Mark Torsius

is the General Manager of the International Mountain Bicycling Association Europe – a collective of MTB advocacy groups, trail associations, trail builders and bicycle industry partners – working together to create, restore and enhance (access to) trails. IMBA Europe supports its member organisations on a national and transnational level through knowledge sharing, EU wide educational projects (DIRTT, SEE) and by the provision of trail building training.

Additionally, he’s one of the Board Members of the European Network of Outdoor Sports. In both roles, he’s advocating and championing for mountain biking and outdoor sports in general at a strategic level in Europe.

Mark has a Masters degree in Sports Policy and Management and a sheer interest in the societal benefits of outdoor sports. He firmly believes in the intrinsic value of mountain biking and its potential to help solve various societal challenges and protect the natural places we love to ride.

As parents of four sporty daughters, Mark and his wife divide their free time between watching their girls playing football and riding trails in their local forest.

Mehr dazu

The popularity of mountain biking is booming across the world, amplifying the need for new, restored or enhanced trails and skilled trail builders to plan, design, construct and maintain sustainable trail infrastructure across Europe. This was the impetus for the DIRTT (Developing Intereuropean Resources for Trail builder Training) project in 2019, started by IMBA Europe and an international project group representing both volunteer and professional trail builders, education providers, municipalities and tourist destinations.

The first DIRTT project developed a Trail Building Educational Framework, including a syllabus and Training Toolkit, leading to Europe’s first formal education for Mountain Bike Trail Planning, Construction and Maintenance at Fagskolen I Viken.

The next phase of the project (DIRTT 2.0) is the development of a European Competence Framework, leading towards EU certification in the trail building sector.

This talk will address the rationale of trail building education and certification, the lessons learned during the first DIRTT project and why certification for professionals and topics like regenerative trail development are becoming more and more important in the near future.

Mehr dazu

Wir glauben, dass es an der Zeit ist, das volle Potential des Mountainbikens in Österreich zu nutzen und eine stärkere, nachhaltigere und vernetzte Mountainbike-Community aufzubauen. Wir sehen ein großes Potential in der Weiterentwicklung und Pflege lokaler Trailangebote, der Förderung von Ausbildungsprogrammen und Jugendarbeit, sowie der Sensibilisierung für den sorgsamen Umgang mit der Natur.

Dieser Talk bietet uns die Möglichkeit, gemeinsam Strategien zu entwickeln und Best Practices zu teilen, um die Herausforderungen anzugehen und Chancen zu nutzen. Es ist eine Gelegenheit, uns zu vereinen und gemeinsam für die Zukunft des Mountainbikens in Österreich zu arbeiten.

Ziel

Unser Ziel ist die Schaffung einer vereinten, nachhaltigen MTB-Community in Österreich, die lokale Trailangebote entwickelt und pflegt, Ausbildungsprogramme fördert, sich um die Umwelt kümmert und international vernetzt ist.

Mehr dazu

Christoph Berger-Schauer (Bundesverein Trailpartie), Lisa Ribarich (ambi), Mark Torsius (IMBA-Europe), Michael Brügger (Trail Foundation), Harald Maier (ambi Austrian Mountainbike Institute)
Moderation: Harry Doucha (ambi Austrian Mountainbike Institute)