Page 167 - Mind, Body and Spirit 2016/17

Chip Rafferty spent most of a coaching career in the Royal Army Physical Training Corps. Specialising in the coaching and training of endurance athletes in numerous activities,
as well as preparing soldiers t for duty.
His personal performance over 3 decades has seen achievements including Top 20 Finisher London Marathon and Climbing leader of the rst descent of Lows Gully Borneo, lmed for Channel 4.
After completing a full career in the Army’s prestigious Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC), and a further fteen years in the TA, he founded MBCUK into the front-running mountain biking organisation it is today.
MBCUK is the longest established provider of mountain bike coach leader awards in the UK. It evolved from the Association of British Cycling Coaches PCCA award, the very rst cycle leader award.
MBCUK started offering the course to service personnel in the absence of a services mountain bike leader course, back in 1994, running the rst courses at JSATI and many other centres over the following years. Presently over two thousand service personnel hold an MBCUK quali cation, with over a hundred RAPTCI’s quali ed.
MBCUK were involved with the services mountain bike scheme before it became adopted as an of cial AT activity by Adventure Training Group Army ATGA. They have also assisted in developing mountain biking as a Physical and Remedial Fitness activity run from Gymnasiums worldwide.
Present initiatives for 2017 include the founding and launch of the Association of British Mountain Bike Guides ABMG as detailed below, in a recent national press release:
“MBCUK has joined forces with two leading mountain bike coaching organisation’s to boost the MTB guides industry across Europe. MountainBikeCoachingUK(MBCUK),CyclingUK,andtheMountain- Bike Instructors Award Scheme (MIAS) are pleased to announce the launch of a new quali cation in Mountain Bike Leadership, under the banner of the Association of British Mountainbike Guides (ABMG). Setting high standards for the entry criteria, this new accrediting body, which has of cially joined the European Organisation of Mountain Bike Instructor-Guides (EO-MTBInG), supports mountain biking leaders in the UK by adding more credibility and authority to the leaders’ training and assessment process. The accreditation also aims to boost consumer con dence so that MTB riders have even greater peace of mind when booking a mountain biking trip in Europe”.
Life after the RAPTC has been interesting to say the least, especially with two sons following him into the mountain bike industry; One working as European Marketing Manager for SRAM, and the other running one of the countries most prestigious MB coaching companies ProrideGuides, and founder of the largest MB Enduro event in the country the Ardrock Enduro.
However, time can still be found for the RAPTC Association, as recently witnessed at the NE Association Dinner Scarborough this year (keeping the SMAA and entourage bemused at
three in the morning, Ha).
FROM RAPTC TO BIKING
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