The Shimano Cycling Concept Award (SCCA) 2006 has been won by Bike Wight, a cycling promotion project sent in by the Isle of Wight Council. The Isle of Wight is located five miles off the south coast of England. They will receive the price money of 12.500 Euro from Shimano Europe for the realization of this project, which is aimed at children with a message that cycling is fun, healthy and environmentally sound. It uses a computer game requiring physical activity and participation.

The SCCA 2006 focused on schools this year to stimulate bicycle usage especially in the important age group of 5-16 years old. It is of utmost importance to teach this generation that cycling can be a useful, environmental friendly and healthy alternative to other modes of transportation. The contest showed that a lot of people and organizations are developing their own projects and ideas to increase cycling use among children. The jury received 73 project proposals from all over Europe, which made it quite difficult for them to come to a decision. In the end, the jury agreed that the Isle of Wight Council sent in the most original and promising project.

With a school population of 19.500 children, there are real opportunities on the island to increase the level of cycling activity, particularly focused on the home to school journey. Bike Wight will be developed in partnership between schools and the local authority to both increase and sustain cycling to school.

The Bike Wight concept is a fun, interactive, educational website on which children will record the distance they actually ride against an animated route map of real cycle routes on the Isle of Wight. The interactive map could include video footage of a series of routes, and give information on historical, geographical and cultural sites along the route with website links via icons.
The website would also include a series of quizzes; questions aimed at providing educational opportunities for use by schools. Completion of these quizzes would only take place when a child has physically traveled on a route, as cryptic clues are located along the cycle tracks themselves. Rewards and incentives will be given for completing these tasks.

Once the child completes a route, including the educational and fun quiz questions, and has obtained the cryptic clue answer, the child would gain “points” which enable him/her to customize their bike on the screen, with special add-on equipment, more sophisticated safety gear, and access to a variety of different routes across the Isle of Wight. By offering various levels of choice children remain engaged with the concept, thus sustaining the interest.

The SCCA is an annual contest, being organized for the sixth consecutive year. The winning project has been decided by a jury that consists of three editors of cycling trade publications: Jack Oortwijn (Bike Europe), Carlton Reid (Bike Biz) and Michael Bollschweiler (Radmarkt), completed by Frank Peiffer, Managing Director of Shimano Europe BV.

Shimano Website