Pump track helping some of Fife's most vulnerable children

It provides them with a safe space to hone their cycling technique – and to learn new skills.

The track, which was opened at the start of 2020, is run by Kirkcaldy YMCA.

It has been called the ‘jewel in the crown of the Gallatown’ as it helps to support kids in an area where child poverty is at a shockingly high 68 per cent compared to the Scottish average of 26 per cent.

A pump track is a circuit of rollers (smooth mounds), berms (banked corners) and features designed to be ridden by riders generating momentum by up and down body movements, instead of pedaling or pushing.

Shuggy Hughes, YM community development worker, said: “Because the track is outdoors we were able to stay open throughout COVID and the subsequent lockdowns.

"As restrictions eased after the first lockdown the track was extremely busy everyday with kids and families – it’s been a massive benefit for local kids as well as for kids from all around Kirkcaldy.

“For these kids there is nothing for them to do, they live in an area where there is extreme poverty and without spaces like the pump track they would be absolutely lost.”

As well as giving youngsters a place to call their own in an area where many kids live below the breadline, staff at the Gallatown Bike Hub also various clubs and coaching sessions Shuggy said.

"We put on a wide range of clubs for young people who otherwise don’t have anything to do apart from hang about the streets,” he said.

“There’s a young guy who comes here who said that the pump track and the bike hub has completely changed his life and is now volunteering his time to help others.

"We are seeing a lot of mental health issues among kids due to the pandemic, we are getting a lot of young people coming to us with anxiety and anger issues who are struggling at school who now come to us as part of an alternative curriculum.

"The track and the hub are a vital part of the community and they really are the jewel in the crown of the Gallatown and Kirkcaldy for that matter.”

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