Richard Phillips-Schofield

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British Cycling
Stuart Street
Manchester M11 4DQ

T: +44 (0) 161 274 2000
F: +44 (0) 161 274 2001
britishcycling.org.uk

Mr David Clark Horsley
Area Coroner
Coroner's Court

1 Guildhall Square
Portsmouth

PO1 2GJ

17 April 2018

Dear Mr Horsley

REGULATION 28: REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATH: RICHARD PHILLIPS-
SCHOFIELD (DECEASED)

Thank you for your Report dated 22 February 2018 made under paragraph 7, schedule 5, of
the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and regulations 28 and 29 of the Coroners (Investigations)
Regulations 2013 ("Report”), which has been made following the inquest touching the death
of Richard Phillips-Schofield which was heard at Portsmouth Coroner’s Court on 5-12
February 2018.

We have set out below the joint response of British Cycling, Scottish Cycling and Welsh
Cycling to the Report addressing the matters of concern raised in the Report, namely that
there are no formal effective procedures in the regulations of any organisations controlling
cycle racing in the United Kingdom for stopping a race in the event of an accident or hazard
on the track.

British Cycling is the national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. Welsh Cycling
and Scottish Cycling are the governing bodies for cycle sport in Wales and Scotland
respectively and as such have jurisdiction for events taking place in Wales and Scotland.
British Cycling has agreements in place with both Welsh and Scottish Cycling to ensure that
any rules set out by Welsh and Scottish Cycling do not contravene or run counter to the
Technical Regulations of British Cycling. On this basis, British Cycling has collaborated with
both Welsh and Scottish Cycling to provide a combined response to the Report.

It should be noted that there are already a number of recognised control measures in place in
cycling to slow or stop a race, which vary depending upon the type of cycling discipline,
environment or field of play. The established procedure most commonly used across the sport
is that of a coloured flag that provides a visual signal to riders and either whistles or pistols
that provide an audible signal. All competitive events that are registered with British Cycling
have trained appointed officials (also known as commissaires) and it is the responsibility of

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the trained commissaires to ensure that, if required, a race can be slowed or stopped
appropriately.

Prior to the incident at Mountbatten, road, track and circuit commissaires were already being
educated during their initial training in how to slow or stop a race, using the appropriate
equipment, in their given discipline and this is further reiterated in the guidance British Cycling
provides for both commissaires and event organisers. The use of such equipment is
referenced in British Cycling’s 2018 Handbook, in the Technical Regulations.

The Mountbatten Circuit

The Mountbatten circuit is a hybrid circuit and is unique in terms of both circuit length and
layout. British Cycling has specifically reviewed the procedures at Mountbatten and has
introduced some new control measures to slow or stop a race. These measures include the
use of black flags and audible equipment, such as a pistol and/or whistles, as part of this
process, in common with the procedures used within the sport. The event organisers will work
with the chief commissaire at each event to ensure the organising team and the appointed
officials understand their responsibilities to stop a race. The chief commissaire will also
provide a pre-race briefing to riders that will include specific information on how a race will be
stopped if there is an incident. These specific control measures will also be incorporated into
the standard risk assessment for the circuit.

Review of current processes

In addition to the above actions, British Cycling intends to review the current processes that
exist for events that take place on other similar length circuits or for hybrid circuits such as
Mountbatten. British Cycling will further liaise with current facility operators to review the
specific risk assessment for venues and consider any additional control measures that may
be required at the facilities. British Cycling aims to complete the review and recommend any
improvements by the end of the season, in this case September 2018.

British Cycling continue to place a high priority on risk management by ensuring that the fixed
facilities and circuits used for events are fully risk assessed by a member of its risk team, with
each circuit receiving its own tailored safety document. Any specific recommendations in the
risk assessment should be adhered to by the event officials or facility operators. This supports
safe event delivery and gives the confidence that British Cycling events are being delivered to
a high standard that is consistent across the country.

British Cycling also believes that the current procedures regarding how to slow or stop a race
can be made clearer through both additional education and training of event officials and
supplementary guidance for volunteers delivering British Cycling registered events. British
Cycling will therefore complete a thorough review of all education and training content and
associated resources for commissaires and organisers involved in the delivery of British
Cycling registered events. This will involve the introduction of new measures to improve
knowledge and understanding of how to slow or stop a race across the different cycling

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disciplines. For example, it will include the use of scenario based activity and better reference
material in educational resources. British Cycling also intends to communicate with existing
circuit and track commissaires to ensure that as part of the rider pre-race briefing they
communicate how a race will be slowed or stopped. The organisation will also communicate
any revised education and training content related to how to slow or stop a race to existing
commissaires at British Cycling’s regional commissaire conferences that take place in
February each year.

We trust that the above addresses the matters of concern raised in the Report; however,
should further information be required please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Signed for and on behalf of
BRITISH CYCLING YY BRITIS

(The British Cycling Federation) or Barish
by the following duly authorised signatory v)

Julie Harrington
Chief Executive

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Craig Burn

Chief Executive

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Signed for and on behalf of

WELSH CYCLING
(Welsh Cycling Union)
by the following duly authorised signatory

Anne Adams-King
Chief Executive

Signature:

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