The DIRTT project (Developing Inter-european Resources Trail builder Training - DIRTT) aims to create guidelines for the planning, design, construction, maintenance and management of mountain bike trails and integrate them into the appropriate training structures for professionals and volunteers across Europe. The project was developed by the International Mountain Bicycling Association Europe (IMBA Europe) in collaboration with volunteer and professional trail builders and other stakeholders in the field. The partners involved include interest groups, sports associations, authorities, educational institutions, tourism stakeholders and private companies from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland and Switzerland.

As a specialist organization, the Swiss partner BikePlan AG is primarily responsible for developing the content of the educational framework. The content developed will also serve as a basis for IMBA Switzerland to sustainably promote trail building development in Switzerland. The three-year project is funded by the European Union's ERASMUS+ program with € 387,731 and is coordinated by Fagskolen Tinius Olsen, a Norwegian university for vocational education. "The DIRTT project is an important project for the mountain bike community, and we are very pleased that we can realize the project thanks to the support of the EU. We have recognized the need for certification for the trail building profession and the DIRTT project will allow us to build a solid foundation for future development in this area," says Thomas Larsen Schmidt, President of the Board of Directors of IMBA Europe. "By co-financing the DIRTT project, the EU is signaling the overarching relevance of mountain biking. Switzerland's participation in the DIRTT project is important and purposeful and contributes to the professionalization of mountain biking in our country," says Thomas Egger, President of IMBA Switzerland.