Important update on women's racing categories for 2015

After consulting with members of the cycling community across all disciplines, the Women’s Commission has recommended the abolition of the Masters Women category, and the Board of Cycling Ireland has accepted this recommendation. The new category was set to come in for the 2015 season, and would apply to all National Championship races. The main concern expressed was about splitting the field of female participants, which for some disciplines is already quite small and would not have sufficient numbers to hold National Championship races.

For the 2015 season, there will be two female categories available: Junior Women (under 18 years of age) and Senior Women (over 18 years). If you have already selected Masters Women as your category, Cycling Ireland will change this to Senior Women.

The Women’s Commission will continue to work with Cycling Ireland and other Commissions to grow and develop women’s competitive cycling in Ireland, and will monitor the Masters Category over the next few years. For the coming season, the Women’s Commission will be sponsoring medals to the top unplaced riders aged 40+ in National Championship races, to recognise achievement and encourage participation in this age group. Please note, these medals will not be national titles, and are awarded by the Women’s Commission and not Cycling Ireland.