Our Team
We have an awesome team of very skilled riders coaching the Krankin' Kids each term. Our coaches all have one thing in common - they’re extremely passionate about mountain biking! A varied bunch, they have many different skills and experiences between them. Have a read and get to know more about them here…
Emma Bawtree
Krankin’Kids Manager and Senior Coach
Emma is passionate about riding her bike, and has been riding mountain bikes for over 20 years! Emma has a strong background of racing, six of those years racing on the National Mountain Bike Circuit. Emma started Krankin’ Kids 3 years ago after recognising a demand for junior mountain bike coaching. Emma loves the fact that the programme has been met with such enthusiasm from so many junior riders, and is looking forward to many more terms of fun and good times on two wheels!
Qualifications:
NZOIA MTB Level 1 & 2 and an NZOIA Assessor
PMBIA Level 1
PHEC
Sierra Stretton
Operations Manager - Coach
Sierra loves spending time on her bike, but enabling young people to ride bikes and share the stoke is even better. Sierra comes from an outdoor instructional background teaching young people to kayak, rock climb, tramp and cave but she is new to the area so you will find her out trying to tick off all the trails in the area with varying level of success.
Qualifications:
NZOIA MTB, Rock, Sea kayak, Bush level 1
PHEC
Diploma in Outdoor Leadership
Alice Baker
Senior Coach and the Krankin’ Kids social media guru. Say hello to Alice over on Instagram 😀
Alice is motivated by seeing the incredible progression of riders in the course. Alice loves to ride all over Nelson, and tries to challenge herself on a regular basis. The overall growth of mountain biking in Nelson is something Alice feels passionate about, and wants to encourage as much as possible, but especially for female and younger riders. Alice usually coaches on a Tuesday or Wednesday night in Nelson and Monday in Kaiteriteri.
Qualifications:
PMBIA Level 1
PHEC
Marty Clark
Senior Coach / Safety Management - Nelson
Marty is a big hit with all of the Krankin’ Kids! One of our most inspirational coaches, we are stoked to have Marty on the team - he's awesome! Marty coaches our Richmond riders and often part of our Krankin' Kamp coaches.
Tay Whitmee
Senior Coach / Senior Training Coach - Nelson
Tay is the life of the party every Tuesday and Wednesday at the Nelson sessions! His enthusiasm for mountain biking is infectious and he's that coach that everyone wants to ride with! Tay has coached for Krankin’ Kids from the very beginning, and absolutely loves helping riders realise their potential. Is it true that you just become a better rider when you ride with Tay? Come join us and find out!!
Damian Stones
Senior Coach - Nelson
Mountain bike adventurer and bike skills coach, Damian has been involved in mountain biking for 20 years and is a brand ambassador for a number of different companies including Santa Cruz Bicycles NZ, Shimano NZ, Ground Effect clothing, and Yakima Bike Racks. Notable missions include the Waiau Toa Odyssey - biking and pack rafting from Lake Rotoiti to Kekerengu.
Qualifications:
NZOIA MTB Level 1
PMBIA Level 1
New Zealand Certificate in Outdoor Leadership
PHEC
Brenda Clapp
Senior Coach - Nelson
Brenda (AKA Bob!) started cross country racing 20+ years ago racing nationally and internationally. Nowadays, any racing is done on her Juliana trail bike or Santa Cruz single speed. Bob is also addicted to bike packing – mostly because of the exploring and being able to eat as much food as she wants! Bob is found coaching the Richmond riders and loves it when she sees the riders find their flow on the Omega trail in Silvan Forest.
Gary Due
Senior Coach - Nelson
Bike mechanic by trade, Gazz spends his days surrounded by what he loves - Bikes! You will find Gazz coaching our Richmond groups.
Tristan Gornall
Senior Coach - Nelson
Tristan is one of our riders who was a Krankin’ Kid on the very first session and has since progressed through the programme enjoying it so much he trained and is now a coach himself! He, like so many of our coaches lives on his bike, loves racing enduro and is a cycle courier. You will find Tristan coaching in Nelson, with a smile on his face at all times - because bikes are RAD!
Tommy Winnington
Senior Coach - Nelson
Tommy is a school teacher by day, mountain bike shredder at all other times! Tommy's passion and enthusiasm shines through in his coaching as he genuinely loves seeing the riders progress and loves helping them learn new skills to be able to enjoy the sport we love. Tommy coaches our Nelson and Richmond groups.
Neil Sinclair
Senior Coach - Blenheim
Neil has been riding mountain bikes for the last 3 years but it wasn’t until his daughter Maddy showed a real love of the sport that he became seriously involved and addicted. Neil is very passionate about helping, encouraging and teaching others - specifically girls - mountain bike skills. “I see how hard it can be for them at times when they want MTB to be their sport. Having a group of friends to ride with in weekends, school events and maybe even race club events can make a world of difference.”
Neil’s top 3 trails: Una Moss, Southpark & Blue Velvet in Whistler.
Qualifications:
PMBIA Level 1
Fred de Zwart
Senior Coach - Blenheim
Fred has been riding mountain bikes since before they existed!! He started mountain biking at high school and raced through university. He landed a job as a bike mechanic before spending 6 months cycle touring around Europe. Scotland was also blessed with this bike mechanic before he returned to NZ.
Now, with a family full of keen riders, he loves exploring all the amazing trails we’ve got in this part of the world.
Rebecca Hufflett
Junior Coach - Nelson
Rebecca is a promising up and coming rider in the Nelson Region. Currently holding National Championship titles for U15 Womens Downhill and Cross Country. She is also the U15 Oceania Cross Country champion. Rebecca was one of our first female riders in the Krankin’ Kids programme when we first started and it has been amazing to see her progression and now have her coaching for us as well! Rebecca is a very competent rider who can often be seen shredding the hardest trails in the Nelson region.
Liam Ryder
Senior Coach - Nelson
Liam is a local Kaiteriteri mountain biker and is one of our riders who has come through the Kaiteriteri Krankin’ Kids programmes from the start. He enjoyed the programme so much he trained and is now one of our Senior Coaches.
Liam has honed his mountain bike skills having recently attended Summer Gravity Camp in Whistler, Canada. He's looking forward to passing on his knowledge and enthusiasm. Most weekends you'll find Liam slugging his way uphill as he prefer's the downhill sections and the massive jumps best!
Ethan Wareing
Junior Coach - Nelson
Ethan is one of the young rippers who has progressed through the Krankin’ Kids programme, and is now training towards becoming an assistant coach himself. He attends the programme as a participant one evening, and helps out as an assistant coach on the other - what a legend! Thanks Ethan. We love your assistance and enthusiasm for the programme, and for mountain biking!
Jack McAlpine
Junior Coach - Nelson
Jack has been with Krankin’ Kids since the beginning. Any spare time he has you will find him on his bike ripping up the trails. Jack has a real love of downhill racing and loves sharing his knowledge and tricks with younger riders. It is great to have Jack join the coaching team, sharing what he has learnt and continues to learn.
Barney Read
Junior Coach - Nelson
Barney loves riding his bike “purely for the fun of it and is a great social activity to do with his mates.” His heart is on the Nelson trails, especially those trails that take him out there into the high country. Barney enjoys coaching the Krankin’ Kids programme not only because he has a lot of fun with the kids but because he enjoys passing on the skills he has learnt. “It’s great to see the progression through the terms. I love seeing the smiles on the kids faces as they tell their parents what they’ve learnt to do.” No doubt the parents’ responses are equally entertaining. 😁
Liv Lambert
Senior Coach - Nelson
Liv loves to race and ride her bike as much as she can. Always keen for a good backcountry adventure though her real passion is enduro and downhill style riding. Liv enjoys helping the kids throughout the programme and seeing their improvements is her favourite part about coaching.
Matt Galletly
Junior Coach - Nelson
Matt was a Krankin’ Kid from an early age and loved the programme so much he started volunteering and training to be a coach. Matt loves to spend his time riding the trails in Nelson and Richmond, alongside competing in downhill and enduro races. Whilst coaching, Matt gets a kick out of seeing the kids gaining confidence as they learn new skills.
Leah Bensemann
Senior Coach - Nelson
Leah started in the Krankin’ Kids programme and loved it so much she started training to become a coach. Leah considers herself lucky to have the opportunity to coach others and she really enjoys seeing how happy the kids get when they accomplish new things.
Owen Bradley
Trainee Coach - Blenheim
Owen loves to get out on his bike as much as possible, on the local trails in Blenheim and beyond. Owen loves to race downhill and enduro! After initially attending Krankin’ Kids, Owen soon realised he’d like to help others so is currently training to become a coach as he enjoys sharing his skills and knowledge with those around him.
Jack Wilkes
Trainee Coach - Blenheim
Jack has been riding bikes his whole life and has enjoyed every minute of it! From hanging out with his mates and having a laugh, to racing at National Level. He loves it all. After doing a few Krankin’ Kids courses, Jack also now gets a buzz from teaching others and passing on his skills to the younger generation so is training to become a coach. Good for you Jack!
Lachlan McNabb
Trainee Coach - Blenheim
Lachlan loves to ride and race on the trails in Blenheim and beyond. After initially attending Krankin’ Kids, Lachlan soon realized he would like to teach others so is currently training to become a coach. When coaching Lachlan loves seeing kids getting excited over their progression and his favourite part of coaching is seeing kids love the sport as much as he does.
