To celebrate 140 years of cycling in South Africa, Cycling South Africa has embarked on a digital transformation strategy that aims to connect, support, and educate cycling enthusiasts to grow and develop the sport.
Over the past months, CyclingSA has been working to create a new online presence that embraces the digital landscape and makes it more accessible to the general public. Phase one of the rollout sees a website upgrade and relaunch that embraces the digital landscape that South Africa’s cycling community operates in.
The website – cyclingsa.com – now delivers a user-friendly, informative and streamlined user experience. Special attention has been given to provide transparency to the Federations structures, policies and strategic imperatives, which are easily found through clear and intuitive navigation.
Some significant improvements include:
- Simplified membership breakdown for users not familiar with the CyclingSA Membership structures.
- Insight into the structures of CyclingSA and how the various commissions work together.
- Detailed listings of the commissions at Provincial and Regional levels.
- A dedicated Team South Africa page to celebrate athletes representing South Africa at an international level.
- One-stop discipline pages where members can view the complete discipline outline, commission and panel of selectors, and download the relevant handbooks, selection policies and archived race results.
- Focus on ethical matters through an anonymous whistleblower form that will be handled directly by the Compliance and Advisory Board (CAB).
With a critical focus being to diversify the federation, CyclingSA has introduced a dedicated Transformation section on the website, inclusive of:
- The National Development Plan outline.
- The Diversity Charter incorporating the implementation plans and targets.
- Inclusivity and Diversity Pledge for members and non-members.
In addition to the website upgrade, an online community directory is in the final development phase. The vision of the CyclingSA Community Pages is to provide a centralised cycling-friendly platform that connects cyclists with cycling-related businesses offerings and experiences. 
In addition, it offers cycling-related businesses a targeted channel with which to reach their customers. Covid has seen an increased interest in cycling, and with more people taking up the sport, CyclingSA will provide an open, inclusive and welcoming platform that connects the cycling community.
Phase one of the CyclingSA Community Pages will feature details of the 150+ nationwide cycling clubs and the 19 provincial and regional governing bodies and development academies registered with CyclingSA. Following this, all cycling-related businesses will be invited to list their business on the CyclingSA Community Pages.
The third, and most exciting initiative currently in development, is an eLearning platform due to launch in the second half of 2021.
The CyclingSA Digital Academy will offer various educational opportunities, from introductory entry-level courses to more advanced and technical certification. The Digital Academy will provide learning resources for individuals starting their career within the industry to cyclists, clubs, coaches, administrators, and officials looking to enhance their professional skills and knowledge.
“These three critical projects within our digital transformation strategy indicate our focus in delivering our objectives to be rider-centric and serve the cycling community in its entirety. The new website is a user-friendly platform where we ensure transparency of strategy, structures and information sharing. The CyclingSA Community Pages acts to connect the cycling community and the Digital Academy to develop, uplift, transform and grow the sport.
“I want to thank the team who worked to bring CyclingSA into the new digital era so we can better serve the community. We are incredibly proud of our new digital platforms, and we believe that the new website direction is a clear indication of our intent. We look forward to launching the CyclingSA Community Pages later in May and Digital Academy in the not too distant future.” said CyclingSA President Ciska Austin.
