Let’s Go Racing!
Did you know that South Africa has a massive schools racing programme?
Hi, Nigel here from Cycle Lab. For the past two seasons, I’ve had the fortune of being involved in and being part of the Gauteng Schools Cycling experience. Allow me to explain more.
What is Schools Cycling South Africa?
Schools Cycling South Africa is an officially recognised affiliate of Cycling South Africa. Each province runs a series of races, normally five in a season, and then the top 10 or 12 schools from each province converge in one place and compete in a National Final.
This year, it’s at Coetzenburg, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, over two weekends between 28 September and 3 October: Primary Schools on the first weekend and High Schools the following weekend. Here, riders compete for their school, and individual riders can be awarded School Colours for riding. 
In many provinces, due to the size of the fields, both Primary and High School kids can compete on the same day, in their respective age groups across boys and girls.
In Gauteng, however, both fields are so large that they compete at different venues on different Saturdays. Primary Schools can have up to 1,500 riders across 100 schools, while High Schools can have up to 800 riders across a similar number of schools.
Six weeks of schools racing
Since August, for some parents and coaches, it’s been an entire six weeks of Saturdays dedicated to Schools Racing: South at Eye of Africa, East at Taroko Modderfontein, Northeast at Diamante Valley and the far west at Hoërskool Monument, along with other venues in between.
I am fortunate to host a bunch of Primary School kids from Cliffview Primary, De La Salle HCC Junior, Craighall Primary and a sprinkling from The Ridge under our Mtbschool.co.za extra-mural programme.
However, for many, this is a dedicated school initiative: one school, enthusiastic parents, a staff member who is also an MTB’er (which helps!) and as many kids as they can get together five times a year at venues around Gauteng.
It starts at grassroots
This starts at grassroots level.
In the Primary School series, the youngest riders are the 5- and 6-year-olds. These riders are referred to as Sub-Sub Nippers.
They compete in a “Fun” race where no times or positions are recorded. Their dedicated chipped number boards record the laps and time, but the organisers hide these results from the day’s results, so the kids don’t start elbow-bashing and becoming too competitive at such a young age.
The older groups, moving up from Grade 2 to Grade 7 in Primary School and Grade 8 to Matric in High School, compete full gas. Lots of sweat, some tears and, on occasion, blood!
For Gauteng, some categories are so popular that groups need to be divided into batches of 100 starters each.
Why is there such a drop-off from Primary School to High School?
I don’t think it’s any fault of the organisers, marketing reach or the product. I feel that, as is the case with our family, when riders get to High School, sometimes that new school doesn’t support an MTB programme.
Or maybe the rider gets into that High School on a scholarship for another sport entirely, and then MTB’ing falls away.
The courses
The courses are based on XCO (Cross-Country Olympic). They can take place at a dedicated trail park or be marked with bunting tape around a school’s grounds.
This will be a closed-circuit lap race, with a maximum lap distance of 3 km for Primary Schools and 4.5 km for High Schools.
Primary School courses
In the Primary School series, they must have three separate-length courses to cater for the varying sizes of legs. Sub-Sub Nippers normally do a 1 km loop, Sub Nippers a slightly longer one, and then Nippers, Sprogs and Sub Juniors do the full course.
High School courses
For High School, it’s normally one course, and everyone does the same course, from 13-year-olds to 18/19-year-olds.
Depending on age, particular categories could do up to a maximum of five or six laps. Races are no longer than 30 to 40 minutes for Primary Schools and 40 to 50 minutes for High Schools.
For many riders, the challenge is to not get lapped.
The race ends when the first rider completes the designated number of laps set by the race commissaire. This could mean 12 km to 16 km over four laps.
Many riders will get lapped. These riders will do fewer kilometres during the same amount of time, but it’s the shortest time that wins — in other words, the quickest rider over the course.
Some riders are more than happy to get lapped because they know their race will be over soon!
Racing for your school
There is a very important points system that the kids accumulate for their school. It starts as high as 250 points for first place and goes all the way down to 67th place, where every rider who finishes after that earns one point for their school.
The girls do the best for their schools, in fact, because the fields are heavily reduced, with fewer than 50 riders in some cases. So, even if they are last and only do one lap, they can pick up way more points than the boy who rode his heart out, finished above average, but only came 67th from a field of 150.
I would encourage the girls to participate.
The gap in ability
The gap in abilities is vast.
You have riders who are dedicated to putting in the work, who may train every day, race other events and ride regularly with a parent or coach. Then you have others who may only get out once or twice a week, or who are simply there because they enjoy riding their bikes and want to experience racing.
This difference becomes apparent very quickly, and as the season progresses, the gap can become even more noticeable.
But that’s also what makes Schools Racing so interesting. Not every rider has the same goal. For some, it’s about racing at the sharp end, chasing podiums and earning points for their school.
For others, it’s about improving their skills, beating their own previous result, finishing a tough course or simply having the confidence to line up and give it a go.
Experience also plays a huge role. Riders who have spent more time on their bikes, raced regularly and developed their technical skills naturally have an advantage over those who are newer to the sport.
You can see this particularly on technical sections, where confidence, bike control and knowing how to read the trail can make a big difference.
Of course, having the right equipment helps, but Schools Racing is certainly not just an equipment race. You’ll see kids racing on everything from high-end carbon race bikes to well-used bikes that have been passed down from a parent or sibling.
What matters far more is the rider sitting on the bike.
The beauty of the sport is that there is room for everyone — from the kids chasing the win to those simply trying to improve, have fun and become better riders.
And that, for me, is what makes Schools Racing so special.
And finally, my bugbear: skills!
OMW… so many kids being taught the wrong stuff by well-meaning parents and coaches. So many kids not even grasping the simple fundamentals of how to control their MTB. So many kids not understanding gears.
It’s a tough watch for me.
But there are skills programmes for both Primary and High School riders in Gauteng. Please look out for them. I would encourage every rider to pass through these courses a few times a year and for a few years in a row.
I rode MTBs for 15 years and only learnt this stuff when I was taught to teach it at 50!
It transformed my riding.
I want the same for everyone.
So, how do you get involved?
So, if you’re reading this and you have keen riders in the family, or you are a keen rider yourself and want to get involved, start here.
The first misconception is that you have to wait for your school to agree and/or throw staff and resources at it.
You do not.
It would be nice, sure, but it shouldn’t stop your rider from participating at a school’s level. Maybe your school gets involved later because of your start.
Register your school
There is an affiliate fee for each school. Parents can pay this themselves or split it between a few parents.
Register here:
What does a rider need?
It is required that the rider wear some sort of school-branded top or kit.
Our Mtbschool Primary School kids compete in their schools’ athletics shirts. Many schools have branded gazebos, supporters’ shirts and specially designed riders’ jerseys.
Don’t feel intimidated. You can pitch up with your beige gazebo, mismatched camping chairs and no one bats an eyelid.
It’s a VIBE.
Your rider, however, will need a basic set of equipment:
- A trail-worthy bicycle – we recommend a geared bike with knobbly off-road tyres and working brakes.
- A helmet.
- A frame large enough to take a bottle and bottle cage.
- Alternatively, a hydration pack for the little kids who don’t yet have the dexterity to pull a water bottle from a bottle cage while bombing down a bumpy trail.
Let’s go racing!
So, what are you waiting for?
LET’S GO RACING!
Primary School entry
Primary School Series Entry Portal
High School series
Follow the racing
All the marketing for the lead-up and the events is done on social media, so start tracking these pages. Races will start in late April 2027 and end in September.
Gauteng Schools Cycling on Facebook
Cycle Lab MTB Series on Facebook
See you at the racing in 2027!
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