Scottish Delight: what stood out to IMBA Europe at the Scottish MTB Conference 2024

Mountain Biking advocacy is an ever-evolving field, and there’s always something to learn, especially from true trailblazers of the sector like Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland. In this blog, Mark Torsius gives his personal highlights, as the Scottish Mountain Bike conference continues to inspire our own work at a European level.

Visiting Scotland in autumn has several advantages. Firstly, the landscape seems almost ablaze with beautiful autumn colours, for many mountain bikers the favourite season to head out on the bike, especially when you get to indulge on the trails in the Scottish Borders. And professionally, the biennial Scottish MTB conference is always something to look forward to. Even though IMBA Europe and DMBinS work closely together throughout the year, the Scottish MTB conference surprised positively again this year.  

The reason is that it is about so much more than trails and other MTB infrastructure. Of course, trails are the backbone of our community, but the activation of everything around this, from the regional economy to health projects and focus on the local community, DMBinS delivers on this with new projects every edition of the Scottish MTB Conference. 

A number of projects stood out this year. To start with, there was the announcement of the First Tracks project, the UK’s first Cycling and Outdoor Business Incubator Program. A brand-new program to support entrepreneurs with the development of innovative products and services in the bicycle, tourism and outdoor recreation industries. 

Secondly, we were amazed by the Fresh Cuts program that aims to support the next generation of MTB content creators. Creative content is such an important aspect in promoting mountain biking in all its manifestations, and this pilot program helps to develop the skills of production leads, shooting directors, camera operators and content creators through a smart partnership with Screen Scotland and MTB media company Cut Media.

Meanwhile, featured videos during the conference highlighted the stories of people involved in the Trail Therapy and adapted MTB programs and the positive impact these interventions had on their personal lives. 

Last but not least there was the publication of the UK Trails Report, the trail, its people place and time. The report presents a thorough analysis of what’s going on in UK riding communities, the challenges for land management agencies to facilitate and integrate mountain bike activities in landscapes without harming them, and how to move to more sustainable practices. A must-read for anyone involved in MTB advocacy and hopefully, a first step in making the UK trails network more sustainable, secure, suitable and enjoyable for its users. 

Much of these successes undoubtedly underlie the Scottish Mountain Bike Strategy. This document offers so many starting points for new projects in related sectors, thus serving a complete MTB ecosystem. Even more reason to get mountain biking better anchored in policies and strategies in other countries and regions as well. And, although MTB advocacy is often a lengthy, sometimes boring or frustrating process, it’s also very necessary work that eventually leads to brilliant local projects that let people shine!

DIRTT Train-the-trainer

Immediately after the Scottish MTB conference, the DIRTT train-the-trainer program started in Glentress. Half of the participants were from the UK and the other half from different EU countries. The aim of this programme is to train more skilled trainers who can set up training programs on inspection, maintenance and improvement of MTB trails in their own countries.

The emphasis during these three training days was on didactics and methodology. What competencies should a good tutor have? How do you ensure that participants in your training learn effectively? How to deal with group dynamics and how to give effective feedback? Besides a theoretical part, there was of course a lot of practice, and the role of trainer and ‘student’ were frequently alternated in various practical exercises. Peer learning was central and the fact that the participants came from different countries led to interesting discussions and views.

In addition, we were delighted that 5 women participated in this program. An explicit wish of IMBA Europe’s Women in MTB network was to work towards better representation of women in the trail-building sector. There is still much work to be done but the fact that more than 25% of participants were women is a good step forward. The 3-day program was the kickoff of an extended program. The next phase concentrates on content development of national training programs and piloting. IMBA Europe will coordinate this process for the EU candidates with support from Shimano’s Trail Born Fund.

Photos: Pete Scullion/DMBinS & Cathy Naveaux