in the workout. They pick a new figure at the beginning. During the warm-up and at the end of the workout, they sit together in a circle and share ideas and talk about the workout. What was bad, what was good and what can be changed or improved. Afterward, they go to Jonathan’s house together on the bikes. They cook there and eat together, and also watch artistic cycling videos for new inspiration.

How many athlete kids are there ?

In the beginning, we had more than 60 children participating in the project who are until now still interested in joining not only in Kigali, but even outside, and when they see what we post, they ask when we will also train outside Kigali. Currently, 15 children are selected. So it is easier to manage and supervise with so few bikes. The age group ranges from 4-17, a mix of girls and boys.

What are their goals?

  • Train and changing the reality of many kids through artistic cycling
  • Have many qualified coaches
  • Many clubs in different places
  • Organizing national championships
  • Participate in different international championships and world cups
  • Host world cup in Rwanda
  • Attract many girls in this sport in Rwanda
  • As project, to have a headquarters, where we will be inspiring and training people from different countries in Africa.

What are the challenges?

  • There is not enough material, currently there are only 4 bikes that Anna brought at that time. One of them is broken and for the others the wheels are very old. They are being repaired, but even that can always interrupt the training. It is difficult to get spare parts. There are also 2 unicycles.
  • Train trainers
  • There is no own training place. Most of the time they have to share the hall with other groups of activities, so they are also interrupted.
  • Shoes and clothes are still needed

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