Trail Mountain Bike Leader Award
Covering the essential skills of leading groups, the Trail Leader Award fulfils
many leaders needs in full. It focuses on games and skills development, group
management to fulfil the four e's for your group:
- ensuring safety,
- enjoyment,
- engagement,
- education
It includes essential navigation and trailside maintenance skills; roles, responsibilities and ride preparation principles. Dynamic risk assessment and dealing with emergencies also form valuable parts of the course.
As the main entry point for virtually all mountain bike leaders and instructors, Trail Leaders gain valuable fundamental competencies that form the backbone of their role, whether in Trail terrain, or having moved on to Technical environments or beyond.
Trail Leaders can also provide the initial level of the Wheelie Award, part of the well used Skill Award scheme to enhance, motivate and reward participants involvement in mountain biking.
Trail Leader course details
| Duration: | 24 hours over two and a half days or over three days |
| Course type: | Combined training and assessment. more>>>> |
| Terrain: | Non-technical riding which means relatively smooth tracks and trails. more>>>> |
| Course options: | Available as open courses and as special courses at your venue. more>>>> |
Entry requirements
It is essential for most adults to start at the Trail Leader Award. Before attending, you should:
- Have at least one years experience of regular riding experience in trail terrain. This should be a minimum of 30 rides.
- Have an interest in cycle instruction and/or mountain bike leading.
- Hold a valid and appropriate first aid certificate (or obtain one shortly after your course).
- Be able to understand the basic principles of maps (what they represent and how).
- Have attempted to fix punctures.
- Be at least 17 years of age. In this case, you cannot be provided with a full Trail Leader certificate until you reach 18, but you may be provided with an Assistant Leader Award for the interim period.
You may (but are not required to) also have:
- Completed skill awards or the Assistant Leader Award.
- Previous experience in mountain biking and / or leading groups in the outdoors.
- Other teaching / youth work / outdoor activity experience and qualifications.
- Additional navigation and/or maintenance experience or skills.
Those with previous leading and personal riding experience will find the specific group management and skill development elements key to their future mountain bike leading (and potentially progression into the Technical Leader Award course) - one of the aims of this course is to translate riders into leaders, and outdoor leaders into mountain bike leaders. The skills associated with this should not be underestimated.
Progression routes
You may find that the Trail Leader provides all you need. Where you wish to lead in further environments, once the Trail Leader Award has been achieved, followed by completion of led rides (minimum 6 rides), you may progress on to the Technical Leader Award.
Who else uses the Trail Leader Award?
Many individuals and organisations use the Trail Leader Award in the provision of activities for a wide range of groups. Whether one off sessions, or developing group members up to becoming independant riders, this qualification provides for Leaders working with adults, young people, novices or regular riders.
The Trail Leader qualification is used throughout Europe, capitalising on the CTC (previously OTC) cultural module system to enable transferance between EU countries.