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Mountain Biking News Item
Ball's Up for Top International Mountain Bike Job
SUNDAY, 30 MARCH 2008
Chris Ball, founding Director of Dirt School Ltd, Scotland's leading mountain bike coaching company, has recently been appointed as the UCI Mountain Bike Technical Delegate for the 2008 Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series. Chris, already well-known as the Scottish National Youth and Junior Downhill Coach, adds this appointment to his impressive CV of coaching and racing achievements.
The role, which covers fourteen races (downhill and 4-Cross disciplines) in seven countries throughout the world, is track and rider focused with the specific purpose of making sure that each event on the circuit is exciting, competitive, and produces top quality and safe racing. This is a very demanding and high pressure role with duties at each three-day event including course inspections; monitoring of the implementation of the technical and sporting aspects of the organization guide; liaison with event organizers, commissaries, and team managers; and stage managing awards ceremonies.
Chris Ball, Director of Dirt School Ltd, said of his appointment: "After years of only seeing World Cups from the rider's perspective, I'm really looking forward to working with the UCI in a professional capacity and helping to further develop this fantastic sport at international level."
Having started mountain bike riding in the late 90's as a schoolboy, Chris Ball began competing on the international downhill circuit in the elite category in 2002. During his elite racing career, Chris competed in numerous events in the UK and overseas; including over thirty UCI Mountain Bike World Cups and a European Championships.
During this time, Chris amassed a list of top 30 World Cup results, a silver in the European Maxxis Cup series, together with a number of UK downhill titles including Scottish Series Champion and National Champion.
Alongside his racing career, Chris became interested in athlete development and enrolled in a Sport and Exercise Science degree at Napier University in Edinburgh; whilst still competing at World Cup level. Graduating with first class honors in 2006, Chris looked set to further his racing achievements on the international stage. However, a major crash a few months later caused permanent knee damage and an end to his elite racing career.
After the realization that there was no company in the UK offering mountain bikers downhill, cross country, and freestyle coaching from a rider with international racing experience; and in order to continue working in the sport, Chris set up Dirt School Ltd.
From beginners to World Champions Dirt School Ltd offers professional downhill, cross country, and freestyle mountain bike coaching classes and private lessons to youth, junior, and adult riders. With courses available in Scotland (and Wales from June 2008), Dirt School covers all disciplines on some of the best trails in the world.
Since its inception in 2007, Dirt School has achieved a huge amount of success in a relatively short space of time. Working alongside Scottish Cycling, Chris set up a programme to allow him to coach and mentor Scottish Junior downhill talent in the build up to the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships at Fort William. The programme produced two top ten results in the junior downhill final, one of which being a gold medal and Britain's first ever male Downhill World Champion!
This major coaching success led to Chris being appointed as the Scottish National Downhill Coach and he is now in charge of a new programme developing youth talent with aims of further World Championships success.
Over winter 2007/08, Chris has also been working with the Great Britain Olympic development cross country mountain bike riders and numerous private clients of all abilities. For 2008, Dirt School has teamed up with Alpine Bikes, one of Scotland's leading cycle retail chains, to provide beginners courses over the summer (2008).
For more details, please visit www.dirtschool.co.uk.
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