Photo: Contributed

School District 83 students will be taking a mountainbike course starting Feb. 1.

Students at Jackson Secondary School will be pedaling their way to a first when it comes to school courses.

On Feb. 1 the North Okanagan-Shuswap School District 83 first-ever Mountain Bike Academy kicks off with 17 students taking part.

“This program is a fantastic fit for our community for a myriad of reasons. We have a world-renowned trail society in the Shuswap Trail Alliance, and their modus operandi is collaboration and trails for all. The sport of mountain biking has exploded in popularity in recent years and exponentially so since the beginning of the COVID pandemic,” said teacher Chris Stromgren.

Stromgren said there has always been a significant interest in mountain biking at the school level and since he began the Salmon Arm Secondary mountain bike program in 2008, students have brought home five B.C. School Sports Provincial championships.

“The time is right to extend the opportunities for kids in our community who wish to get further involved in mountain biking and to potentially use it to open doors to future careers, be it in racing, the bike industry, trail development or the like,” he said.

The course is open to Grades 9-12 students throughout the school district. Students will have opportunities to be outdoors and weather permitting, Stromgren hopes to have students on their bikes by the end of February.

Students will earn credit for the course which includes a component of community and planning, where they will collaborate with user groups and identify mutual needs and provide quality development of sustainable resources.

Students will also take safety and first aid, which includes understanding safe practices and risk management as well as first aid training.

A third component of the course will be the development of leadership skills as well as a component on mechanics and repair.

Of course, mountain biking skills is a large component of the academy, where students will work on skill development, enjoyment of the sport and fitness.