VR Freestyle is a 24-month Erasmus+ Sport project building a virtual reality platform and a blended training programme for BMX Freestyle. The goal: better practice, safer progression, and a wider on-ramp for new riders across Europe.
VR Freestyle is a BMX-focused Erasmus+ Sport project. The name abbreviates Virtual Reality Freestyle — bridging physical BMX culture with digital and creative skill-building for riders around Europe and the world.
The aim is to raise the quality of work and practice in BMX Freestyle cycling by building a VR platform for strategic session planning, and a blended training programme combining virtual simulation with real-world riding.
Cooperation and experimentation with virtual and blended learning will benefit our target groups: sport-staff professionals, coaches, newcomers, amateurs and professionals — anyone with a bike and a question.
A concrete set of outcomes we expect to deliver to the European BMX community by the end of the funding period.
By producing shared methodology, coach training, and tooling — agreed across five partner countries — we lift the floor of what counts as good BMX coaching, especially for newcomers.
A virtual reality simulator with 3D-scanned versions of all five partner skate parks. Riders and coaches can walk lines, plan sessions, and rehearse tricks before stepping onto the bike.
A coach-facing curriculum combining VR sessions with physical training — covering everything from beginner balance work to riders chasing international competition rankings.
All project results — reports, methodology, the VR platform itself — are free to use for any organisation building a youth BMX programme. Built once, shared by the whole scene.
The project is designed to deliver value at every level of the BMX pipeline — from the first wobbly drop-in to a podium at a UCI World Cup.
Trainers, sport-staff professionals, and youth-work organisers who need shared methodology, a coach manual, and a way to plan sessions without first scheduling a park.
People discovering BMX. The platform lowers the cost-of-entry — psychologically and physically — by letting them rehearse moves and learn park etiquette in a virtual scene first.
Competitive riders training for international rankings. Detailed park scans, line analysis, and structured progression toward specific tricks and contest runs.
Four overlapping streams, each running across the 24 months. Riders, coaches and partners are involved at every step — not consulted at the end.
Survey the methods, drills and tricks most commonly taught in BMX Freestyle across the five partner countries. Compile the working document that becomes the IO1 Best Practice Report.
3D scan every partner-operated skate park. Reconstruct in the VR engine. Test in headsets with riders on-site and remote. Iterate on physics, controls, and what "feels right" against the real-world ride.
Run coach workshops and pilot training sessions across all five partner countries. Collect feedback from coaches, beginners and competing athletes. Refine the curriculum and the platform in parallel.
Publish all outputs under open licences. Hand off the methodology to any organisation that wants to run a youth BMX programme — with or without VR. Keep the platform online beyond the funding period.
The project runs in four phases. Mobility events, workshops and platform releases punctuate each one.
Consortium meeting in Osijek. Project plan locked, IO scopes agreed, communication tooling stood up.
Park scans complete. VR platform alpha tested by partner riders. Best Practice Report (IO1) published.
Coach workshops in all five countries. Curriculum (IO3) tested in real training sessions. Beta release of the platform (IO2).
Public launch of platform and curriculum. Final reports, dissemination events, and handover to the broader BMX community.
VR Freestyle is supported under the Erasmus+ Sport programme — the EU's funding stream for grassroots sport, cooperation across borders, and innovation in coaching, training and inclusion.
The project budget covers all five partner organisations across 24 months: research, park scanning, platform development, coach workshops, mobility, and dissemination.
Project ref · TBD
Action type · Cooperation partnership in sport (small-scale)
Coordinator · Udruga Pannonian, HR