MTB Trail Leader Course

[spinner]

Just completed the CTC - MTB Trail leader Course at Llandegla last week. It was a very informative and quality course whilst also having a lot of fun ;D thanks to the tutor Andy Swann top man
I would recommend it to anyone and now I'm qualified to take out groups ;D well worth you guys considering this if you haven't already got some form of qualification
Good news on the new trails as well at One Planet as the new stuff is bedding in nicely and will be ready to ride soon. They are just waiting for the formal tree survey to be done and then they will be open ;D ;D Looks good

[robcorney]

i'd be interested in doing a MTB leader course, i was looking at the Plas y brenin one. How much was your course? Do you need any qualifications beforehand like First Aid or Bike maintenence?

[spinner]

May 18, 2009 20:42:20 GMT robcorney said:

i'd be interested in doing a MTB leader course, i was looking at the Plas y brenin one. How much was your course? Do you need any qualifications beforehand like First Aid or Bike maintenence?

All Trail Leader Courses require a First aid certificate, but nothing else. The difference with the CTC one is that you can do the First Aid after the MTB training and as long as it is at least a one day course. The Scottish Trail Leader scheme require the first aid course to be completed first and it also has to be an external min 2 day course which generally costs more than the MTB course The Llandegla course was £269 mate and nothing else to pay. Some other courses want annual membership. Check out CTC website for details ;D ;D I think there is also a link from the One Planet website ;D

[flattyres]

The SMBLA course is an excellent course and the one I am qualified in. It's backed by British/Scottish cycling and very well thought of. Yes you need a First Aid certificate before you can undertake the course but as you stated the CTC course requires you to get one before you are classed as fully qualified, even if it is after the fact.

The TCL and MBL are both comprehensive 2 day courses, which you can take through Plas-y-Brenin. These can be a little expensive so I would advise you to go direct to Jonathan Collins who runs their courses. He runs his own SMBLA training courses under his own company name of 1Bike1 at a more wallet friendly price. The courses are held at Nant BH on the Marin Trail. He is also a great bloke and top instructor.

[flattyres]

Also Oneplanet only offer the REC 2 day First Aid course. As you will be leading people in the outdoors you need to ask yourself if a one day First Aid course is sufficient for your needs. If it is then fair enough but if not it is better to pay the extra money.

[Russ]

REC 2 Day course is well worth it, not long after Llandegla opened we (ChesterMTB) booked the classroom for a weekend and managed to fill. Got the gents from Ogwen Valley Rescue to run the course and they tailored it for MTB'rs. It was 9till5 both days so took the bike along for a spin afterwards.

Learned a lot from it and had a great laugh too, ask Badger at OPA about the outdoors triage session :-)

[oneplanetadventure]

Hey - REC course @ Oneplanet is specific for MTB - but doesn't mean it is solely aimed at MTBing. The instructor is a world class kayaker and has had experience in many outdoor situations. The senarios and hands on experience is taken outside! and you will be lying on the grass, twisting your selves through bikes and acting out the situations. The course is a great laugh and you get to meet people from other outdoor / work places which also gives you better experience!

Here at Oneplanet Adventure we run the REC Mtb 1st aid course once a month - email / message me for dates and more info!
£160 for the two day course (9am - 6pm - 18 hour and lasts for 3 years like all 1st aid courses.)

CTC Leader qualification - Here at Oneplanet we did run OTC leader qualifications, but then OTC and CTC have now joined forces and now are the most reconised qualification to have is the CTC. There are two to choose from - Trail and Techincal leader - depending on where you want to take groups in the future (most people start with the Trail and leader onto the Techical.)
Both £269 for a 2 and half day course. You also get the backing of CTC once doing the course if anything where to happen when out leading, and a great support system if you have any questions, they also offer insurance to take the groups out!
For more info please see their website - www.promtb.net

If anyone has any questions please email me or phone me!

Katy @ oneplanet
[e-mail]
01978751656

[gellibeic]

SMBLA Trail Cycle Leader and Mountain Bike Leader are the only courses recognised by cyclings National Governing Body (NGB), British Cycling. They consist of a two day training course (1Bike1 charge £115 for this) followed by a one day assessment (£60 at 1Bike1). You need to have passed a 2 day first aid course such as REC first aid (typically around £120) and have to pay a one off fee to SMBLA (£45) and join British Cycling (£13.50, £36 or £64). The dearer two BC memberships includes Public Liability Insurance and Professional Indemnity Insurance.

So going the SMBLA route with 1Bike1 you pay £376 including SMBLA membership, 2 day training course, 1 day assessment, 1st Aid and BC Silver membership including years insurance for a NGB recognised award. You do need to have a British Cycling membership for your SMBLA qualification to be valid, but remember this includes insurance for leading groups of up to 6. The SMBLA qualification does not expire or lapse without British Cycling membership.

With CTC through One Planet you pay £429 for 2.5 day training course and 1st Aid, but you then have to purchase insurance elsewhere - CTC charge £80, or £50 to members (membership fee £36).

The SMBLA Trail Cycle Leader qualification does not restrict the type of terrain you may ride over, only the altitude and distance from road or shelter where assistance can be found. CTC Trail Leader only qualifies you to lead in non-technical terrain, i.e. where there is no need to select line or body position within the width of the trail perhaps to ride round a rock or root. You couldn't use it to lead a group on much of the single track on the Marin for example.

I think anyone choosing between these two COMPETING award schemes needs to do some serious homework before deciding which to choose.

[flattyres]

Gellibeic I would agree with everything you said except for the terrain. TCL only qualifies you to lead on non-technical off-road terrain, ie without too many combinations of technical features. For example singletrack with some roots may be ok but if that was combined with a corner or a descent it may not. The only SMBLA qualification that allows guiding on any terrain is the MBL. I'm not sure how the TCL and MBL equate to the 3 OTC levels but I'm sure they still costs a lot less, especially with 1Bike1.

BTW I am not on commission, I just like promoting local people who I have had personal experience of and think deserve it.