Mountain Bike Australia will be hosting junior development squads across the country in the first step for riders on the pathway to elite racing.

Thirteen courses will be held in each state and territory, except Northern Territory, by an accredited Level 1 or 2 coach who is based in the region.

The focus of the program is skilled based group training sessions with the ultimate goal of attending and performing at a minimum of one national level event over the course of the 9 month programme.

The programme will also introduce athletes to basic fitness testing, information on anti-doping, nutrition as well as conduct in the MTBA high performance environment.

Riders will also receive  a minimum 36 hours of face to face coaching with squads subject to minimum numbers to proceed, with squad sizes capped at 10. Applicants must be aged 14-18 as at 31 December 2017 to be eligible for the program.

Cost $550

The areas are as follows:

QUEENSLAND

Sunshine Coast (XC) – Andy Fellows

Brisbane (XC) – Mark Routledge

NEW SOUTH WALES

Nowra/Southern Highlands (XC) – Lynne Vaughan

Port Macquarie (XC) – Jason English

Newcastle (XC) – Damien Enderby

VICTORIA

Melbourne/Lysterfield (XC) – Dora and Kelvyn Bettridge

Geelong / Surf Coast (XC) – Adam Kelsell

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Adelaide (XC) – Evan James

Adelaide (GRAVITY) – Tyson Schmidt

TASMANIA

Lauceston (XC) – Adrian Cooper

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Perth Hills (XC) – Ian Humphrey

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Canberra (XC) – Dylan Cooper

Canberra (GRAVITY) – Dylan Cooper

Applications close 14 August 2016.

The online application form can be found at http://bit.ly/2a78FME

Any questions can be emailed to Jodie Willett devcoach@mtba.asn.au

Photo: Jodie Berry