TheSweatmonsters

Calling all under 12 mountain bike cross country racers!!

Even the leanest and meanest XC MTB racers are young once! That's why we've created the SweatMonsters Academy – aimed specifically at the budding under 12 enthusiast.

Entry into the SweatMonster races is completely free of charge and open to any child under the age of 12 that is able to ride a bicycle without stabilisers. All children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and must bring their own bike and safety helmet.

British Cycling coaches Alex, Andy and Nick will offer their advice on riding techniques and aim to increase the confidence and ability of each competitor. Courses are specifically designed to be a lot less technical, much shorter and completely separate to the standard Nutcracker course.

Racing format may vary, depending on the venue and weather conditions, but usually consists of a skills coaching session followed by a timed race.

SweatMonster activities start at 12pm on the day of each Nutcracker round. You should aim to turn up at least 30 minutes before this to give yourself time to park, unload and register your child for the event. The event duration is usually in the region of 1 hour, but can vary slightly depending on the number of competitors on the day. Pre-entry is not necessary or possible for the SweatMonster racing.

BritishCycling

What is Go-Ride?

Go-Ride is British Cycling's Club Development Programme aimed at improving both young riders and clubs. It focuses on volunteers and young members – improving coaching standards and increasing the number of young riders with access to coaching activities. Go-Ride supports the creation of school-club links, which helps provide clubs with a constant influx of new young members and helps everyone work towards our shared vision of more young people, more active, more often in cycling. The success of Go-Ride is dependent upon partnerships between British Cycling, clubs, schools, local authorities and voluntary organisations.

All British Cycling qualified coaches meet a lot of the criteria necessary to become Go-Ride Clubmark Accredited; they have attended a course on Safeguarding and Protecting Children, they have a valid first-aid certificate, and are checked by the Criminal Records Bureau.