Edinburgh Napier University

The centre – which is a joint initiative headed by Edinburgh Napier University and Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland (DMBinS) – has launched its Scottish Schools Innovation Competition.

The competition is open to young people of school age in Scotland. It is asking both primary and secondary school children across Scotland to creatively tell them why they love to ride their bike.

Developed after the success of last year’s competition which asked Tweed Valley primary school children to describe what a mountain bike would look like in 2020, the competition has expanded to include all children in Scotland and this year includes two different categories:

1) Primary School Children - design a poster

2) Secondary School Children - submit a short film (up to 30 seconds)

MTBCOS is delighted to have partnered with Frog Bikes which will provide the winner of the primary school category with a bike from their range. The winner of the secondary school category will receive a Marlin 5 bike from Trek Bikes.

School children are being asked to be creative with their entries and to think of the benefits of riding their bike – from physical and mental health, to meeting friends and having fun.

Professor Geraint Florida-James of Edinburgh Napier University and lead academic at the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland said: “We hope this year the entries will be as wild and wonderful as 2017.  It is great to engage with children to encourage them to ride their bikes and show the different benefits that we all know are very important for our mental and physical health. Last year while judging the entries we all had grins from ear to ear, we’re hoping for more of the same this year.

“By using the vehicle of cycling, we also want to inspire children as to the various academic pathways that they can take to get a career in the cycling industry – from sports science, training the riders and engineering to designing the bikes or textiles to make the clothing, there are so many ways that children can follow their passion and develop it into a career.”

Val Benyon, Head of Marketing at Frog Bikes, said: “We’re delighted to be able to support the Schools Innovation Competition. It’s important that children are inspired to ride their bikes and see cycling as a fun and healthy activity. This fits well with our goal of making cycling more accessible at all levels and getting more children on bikes. Good luck to everyone.”

The award winners will be announced at the Scottish Mountain Bike Awards on 23 November, in Aviemore, held as part of the DMBinS International Mountain Bike Conference 2018.

The competition has been launched this week and will run until 4 November 2018. For those wishing to enter, full details can be found here, including full terms and conditions and entry forms.