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Happy Easter guys, and celebrations on reaching the 2026 “Summer” riding season!
Everyone at the ATBA hopes you’ve had an awesome Winter season, maybe you’ve been planning some boarding adventures and heading out for quality shreds?
The meets at Cleeve Hill and Randwick Woods over Winter certainly lifted rider’s spirits and kept us happy!
As we start the season off, we thought a recap of some epic moments of 2025 would be rather nice, aswell as thinking about what’s to come in 2026, as we take on yet another year of pushing our mountainboarding even further.
2025 IN RETROSPECT
Looking back at 2025, it will be a hard year to beat – it was a year full of eager progression, epic rides, mega competitions, and unforgettable moments for the mountainboard community, both here and abroad.
Switchback at Bugsboarding was a highlight of the riding calendar for many, with people coming from all over Europe and the Americas to enjoy the challenge.
Before the event, Bugsboarding the host undertook some serious earthworks at various points of their extensive tracks and features to bring new challenges to contenders.
Competitors and spectators showed up in droves, with the tactical earthworks making the event even more exciting for them all.
The ATBoarders Quick Pickle Jam on the Friday night sent riders and pickles all over the place in the quarter pipe, where riders got creative and threw down their best tricks, each showboating with intent to become the crowd favourite, and therefore crowned winner.
The pros may have wowed the crowd backflipping in the quarter pipe, but it was Gwen Martlew, age 6, who became crowd favourite, tackling the towering QP well up to her tiny head height! Big things are sure to come from this little lady!
For the formal competition, as per usual, there were Boardercross, Freestyle and Downhill competitions spread over two days, and 5 categories for riders to compete in. The competition was tough, and with Matt Brind taking a more focused role on the organisation and commentary of the event this year, it was all to ride hard for!
By the Sunday, Margaux Rolland from France took top spot overall for the Ladies category, Zac Ogden was first for the Juniors, Dave Compton took overall in the Masters, Connor Smout took the lead in the Open category, and James Wanklyn took top crown for the Pros, far ahead of the pack by a staggering 54 points!
Switchback 2025 also saw a massive amount of sponsors who helped support the event and pack our winners off with bags of goodies and memories to cherish!
ATB Shop, Camera Innovations, Bugsboarding Mountainboard and Bike Park, Trampa Boards, REKD, Jimmy’s Iced Coffee, MBS Mountainboards, KROM Kendama, Tracktor Mountainboard Company, GoPro, UK Mountainboarding, numerous volunteers, and of course the ATBA-UK commitee members, all got involved to hype the event and support the crew.
Big thanks goes to anyone who gave prizes, services, support, and any free time to make the event the success it was, with special thanks going to Tim Jones and his professional media team, who gave us Olympic standard coverage we can all re-watch for years to come, go check out the live videos of the event here!
Big thanks also goes to everyone who took part, young and old, from near and far, who helped make it an incredible year to remember!
A CELEBRATION OF LIFE
Switchback 2025 also became a heartfelt tribute to lives well-lived – a shared salute to those still with us and those who have passed.
Following the Boardercross races on the Saturday, we all witnessed the “Last Rides” of the legendary mountainboarder and all-round good guy Mark Peck.
According to close friend and legendary rider himself Steve Birkbeck “He was the most gentle of men, but an absolute beast on the track. He was the first Master (over 30) to land a backflip in a competition. He was much loved and will be missed by many. He was f*cking awesome.”
Sadly, Mark was taken from family and friends unexpectedly just before the event. In his honour, his ashes were brought to Bugsboarding to experience a final descent down the centre’s legendary boardercross track.
After a few warm-up laps holstered in the belts of fellow boarders, each ride getting progressively more extreme in tribute to his legendary spirit, Mark’s final run was a moving tribute: a thunderous procession of riders raced full pelt from the start gates to lead the way, while the final rider carefully scattered his ashes along the course.
Leaving not a dry eye on the hill, it was a deeply moving way to ensure Mark’s body and soul has a permanent place to be remembered by everyone who knew and loved him.
Photo: Mark Peck practicing at Haredown in 2008
In contrast, following the day’s emotional tributes, come evening the tone transitioned into a vibrant display of community spirit, as everyone came together to celebrate the 60th birthday of the aforementioned mountainboard legend, Mr Steve Birkbeck!
With music, dancing, games, and laughter filling the air, the revelry provided a fitting end to a day of intense emotion. It served as a powerful reminder that life is meant to be lived with shared joy and plenty of love!
While these two ceremonies occupied opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, both revealed that the heart of the mountainboard community continues to shine brightly, and that is exactly what makes it so special!
ADVENTURES AFOOT
2025 saw many new faces join the ranks, all being welcomed to the scene with open arms, with riders both new and old pushing boundaries both at Bugsboarding and out in the hills.
Dedicated champs boosted the stoke by organising events, competitions and adventures, all pulling the Mountainboard community together for a right old time.
The Girls Mountainboarding crew organised two Girl Camps at Bugsboarding which pulled the females of the riding community together in a fun environment to skill up en masse, with girls from as young as 2 and up into their 50s taking part!
LA Mountainboard Park also took up the challenge holding their first ever Girl Camp in France, with a host of UK girls and crew going over to experience the first female-oriented mountainboard event on the continent!
With excellent coaching, fun, games, and a supportive atmosphere within LA’s beautiful forest setting, everyone had an experience to remember by skilling up, making new friends and many lasting memories.
You can find a brilliant video of the event here:
Another adventure to go down in Mountainboard history was the epic pilgrimage to the USA organised by Dan Watson of The Dirt Podcast.
Under the guide of MBS Mountainboards and other long standing riders on the Stateside scene, the crew hit parks and freeride spots that the MBS founders have been smashing since the early days of mountainboarding.
One chapter of the journey to note were the efforts of riders Renny Myles, Matt Brind, and Beiran Martlew. The trio took on the steep and dusty slopes of “Little Alaska” – that gnarly cragged land of mountainboard lore had its story continued, pushed on by the sheer grit and determination of these three legendary boarders.
Inspiring footage of their challenge can be found in the video below:
ALL ABOUT THE PROS
We should probably mention here that not one, but two British riders received long-deserved Pro Sponsorships from two of the world’s best mountainboard companies.
Ash Mulholland, aerial acrobat and time-served rider of ATBoarders fame has been given a Pro Sponsorship by Trampa Boards, and Matt Brind, the heavy sending, 15 times World Champion has finally been snapped up by MBS Mountainboards!
What they both get up to this coming year is sure to be epic, so keep an eye out on their socials for the evidence, or catch them going hard on the big features in any freestyle competition.
TECHING UP
Gearwise, the tech lovers among us all certainly got a treat in 2025.
Fisrtly, we discovered what that mystery blacked-out prototype was, the one found floating round on the feet of certain Trampa riders all year.
As of Autumn 2025, Trampa Boards revealed to the world a new mountainboard release – the LTD.
Their highly decorated Pro Rider James Wanklyn, the freshly selected Ash Mulholland, and long time served Sonnie Dibben all share the deck as a triple threat Pro Model.
The deck is an inaugural venture for Trampa, as a step away from the usual bombproof Twintex boards, and into the world of carefully selected ply. A board form many manufacturers favour these days.
Go check out their new website at www.trampa.co.uk
Secondly, by the end of the year we learned that Kheo Boards has been resurrected over the water in France by none other than Maël Baudoin – freeride legend, and co-conspirator at LA Mountainboard Park.
Kheo is a blast from the past that will be sure to make positive moves in the years to come.
Check out their offerings at www.kheo-boards.com/en/
NON-STOP BOARDING
For those of you who are obsessive over the sport, as of 2025, you can now spend even more time boarding from the comfort of your own home, as Mountainboarding has gone even further into the gaming world.
After featuring in the 2024 Ubisoft release of Riders Republic, in July of 2025 the eagerly anticipated Descenders Next was released by No More Robots on various platforms.
Getting stuck into the game, you can find mountainboards starring alongside snowboarding in a colourful world of gnarly courses with questionable laws of physics. With players busting tricks on all manner of features, flying sky high and risking it all for pixelated glory, all without receiving a smidge of dirt rash.
The game seems to have elevated the sport worldwide, as many a comment on Mountainboarding videos last year was honed down to two simple words “Descenders Next!!!”.
This may well soon change to be “Sam Pilgrim!!!”.
After trying Mountainboarding at Bugsboarding n 2025, Sam Pilgrim decided that buying a mountainboard would make for some good fun. He’s taken it from skateparks to forests, and soon realised it would make his back garden freestyle setup useable again following a dispute with his neighbours and local council. This made for some epic sends in no time at all!
Now Sam Pilgrim does what we all do – he heads to forests, bike parks, freeride spots, and even back to Bugsboarding for adventures armed with his trusty mountainboard!
If you go subscribe to Sam’s second YouTube channel @sampilgrimlifestyle you’ll be fed videos of mountainboarding under the feet of a World Freeride Mountain Bike Tour champion! Which is something we never could have predicted to find from the comfort of our own home, however something that is ridiculously rad, and a welcome addition to any mountainboard addict’s life.
So looking at all of that in brief, 2025 was definitely a year to remember. Can we improve on all that?!
2026 – WHAT YOU GOT?!
Well, as the Summer season starts, Bugsboarding is currently vibing after their opening weekend of 28th-29th March. Riders young and old have cut the proverbial tape at the centre and started the year with a blast, which is great news, as there’s plenty of events to hone your skills for.
Please see the list below for competitions and events across the globe currently filling up the riding calendar:
- Girl Camp, Bugsboarding, UK – May 2nd-4th
- Trampa Challenge, Bugsboarding, UK – May 15th-17th
- World Championships, Sabie, Mpumalanga, South Africa – June 18th-20th
- French Freestyle and Boardercross Championships, HXC MTB Park, France – July 3rd-5th
- Dirty 30, Cedar Ledge, Pennsylvania, USA – July 11th-12th
- Switchback UK Championships, Bugsboarding, UK – August 1st-2nd
- French Downhill and Slalom Championships, Super-Besse, France – August 21st-23rd
There are also many ATBoarders “meats” in the pipeline – dates tbc, keep an eye on their socials for updates.
Whatever events you’re going to, there’s definitely something to keep on top of your training schedule for!
As there will be challenges for everyone ahead, no matter what your riding level – whether it’s battling the elements, mastering new tricks, or simply keeping yourself strong, fit and healthy to progress better in the sport, just remember when pushing yourself down those hills and over features to achieve your goals, the challenge and effort is worth it.
One Supermum on the hill recently orated a phrase by Erin Hanson in response to a rider’s fears, and it’s one to remember:
“There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask ‘What if I fall?’. Oh but my darling, What if you fly?”
Hopefully you’re excited to tackle everything this year head-on, pushing any fears aside to become the rider you wish to become.
SHARING IS CARING
As you know, the ATBA is about furthering mountainboarding, but you can get involved too.
The scene are always hyped seeing boarders of any ability pushing themselves, but has it even happened if its not been captured?!
Aswell as being a good training aid to tweak your riding, sharing your photos and videos online is an awesome way to keep everyone fired up. So we hope you have a great year capturing your adventures.
If you’re willing to share to a wider audience, add #atbauk and tag @atbauk when you share your achievements or mountainboarding know-how online.
Just remember – to be featured in any ATBA posts, riding with a helmet and wrist guards minimum is a must to get featured, so please be safe out there, and wear it for The Gram!
GET INVOLVED
If you’re keen to help mountainboarding grow even more, here’s some ideas for the year ahead:
More Riders, More Fun!
Who doesn’t like mountainboarding when they have a go, persevere and level-up? If you think folk you know could be suited to the sport, try encouraging them to have a go by inviting them along to events, be it your friends, family, and even curious onlookers!
Epic Events:
Yes there’s a great calendar of exciting events this year, from casual meet-ups and weekend camps, to competitons,
but there’s always room for more. If you’ve got a good idea or know a great location for a meet, a roadtrip, or a new competition, why not have a crack yourself at organising the next epic feature in our mountainboard calendar?
For bigger ideas, get in touch at atbauk@gmail.com to see if we can offer any support, or for more community based ideas like road trips and meets etc, you can always pitch your ideas in groups like The UK Mountainboard Scene and Mountainboarders Around the World on Facebook to get the wheels rolling.
Skill Progression:
Mountainboarders are insanely committed to pushing personal limits by learning new techniques, and key to much progression is folk sharing their knowledge with others. This is something most mountainboarders are willing to do, so please feel comfortable asking any capable rider for tips to aid your evolution.
For those who help out with tips and tricks, are you aware you can go one step further to become a certified Mountainboard Coach via the ATBA-UK?
Get in touch at atbauk@gmail.com for more information on further progressing your journey.
The heart of Mountainboarding is its people. So we hope that riders will continue the supportive and inclusive atmosphere that makes our sport so special.
If you’re up for helping out, have a go as we head into 2026!
So all that said, we can definitely say our hopes for the year are high, and fingers crossed yours are too.
The real magic will really happen when those hopes hit the dirt, as that’s where they turn into achievements.
If the opening weekend at Bugsboarding was any indication, 2026 is going to be smashed out of the park!
The calendar is packed, the gear is evolving, and the community has never been stronger.
2026 is yours for the taking guys – so film your efforts, celebrate the makes, and keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on four wheels! Build yourself a year filled with progression out on the hills and of course, down at Bugsboarding!
Ride safe, see you on the hill!
This blog is in tribute to Mark Peck. May he ride on in peace.
Picture of Mark Peck taken from his social media account, all other picture credits Iona Taberham
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