Mountain bikechamps honoured
The inaugural Scottish Schools’mountain Bike Championships was named Event of the Year at a prestigious recent awards ceremony.
Three hundred secondary school pupils from across Scotland, from 37 schools across 18 local authority areas, took to the trails at Comrie Croft in September.
And its success resulted in the largest schools mountain biking event of the year being presented with the accolade at the Scottish Cycling Awards, held at Crieff Hydro Hotel on Saturday, November 25.
The competition was created through a partnership between Morrison’s Academy, Comrie Croft and governing body Scottish Cycling that aimed to increase opportunities for young, established, racers to compete against peers and also encourage novice riders to get involved with the sport.
Inclusion was also to the fore as a total of 48 girls were among the participants, and 95 of the riders were trying their hand at mountain biking for the first time
And there was stiff competition, with the Galloway Hillbillies nominated for their brand new road race and Zetland Park Pump Track Series also shortlisted for the award.
Morrison’s Academy pupil Oliver Elliott (14), who is in S2 at the Crieff independent school, came 16th in the Senior race and believes events like the Scottish Schools’mountain Bike Championships help to give young riders the chance to take mountain biking (MTB) to another level.
He said:“mountain biking is a massive part of my life but it can be hard as a developing racer to access competitive opportunities.
“Having a new MTB competition right on my doorstep is fantastic and I’m looking forward to the challenge next year.
“Competitions like this encourage riders to step out of their comfort zone and learn new skills but are most importantly a lot of fun.”
There was cause for further celebration on the night when former Morrison’s Academy pupil, Charlie Aldridge – who captured the Men’s under-23 Crosscountry Mountain Bike title at the 2023 UCI World Championships – was recognised as Scottish Cycling Male Rider of the Year.
Colin Nicoll, assistant rector at Morrison’s Academy, said:“we’re absolutely delighted to win the award.
“When we started this journey our objective was to create more opportunities for young Scottish racers to compete in grassroots competitions and give those new to the sport a chance to get involved regardless of their experience.
“Most importantly, we wanted to put on an inclusive and fun event which would encourage youngsters to keep working hard to reach their racing ambitions.
“With an overwhelming level of uptake from schools and glowing feedback from pupils, teachers and parents following the event, we are confident we achieved our goals – but we couldn’t have done this without the support of some fantastic individuals and businesses.
“We’d like to thank our sponsors – Tiso, Right Medicine Pharmacy, BASP, Endura and Tradstocks Scottish Stone – as well as Charlie Aldridge, who made the day very special for our young riders.
“Most importantly none of this would have been possible without the participants, the schools and parents.”
Morrison’s rector, Andrew Mcgarva, continued:“the inaugural SSMBCS was a great example of collaboration towards a common goal.
“A huge thank you goes to all those who helped to make this event a truly memorable day.”