- Event date:May 12, 2025 at 9:00 am
- Event end:May 14, 2025 at 4:00 pm
- Size8 participants
Level 1 Instructor certification
Trail access not included (unless specified)
Bikes not included
Please be ready to ride at least 15 minutes before the start of the course
Start your coaching journey! Become a Level 1 instructor today!
Start your PMBIA journey today! Lead group rides or coach with confidence.
The 1-day Ride Guide course covers leadership, risk management, and rider assessment—perfect for clubs and organizations.
Level up with our 3-day Level 1 certification and coach like a pro!
The 3-day Level 1 Certification trains instructors to teach beginner to low-intermediate riders on green and blue trails. It covers riding technique, teaching methods, risk management, and bike setup, preparing graduates to deliver safe, engaging lessons in cross-country, all-mountain and enduo settings.
Recognized worldwide, it’s ideal for those teaching in bike schools, clubs, or coaching services.
What you will learn :
- Teach beginner to low-intermediate riders using PMBIA’s proven methods
- Develop coaching techniques and refine riding skills
- Plan and deliver skill-based lessons for individuals or small groups
- Gain hands-on experience through practice teaching and feedback
- Cover key topics like bike setup, risk management, and first aid
Level 1 (3 days)
Become a certified instructor
Who is it for & Course context
Designed for aspiring instructors who want to coach beginner and low-intermediate riders on green and blue trails.
- Ideal for bike schools, clubs, and coaching services
- Focuses on both skill progression and risk management
- Training takes place on a variety of terrain, ensuring practical, real-world experience
Why take this course
- Earn a globally recognized certification
- Improve teaching, riding, and coaching skills
- Gain confidence in instruction and group management
- Learn in a fun, supportive environment
Pre-requisites
- Confident riding intermediate terrain at trail speed
- Comfortable on blue trails in varied conditions
- Recommended 2 years of mountain biking experience
- Completed online prep (reading + Level 1 worksheet)
- Wilderness First Aid is recommended
- Minimum age: 15 (minors should work under guidance)
- Includes one year of PMBIA membership (annual renewal required)
Pre-course reading & worksheet (2-3h)
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know
Riding skills required
What to bring
PMBIA courses are designed to bring industry standard protocols and ethics to all it’s instructors. It all begins with the proper equipment and accessories. To make courses accessible, no need for high end equipment, but a minimum is required:
A perfectly tuned, modern mountain bike and equipment :
Planning your day
To protect yourself from minor scrapes and injuries, PMBIA recommends that you ALWAYS wear knee protection. Gloves, eyewear / goggles and elbow protection are also recommended, but not mandatory. Of course, a helmet is always essential, ideally a mountain bike specific helmet. Lightweight full-face helmets provide additional protection. A full-face helmet and chest protector for advanced lift accessed courses is also highly recommended.
As the class will be held outdoors, we might not have access to indoor facilities. It is recommended that you check the mountain weather forecast and plan accordingly, as mountain weather can change rapidly. Think about layering clothing to adapt to conditions, a lightweight jacket is always a good option to have. It is recommended that each member of the group bring snacks and water to ensure they have enough energy to enjoy the course.
Cautionary note to participants
- Communicate your apprehensions, previous injuries and physical limitations to your trainer.
- Do not exceed your physical and technical limits.
- All difficulties and modules such as technical sections, drops and jumps are optional at all times. Although showing a proper level of riding on these obstacles might be necessary for your certification process. Please discuss with your trainer.
- It is your responsibility to make sure you are healthy and ready to participate, free of injury or concussion.
- Please report any injury to your trainer. When injured during a course, a incident report must be completed and signed by the trainer and the trainee.
As we want to prepare you for a great experience, here are some notes on risk management in mountain biking.
Certification process and retest procedures
PMBIA courses have a proven certification process and there is a pass or fail criteria for riding skills, teaching skills and minimal fitness assesment. The certification process is clearly outlined in the PMBIA manuals and will be discussed by the trainer during the course. If at any point, a trainee wishes to discuss in private with the trainer about course standards, they are encouraged to do so as early as possible during the course, to avoid a surprising outcome.
While failing one of the course components can be a tough pill to swallow, we are with you on this! Every person moves through the process at their own rate so try to stay positive and focus on your own personal progression, rather than comparing your own performance to others.
If you were unsuccessful with both riding and teaching the best pathway is to repeat the full course again to allow you more time to process, practice and consolidate the course information.
To help support members through this process, the PMBIA will offer a 20% discount on the course price. Please email info@pmbia.org prior to registering, in order to receive a discount code.
IF I FAIL THE RIDING OR TEACHING PORTION OF THE COURSE, HOW DO I RETEST?
Re-testing is always an opportunity to learn and continue to improve. Passing any PMBIA course is a process that each person moves through at their pace, based on their skills, experience and personality. Stay positive and make sure you do your homework before coming back for a retest!
Riding retests have two options; to attend the second day of the course or submit a video. Attending the second day of the Level 1 course is often the best option as it allows another full day of riding and training with a PMBIA Course Conductor. If a candidate cannot attend a course in person to retest their riding, they can submit a video of their riding for review by a PMBIA Course Conductor.
Teaching retests must return for only the second day of the Level 1 course to join the course candidates and teach one maneuver-based lesson and one skills-based lesson. Please see the PMBIA Course Conductor first thing in the morning of the retest with any questions or concerns you may have.
PMBIA policies
IMPORTANT NOTES :
PMBIA courses require minimum number of participants to run. They also require many logistics, including trail permits for specific dates, detailed scheduling, travel and accommodation of course staff, and are confirmed two weeks prior to the start date. It is for these reasons this refund-injury policy exists to ensure that PMBIA and its course participants are not adversely impacted by last minute cancellations.
If you are travelling to a course, please do NOT make any travel arrangements, before the course is confirmed. You will be contacted at minimum 2 weeks prior to the start of the course if registration numbers are looking low. The PMBIA will not be responsible for any expenses incurred by the participant.
Complaints policy
The PMBIA is committed to the highest standards of practice in our work. We value any feedback, enquiries or complaints from the public or our members as we continuously strive to improve our training resources, courses and industry services. Our complaints process is guided by the following principles:
Accessible: The PMBIA complaints process is publicly available on our website, and members and non-members are informed of their right to complain about our organization. Any enquiries, feedback or complaints should be sent to our admin team at info@pmbia.org.
Fair: All complaints will be handled in a manner that is impartial and fair. Our process provides the opportunity for anyone to submit relevant information and have an opportunity to be heard before the review of the complaint is finalized. We thoroughly and objectively review the complaints we receive, and are committed to keeping people informed of the progress of their complaint. The PMBIA Executive Director is responsible for reviewing and conducting investigations of complaints that are not resolved by the Admin Staff. If a complaint is not resolved to the satisfaction of the person raising the concerns following investigation, further internal review may be conducted by the PMBIA Board of Directors and/or the Technical Directors (if applicable).
Person-Focused: We recognize that people have different needs, and each person has their own unique history that they bring to the interaction with our association. We commit to listen to our members and non-members’ concerns, treat them with dignity and respect, and maintain confidentiality throughout the complaints process.
Responsive: We will respond to complaints within 7 business days, and will seek to resolve the complaint at the earliest opportunity. Complaints that cannot be resolved at first contact, or those that raise more serious concerns about our organization, will be forwarded for further review/investigation. The PMBIA is committed to these time frames and will inform our service users of the progress of their complaint and reasons for any delay in the complaint resolution process.
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