CAC Forum curtain closes after successful week in Pietermaritzburg

The inaugural CAC (Confederation of African Cycling) Forum came to a close on Thursday 6 August after what was unanimously agreed to be a successful week of informative presentations and sharing of information between the African Nations.

CAC President, Dr Wagih Azzam, closed off the week’s activities by congratulating and thanking each and every participant, who arrived from near and far from countries like Benin, Djibouti, Rwanda, Eritrea, Egypt, Sudan, Mauritius, Angola, Lesotho and Botswana, to name a few.

 


(From left to right) Prem Vayapuri (SA -  KZN Dept of Sport & Recreation); Emin Muftuoglu (Turkey - UCI Management Committee member, President UCI MTB Commission,); Tom van Damme (Belgium - UCI Management Committee member, President UCI Road Commission); Dr Wagih Azzam (Egypt – Vice President UCI, African Confederation President); Brian Cookson (Great Britain - UCI President); David Lappartient (France – Vice President UCI, European Confederation President); Mohamed Belhami (Morocco - UCI Management Committee member, President UCI Para Cycling Commission); Mr Mxolisi Nkosi (Municipal Manager, Msunduzi Municipality) who were present at the 2015 CAC Forum in Pietermaritzburg. Photo: Andrew McFadden/Boogs Photography

(From left to right) Prem Vayapuri (SA –  KZN Dept of Sport & Recreation); Emin Muftuoglu (Turkey – UCI Management Committee member, President UCI MTB Commission,); Tom van Damme (Belgium – UCI Management Committee member, President UCI Road Commission); Dr Wagih Azzam (Egypt – Vice President UCI, African Confederation President); Brian Cookson (Great Britain – UCI President); David Lappartient (France – Vice President UCI, European Confederation President); Mohamed Belhami (Morocco – UCI Management Committee member, President UCI Para Cycling Commission); Mr Mxolisi Nkosi (Municipal Manager, Msunduzi Municipality) who were present at the 2015 CAC Forum in Pietermaritzburg. Photo: Andrew McFadden/Boogs Photography

 

Dr. Azzam was extremely appreciative of the attendance from the UCI’s top-brass including President Brian Cookson, Vice President David Lappartient and Management Committee Members Tom van Damme (Belgium), Mohamed Belmahi (Morocco) and Emin Muftuoglu (Turkey) and for the commitment and support received from the European Confederation to grow cycling on the African continent.

The weeklong UCI Level 2 Coaching Course and Commissaire’s Course also came to a close after successful attendance numbers of more than 15 people in each course. Earlier in the day, UCI’s Head of International Relations, James Carr, presented the UCI Sharing Platform to all, which was followed by informative presentations and interactive discussions by Director of the UCI World Cycling Centre Frédéric Magné, Director of the UCI World Cycling Centre Africa Jean-Pierre van Zyl, and UCI World Cycling Centre High Performance Manager, Belinda Tarling.

 


Vice President of the UCI and  African Confederation President Dr. Wagih Azzam (centre) with participants of the well attended UCI Level 2 Coaching Course run by Belinda Tarling (UCI World Cycling Centre High  Performance Manager) and Simon Hupperetz (UCI World Cycling Centre) for a week during the 2015 CAC Forum in Pietermaritzburg. Photo: supplied

Vice President of the UCI and  African Confederation President Dr. Wagih Azzam (centre) with participants of the well attended UCI Level 2 Coaching Course run by Belinda Tarling (UCI World Cycling Centre HighPerformance Manager) and Simon Hupperetz (UCI World Cycling Centre) for a week during the 2015 CAC Forum in Pietermaritzburg. Photo: supplied

 

A few important Championship race dates were also announced for the 2015/2016 seasons:

·       November 2015 African Continental BMX Championships – Zimbabwe

·       May 2016 African Continental Road Championships – Morocco

·       2016 African Continental Track Championships – Nigeria or Morocco (dependent on the readiness of their respective cycling tracks)

 


Participants of the UCI Commissaires course, which took place during the 2015 CAC Forum in Pietermaritzburg. Photo: Supplied

Participants of the UCI Commissaires course, which took place during the 2015 CAC Forum in Pietermaritzburg. Photo: Supplied

 

Cycling SA President, William Newman, said: “There are more and more African Confederations attending the CAC Congress and the UCI Sharing Platform. To host these events in one forum over a few days afforded us all a fantastic networking opportunity to share everything with our colleagues from Africa and also for them to express what their problems are. The helping hand from CAC and the presence of the UCI top management shows that there is a commitment to taking note of Africa and also to assist Africa. I’m all for development from South Africa’s point of view – we have to develop our sport and we have to take that beyond South Africa into the continent. The Management Committee of CAC will drive this initiative in terms of cooperating with the European Union and with the UCI.

“I would like to thank UCI President Brian Cookson and his management Committee members for showing their overwhelming support for the forum. We as African Federations are now more geared towards providing a world class service to our riders and we have to ensure that we implement what was learnt and shared.”

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