Mountain Biking Qualification
Tue, 19 April 2011
Mountain Biking Instructors and Leadership Qualification
Six adventurous staff from Tameside College undertook two gruelling days of theory and practical training to become fully qualified MIAS (Mountain Bike Instructor Award Scheme) Instructors and Mountain Biking leaders.
The course was designed to provide the technical and group management skills to enable Leaders and Instructors to take groups of people over a variety of technical and non-technical terrain including forest tracks, mountain biking trails, canal towpaths, approved routes and Bridleways.
The training consisted of mountain biking group management, navigation, access and conservation, technical on-the road repairs, risk assessment and a significant amount of technical mountain biking.
The practical sessions were based around Lever Park, Rivington which was part of the 2002 Commonwealth Games Mountain Biking Circuit and provided a beautiful yet demanding backdrop to the course. The team spent approximately seven hours in the saddle cycling up steep trails and bouncing down muddy single track paths with big ‘drop-offs’ pushing their fitness and concentration skills to the limit.
Matt Mason-Smith from Public Services said "We were all pushed to our personal riding skill limits which sharpened up our mental and physical ability. We now feel that this new qualification and experience will put us in a great position to introduce mountain biking as a new sport to our learners".
The team is now looking at ways to introduce mountain biking into the curriculum and the possibility of offering enrichment opportunities to the learners at both Hyde Clarendon Sixth Form and Tameside College.