2Wheel Academy
Interested in Joining the Bendigo Mountain Bike Club’s 2Wheel Academy?
All prospective riders need to read through the information contained here, understand the outline and expectations for the season and be prepared to commit to the training sessions on a regular basis prior to lodging an expression of interest.
The Expression of interest form (button above), along with attendance at the ‘2WA Try Out Day’ will form your application should you wish to be considered. We only have a limited number of places available each year and may not be in a position to accept all applications.
Applications will be assessed on a rider’s; coachability, availability to commit, current skill level and fitness.
If you had further queries regarding the Bendigo MTB Clubs’ 2Wheel Academy please contact Jo Wall: 2wheelacademy@bendigomtb.com.au
2026/27 Season Key Dates
Saturday 31st October 2026
Payment of season fees to be received
Wednesday 13th January to Friday 15th January 2027
2WA Bright Camp
Event/Action
Date/Time
Expressions of Interest open for 2026/2027 season
Saturday 18th July 2026
Final date for expressions of interest to be received for ALL RIDERS
Saturday 22nd August 2026
Placement offers emailed out to successful applicants by this date
Saturday 5th September 2026
2WA Try Out Day. All new and returning riders required to attend where possible
Sunday 13th September 2026
First 2WA Skills Session at Spring Gully
Sunday 4th October 2026
The Bendigo Mountain Bike Club’s 2Wheel Academy (2WA) is a junior mountain bike program that aims to provide a structured program for riders aged 10-18yrs who are keen to make mountain biking their main sport. The academy provides a pathway for riders who are looking to improve their skills, fitness and race craft within cross country and gravity disciplines.
2WA Mission Statement
2 Wheel Academy Values
Riders, coaches and parents acknowledge, understand and demonstrate our 2WA values of
RESPECT - PROGRESSION - BELONGING
We are extremely proud of the culture, community and connections that our 2WA program fosters each and every year. Maintaining and strengthening these is something that we are super passionate about. We have high expectations of all our riders and coaches and it is important that all riders understand the role they have in upholding our values.
Our Club Motto and What This Means To Us: ‘I am a Mountain Biker’
● Demonstrate respect and appreciation for nature and the environments we ride in
● Respectful trail use (no shortcuts, no building of new trails/features, no riding in environmentally sensitive unsanctioned areas)
● Respect and engage with other user groups that access the same areas; walkers, other riders etc
● Represent our sport/club/2WA with integrity and inclusivity, particularly when participating in events or riding other locations.
RESPECT
Respect is the foundation of the Academy.
Our Club Coaches:
● Embrace diversity, foster progression and reject discrimination in any form.
● We offer a welcoming and inclusive space where our riders and families feel valued, respected and empowered to grow and connect.
Our Riders:
● Encourage and support other riders through mutual respect, understanding and empathy.
● Respect all coaches and parents, adhere to our safety rules and demonstrate capacity to take on and action feedback.
Our Parents/Caregivers:
● Encourage effort, resilience and a positive attitude towards learning.
● Model respect for coaches, riders, volunteers and our riding environments.
● Support our Academy by volunteering, building connections and fostering a positive club culture.
WE HAVE A ZERO TOLERANCE FOR ANY FORM OF BULLYING, ESPECIALLY EQUIPMENT SHAMING, RIDER SHAMING OR SKILL SHAMING
PROGRESSION
Our 2 wheel Academy strives to provide a pathway for progression. We consider mountain biking as a lifeskill/tool that enables us to progress:
● MTB skills
● Physical fitness and wellbeing
● Personal attributes and qualities such as:
- self motivation,
- focus and discipline,
- goal setting,
- self awareness,
- resilience
- growth mindset
● Performance: Develop race craft, mental skills and access to mentoring and advice on competitive pathways.
● Our understanding and appreciation of nature: promotes physical/mental health, connections with and respect for our beautiful natural environments and the part they play in maintaining our mental health
BELONGING
This one is not just for our academy riders, we invite all family members into our 2WA community and offer opportunities for:
Connection:
● With coaches, peers, parents and our wider club community
Inclusion:
● Ride, speak and act in a way that treats all our riders and coaches with dignity, fairness and respect
Sharing:
● We encourage parents to connect on and off the bike and share the riding stoke! Parent rides during all our training sessions are encouraged and recommended!
Contribution:
● To our club, volunteering at club events, working bees. Riders are encouraged to mentor and support our younger riders at club events etc.
Growth:
● Build our community by spreading the word about our club events and programs and encourage others to connect with our club and thus help us grow our membership and MTB community.
The 2Wheel Academy started up back in 2015 by a very passionate Dave Richardson and past president Stu MacGregor. The academy has always been a Bendigo Mountain Bike Club initiative with full support and a strong backing contributing to much of it’s success to date.
In 2018 Jo Wall of Trailhead Coaching and current Vice President of the club, came on board as Head Coach. At this time the program became heavily reinforced with skills-based teaching provided by globally accredited GSMBC coaches (Global Syndicate of Mountain Bike Coaches). Jo has set up a coach mentor program for our 2WA graduates who show an interest in the coaching pathway. The Bendigo Mountain Bike Club and 2WA continues to invest in this program by subsidising instructor training fees each year for successful applicants.
The BMBC have recognised the importance of having qualified and experienced coaches to provide structured skills sessions, not only to our riders but also our general community through club social rides and skills sessions. Each year the club invests in suitable members to complete the Level 1 GSMBC Intermediate Coaching Course. The GSMBC accreditation is the global standard for MTB skills instruction. To help service our coaching needs we also have accredited coaches from the Castlemaine Rocky Riders help facilitate our weekly coaching sessions
The Bendigo 2WA has provided a much-needed community service to Regional Victoria. Riders attend from as far away as Sunbury, Boort, Woodend, Taradale, Echuca, Castlemaine and of course Bendigo. In fact, the BMBC have a memorandum of understanding with Bendigo South East College to deliver mountain biking co-curricular as part of the Athlete Development Program (ADP). Rider selections are based on each rider’s ability, experience, and coachable traits but generally riders are considered for selection within 10-16yrs of age.
In more recent years we have collaborated with the Castlemaine Rocky Riders. Currently one third of our rider intake is made up of riders from the Castlemaine Rocky Riders and to help service this we have accredited coaches from the Rocky Riders help facilitate our weekly coaching sessions.
2WA Background
The 2WA season will run from October through to March (Dates TBC each season, it will generally shadow the club’s Summer Series dates and ideally culminate close to the date for the National Championships each year.)
The academy takes a mid-season break in December and most of January for school holidays. Our highlight of the season is always our annual 3-day training camp in Bright each January.
Our weekly training sessions are held on Sundays from 9am-11am. During the summer months earlier starts may be put in place on account of the hot weather.
Our Sunday sessions alternate between structured skills coaching sessions and ‘Destination Rides’. The skills sessions will take place at either Spring Gully or La Larr Ba Gauwa MTB Park in Harcourt. The destination rides visit various locations around central Victoria; Harcourt, Castlemaine, Redesdale, Creswick, Woodend, etc. This model allows us to deliver carefully planned skills-based learning opportunities, and our destination rides expose our riders to different terrain types and trail networks providing ample opportunities to apply the skills learnt.
Throughout the season we also support attendance at various races. On these weekends a regular training session may or may not be scheduled, we do our best to provide support and guidance at the race in the form of a coach or senior rider/s being on hand for practice laps. A team tent is sometimes set up for riders and families to meet and gather.
Season Structure
Attendance and Sign on Expectations
You will be required to commit to attending the scheduled training sessions every Sunday unless you are racing a scheduled MTB event or have other unavoidable commitments. We understand that everyone gets busy and has clashes at times, but the expectation is that you will attend each week in order to secure your place in the academy. We will plan as much of the training as we can to avoid races that would be suitable for our riders to attend.
Each Sunday coaching session is required to be carefully planned. We ensure that we are keeping the quality of our coaching high, safely managing the associated risks and providing experiences that challenge all riders appropriately at their level. This is done by adhering to our coaching ratio of 1 coach per 6 riders max. A lot of thought, consideration and organisation goes into determining our coaching groups each week and also confirming our available coaching staff.
In order for us to maintain the quality of our program it is essential that we have a clear indication of attendance leading into each Sunday. All of our Sunday sessions will be loaded up as events on the 2WA Facebook Page all relevant information will be included in the description; time, location skills focus etc.
It is the expectation that riders/families will mark their attendance as ‘Going’ or ‘Not Going’ by Thursday evening 8pm each week.
To continue to provide accredited coaches at all our sessions and to provide a sustainable model for the 2WA, a season registration fee will apply. The 2WA executive work hard to ensure that the season fee is as low as possible, recognising the many costs associated with the sport.
The season fee is determined from year to year, being nominally $20 per session for approximately 19 sessions. This does not include the cost of required uniforms and AusCycling license fees. The fee for the 2026/2027 season will be $380.
Components of the Bright training camp are heavily subsidised with 2WA funds. These are made available through 2 key fundraising campaigns throughout the season:
-2WA run BBQ at the Victorian Schools Championships
-2WA run Bunnings BBQ
In previous years we have covered the cost of all coaching along with a Full Day shuttle pass for all riders. A separate camp fee will apply to cover the cost of accommodation and food.
All 2WA riders will receive a subsidised free entry to the BMBC 2026/2027 Summer Series (Valued at $110) and we expect all our riders to attend these races regardless of their preferred discipline.
Season Fees and Inclusions
All riders are expected to wear the 2WA kit for all training sessions, racing and the Bright camp. The cost of the kit will be around $80-140 each for the 2WA uniform depending on preferred items.
(All riders must purchase a jersey either race or enduro at a minimum).
Uniforms
Club and AusCycling Membership
All 2WA riders will be required to hold a current AusCycling ‘Race Off Road’ licence, linked to either the Bendigo Mountain Bike Club or Castlemaine Rocky Riders.
To sign up and find out more information: https://www.auscycling.org.au/membership/race-off-road
Riders must have a mountain bike that is suitable for the cross-country terrain found in central Victoria. This could be either a cross country bike – hardtail or dual suspension, or a dual suspension trail bike. Riders must also have a helmet that is in good condition and complies with Australian Standards. There is an expectation that all riders carry their own Spares; tube, tyre levers, pump/co2 cannister, multitool, spare quick link etc. We also expect riders to attend each training session on a clean and well serviced bike.
Required Equipment
Further Coaching/Training Opportunities
1. Squad Training
Separate to 2WA, Trailhead Coaching will offer a squad training session on Thursday evenings during terms 1 and 4. This squad is for riders 14+ years who are keen to take their riding to the next level. Riders will commonly have a focus on competing at state and national level races in either Gravity Enduro or Cross Country. As these sessions are facilitated by Trailhead coaching there is a separate registration fee for riders wanting to participate.
This Squad session will complement the Sunday coaching sessions and will focus on providing a competitive but supportive and fun atmosphere, intermediate and advanced skills development, race craft and preparation for target events.
2. Personal Training Plans
If this is an area of interest to your rider, get in touch with Jo from Trailhead coaching and she will be able to make some good recommendations to coaches available to take on new riders.