We are so excited about riding with you kids this term! Your little shredder is about to be part of the coolest thing in town- WORD! For those of you that are new to WORD, you are just going to love it…

The WORD Term runs for 7 weeks in Term 1 & 4 meeting once a week from 4.30-6.30pm in Wellington.

We also do 4 weeks night riding in Term 2 4:30-6:30pm, and Sunday sessions 9-11am in May and June.

We split into groups based on abilities and head out for a ride! Each week these groups focus on one or two new skills:

-MTB riding skills (ie. cornering, braking, fitness etc)
-MTB community skills (ie. trail building, bike maintenance)
-Life skills (ie. self confidence, kindness, helpfulness, etc)

Below are a few details that will hopefully ease any concerns and also get your child pumped about riding!

Bookings for Terms are live approximately 6 weeks before term starts. You can find more details on the WORD Booking page.

All bookings are on a first come, first served basis, there is no way of booking before registrations go online. We do not offer any booking advantages to returning WORD families.

We do offer our Instructors and Assistant Instructors a chance to secure a place for themselves or their kids in advance of registrations going live. This is a big thank you for all of their hard work and contribution to the WORD whānau.

All bookings are made via our website using credit card or bank deposit.

WORD runs rain or shine…mostly. In the off chance that the weather is just awful, we will cancel the session.

For holiday programmes we have the option to run indoor sessions and aim to run these with our back up weather plans in place.

Safety is a huge concern for us, and we don't want anyone to be put in harms way for the sake of a ride. We will post in the WORD community WhatsApp Group at 12pm on the day of your term programme if we are cancelling. Join up on this link or the link provided in your term registration email.

Bike:

All participants will need to bring their own mountain bike to WORD. This bike doesn’t need to be anything flash… 2 working brakes and knobbly off-road tires will do the trick.* We don’t have a fleet of bikes for you to borrow, but we do work with some amazing organisations that do! Please let us know if you need a bike or get in touch with our buddies at ReBicycle.

Check out the ‘Daypack gearlist’ photo for more info on what else is needed at WORD.

*Ebikes are allowed at WORD. Strength, fitness and grit are key skills taught and encouraged at WORD. So while we absolutely welcome e-bikes for participants, we prefer kids to be on ‘analog’ mountain bikes to help support their growth in those skills. If kids have an ebike, they will still need to ride at the pace of the group.

Bike skills:

If your child can ride a bike, we’ll teach them the rest! They will also need to be able to start and stop on their own. Each rider is placed in a group of kids of similar abilities so they can learn together (and make new friends!).

Still learning to ride? Yay! Check out our great friends at Pedal Ready. They can help your child learn to ride!

1. Mountain bike with 2 working brakes. We suggest getting it serviced before you come at your friendly bike shop.​

2. AUS/NZ Certified helmet

3. Small backpack with the following:
   -Water
   -Snacks (a banana, cheese and crackers, scroggin or an apple make a great snack)
   -Rain Jacket
   -Inner tube to fit your tire

We want kids to be independent mountain bikers (and humans), so having them be responsible for their own items is one way to promote their independence.

For the 13-17 year olds…We cannot guarantee at vehicle will be available for kids to drop there stuff in. Most instructors ride to the session, so kids need to be self sufficient.

Please see our WORD difference page to find out how we keep your child safe with us.

Yay! It’s the first day! Plan to arrive at 4.15pm so you’ll have plenty of time to get ready. We start promptly at 4.30pm

You’ll meet your Lead instructor - this is like the ‘captain’ for the term. They will make sure we have all your correct details and ask about any medical conditions. Your child will receive their WORD t-shirt (yes!). They will also let you know who you’re child’s WORD Instructor is…exciting! See below for details on how we split into groups.

We’ll then have a big group hui to set the scene of WORD before heading off for the rest of the session. We’ll finish up just before 6.30pm to hand out WORD stickers!!!

Meeting Points

Information about the meeting points for each session are listed on the individual age group pages. You will also receive an email at the time of booking with all the details. At some Term Programmes we head to a different location for 2 of the weeks- we do this to provide variety of terrain and skills for your kids to learn and explore.

Check in/out

All parents or caregiver (drop off person) is to sign in their child on arrival, confirm the authorised person collecting them, and ensure that this person signs them out at the end of the session. If your child is to leave independently (e.g. riding home 10+ yrs old), you are required to communicate this directly with the on-the-day lead and instructor.

Teens (13+) are responsible for signing themselves in with an instructor on arrival and signing themselves out at the end of each session.

Absences

If your child is not able to attend a day of WORD term, please contact the Lead Instructor (phone numbers in pre-term email). They are your main point of contact for all things going on during the term. We are not able to offer refunds or make up sessions.

What if we are late?

We start all WORD after school programmes at 4.30pm. Kiddos need to be ready to ride and meeting their Instructor just before this time. We then do our bike checks, chat about the session plan and then hit the trails! We are not able to wait for you as we have so much fun to pack in! So please be on time so your child doesn’t miss out for the day. Thanks!

Groupings

We split into groups on the first day based on 3 things: skill ability, fitness ability, preference. The skills ability will be based on your indication at the time of booking, prior experience at WORD and the child’s own preference.

We try our best to ensure that kids are in groups of a similar ability. If a child is not in a group that is perfectly matched, the Instructor will ensure the kid is moved into the correct group for the following session.

All groups will have a 1:8 instructor/child max ratio.

We think the social side of riding is just as important as the actual riding skills. Because of this, we have split the ages accordingly. 7-9 year olds, 10-12 year olds and 13-17 year olds.

Please ensure that you select the correct age group.

Safety

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. 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 (the Lead Instructor has a 2 day outdoor first aid certificate) and carry a first aid kit.

From time to time, your child might fall off their bike and be injured, but we make every effort to see that they are not put in a situation that is overtly dangerous. We have systems in place to deal with injuries and emergencies that are continuously reviewed.

We ask that your child comes with the items in the ‘what to bring section’ to ensure their comfort, safety, and fun levels are high.

Progression

Kids are encouraged to ride at their own pace, and progressions are made slowly. We believe in developing a ‘thinking rider’- a rider that knows how to make decisions when they are out on the trail (whether with us at WORD or out with their friends).

We start small, and build up. We look at obstacles (ie. a corner, a drop, a jump, etc), discuss line choice, body position and speed. As a group we look at all the options. Kids are encouraged to give things a go, if their ability is matched to the difficulty of the obstacle, but never forced.

Walking is always an option.

Skill Levels

We use the following levels for our small groups:

Level 1: Newbie- able to ride a bike, but little/no experience riding off road.

Level 2: Beginner- a bit of experience on easy single track. Starting to get the hang of gentle corners.

Level 3: Intermediate- confident on gentle corners, but still needing work with switchbacks and steeper terrain.

Level 4: Strong Intermediate- totally have corners and rough stuff covered, keen to try small drops and jumps

Level 5: Advanced- comfortable on steep and technical terrain. High level of fitness (riding 3+ times a week)

We love that you love riding bikes too! And although we know some of you are keen to ride with your kids during WORD term we would prefer that you do your own thing instead. Think of it like soccer- you wouldn't run on the field playing with your kid at practice (well maybe you would, but that would be weird). So go on and enjoy the day… there are heaps of other parents that are also keen on an adult ride! 

Let’s get there together! Although some kids are able to ride to WORD, for others they rely on a parent/caregiver to get them to the term programme. We know that schedules are a bit crazy and sometimes work doesn’t allow parents to do both the pick up and drop off.

Join our whats app community to connect with other parents in the same season (group) to organise carpooling for WORD Camp or Term Days. This link will be also be provided in your sign up confirmation emails.

Each WORD participant will get a FREE t-shirt (1 per year). For 2026 we are rockin’ the denim blue with coral/red /logo.  Kids will receive their t-shirt on the first day of WORD term or camp for the year.

Teens will be issued a pair of WORD socks with the stealth circle logo. (1 pair per year)

Most days we’ll be taking photos at WORD. We love sharing these via WORD social media. If for some reason you don’t want photos of your child publicised, please let your Lead Instructor know on the first day of the term or camp in addition to your sign up preferences so we can be sure we get it right!

They grow so fast! We love the idea of passing on bikes or clothing that are too small… We have created a private group for those that would like to buy or sell or even give away kids bikes (and bike bits). Check out the WORD Buy and Sell Bikes and Bike Bits Facebook group.

We suggest putting a photo, size, price and best way to get in contact with you.

There's no fees associated with this group, but if you are keen to put a bit of money from your sale towards WORD, that would be amazing! You can donate here.