A_M _B_2015_02_03_

http://www.ambmag.com.au - 25

2014 saw my last article as MTBA Vice President
and I begin the New Year as the National
Development Coach. While I’m very excited
about the new role, I also feel the burden of
responsibility in promoting our sport to young
Australians and nurturing the riders coming
through, lest a Dan McConnell, Janine Jungfels or
Troy Brosnan slip through the net.

Having the opportunity over the last two years
to work with some of Australia’s top young
riders lead me to aspire to this position. My
experience as a rider travelling the globe without
support, either financial or logistic, has made
me passionate about advocating for our athletes
to enable them to achieve their best results. We
have witnessed the leaps in performance our
professional athletes have made on signing with
their respective teams. No one can give 100% to
their racing while struggling to source food and
shelter, so it’s MTBA’s objective to remove these
obstacles while facilitating overseas experience
for our juniors.

Of course elite riders don’t just ‘happen’. They
start at school-age by simply loving the feeling
of riding. At a later stage we call these ‘skill
sessions’ but really it’s just playing on their
bikes. Giving as many kids the opportunity
and encouragement to do this is what will
maintain growth in mountain biking. This is the
underpinning belief of the school MTB programs

we are implementing over the next few years.

There will be a range of options for schools to

introduce mountain biking to students, from one-

off skills days with MTBA provided instructors, to

on-going programs including teacher education

and MTB schools of excellence. Exposing young

riders to a variety of disciplines and foundation

skills gives them a sport for life, regardless of

racing aspirations.

Establishing a National Inter-schools Competition

is a logical next-step from school programs. The

venue and date is currently being negotiated and

we hope to announce this soon. Competition will

most likely be in a Gravity Enduro format which

has increased exponentially in popularity in the

last couple of seasons. The focus is on the skills

and team aspects of mountain bike racing and we

are hoping to establish a points system based on

the collective results of a school’s riders, rather

than only singling out the stars. One of the most

commonly cited aspects of mountain biking is its

inclusiveness and this is a value we would like to

reinforce.

The MTBA Sport team believes strongly in the

provision of development camps as a tool in

engaging more young riders in the sport, as well

as developing the talents of the next generation

of elite performers. Camps have been run in

several locations to date but we are seeking

to formalise their structure and hold two per

state and territory per year. These camps will

also be an opportunity for Level 1 coaches to

obtain their supervised coaching accreditation

MTBA UPDATE

hours under the guidance of the camp directors,

myself and MTBA Development Co-ordinator

Evan James. To date we have been relying heavily

on a few dedicated individuals to assist in camp

organisation and coach education. By ensuring

more coaches get the experience of working in a

camp environment we can increase our capacity

to roll out future camps.

Continuing with the topic of coach education, Evan

James is working on delivering the long-awaited

MTB Ride Leader and Skills Instructor courses.

We recognise that the biggest demand is from

club members who wish to pass on their passion

and knowledge of mountain biking, generally in a

volunteer capacity. The emphasis at Ride Leader

level is on knowing how to conduct a fun and safe

ride while being covered for mishaps under MTBA

insurance. Ride Leader will then have the option

of progressing their qualifications to lead rides

in a variety of environments and trails, become

skill instructors or complete Level 1 coaching

which has a sports science and training program

prescription focus. Tailoring our MTB educators

packages is something we hope will meet the

requirements of clubs and individual operators.

Information regarding an exciting opportunity for

Under 17 riders will be out shortly. Please look

out for this in the MTBA newsletter or ‘like’ us on

Facebook to keep up to date.

mtba.asn.au

facebook.com/MTBA

Developing the future

WORDS: JODIE WILLETT PHOTO: ROBERT CONROY