What is WORD?
What is WORD?
WORD, World Off-road Riding Department, is a rad youth mountain bike charity (NZ Charity Number CC50833) based in Aotearoa. We run after school programmes and holiday camps for kids age 7-17 years old in the Wellington Region, Wānaka and Ōtautahi (new for 2023!). In 2013 WORD was founded by Ashley Peters with the mission to save the world one ride at a time!
Currently there are over 400 kids in our term programmes across 3 locations, 300 kids riding during the holidays, 60 Instructors and 35 Assistant Instructors in Aotearoa! NEW for 2023, we’re stoked to launch WORD in Ōtautahi in February.
Spreading the love of riding across Aotearoa! We are super keen to see WORD in other locations…if you are interested, get in touch with Ash on ash@word.org.nz to discuss it more, yay!
Our Mission
WORD (World Off-road Riding Department) is on a mission to change the world one ride at a time! We are committed and passionate about creating awesome experiences to build youth confidence, develop new friendships, and foster a life-long love of mountain biking. The WORD whānau believes in equity in order to reduce the barriers to participation, embracing change through honesty and kindness, and building connections within our community and environment.
Our Values
Youth Centered
Young people are at the heart of ALL decisions. For youth, with youth.
Adventure
We’re fun. We’ve got grit. We’re risk takers. We’re bravely kind.
Connection
Connection to self (confidence and being true to oneself ). Connection to others (sense of belonging and being kind to others). Connection to the environment.
Fight for Equity
We create access, support, and celebrate diversity + equity - always.
Embracing change
Embrace change: Gather the knowledge to inform and guide. We adapt. We are agile.
Proud to be an
Adventure Activity Operator
Your child’s safety is our biggest priority. We want them to have fun, but in order to do this they need to be in a safe environment- physically, mentally and socially. WORD is proud to be accredited as an Adventure Activity Operator. WORD has a Safety Management System that has been audited and certified by Qualworx against the Safety Audit Standard for Adventure Activities. This means our Safety Management System has undergone a rigorous external audit by Qualworx and does so each year.
All WORD instructors are outdoor first aid trained (we work with the crew at Peak Safety) and carry a first aid kit.
Check out our More Information pages to find out more about how we run each session and and keep your child’s safety our top priority.