Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz to leave IMBA
Some fairly big news coming out of the trail advocacy world today. Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC) has announced it will be ending its status as a chapter of the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) at the end of October, and will revert back to being an independent non-profit organization. Here’s the full statement, which was originally published at mbosc.org.
Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz is very grateful for IMBA’s support over the previous years, but MBOSC has now grown to a point where the chapter model is not a great fit for our trajectory towards building the strongest possible local trail stewardship organization. As IMBA has restructured over the previous years, we have seen the focus move away from supporting local groups.
Controlling our own membership will allow Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz to keep all member contributions here locally and working towards improving mountain bike access rather than splitting contributions with IMBA. It will allow for a more focused line of communication to our members as all communications will be directly related to the happenings here in the Santa Cruz Area.
We look forward to working with other IMBA chapters and IMBA national on joint initiatives to further mountain biking at the state, national, and international level as opportunities arise.
New Membership Program
MBOSC will be launching a brand new membership program in early November. We can’t wait to tell you more about this program, and we’re certain you’ll want to get involved. We’ve structured the program so that it will be accessible for everybody, and we guarantee that 100% of your membership dues will stay right here in Santa Cruz County. As you know, MBOSC is focused on expanding trail access in Santa Cruz County for all trail users, and your membership will help us build new trails for you to enjoy.
What if I just joined IMBA or am a MBOSC/IMBA member?
All current IMBA members who have selected MBOSC as their primary chapter affiliation will be automatically enrolled in MBOSC’s new membership program.
Should I renew my IMBA membership if it is currently expired?
If your membership is expired, it would be most efficient for you to ignore any current membership solicitations from IMBA, and then create a new membership with MBOSC when we launch our program in early November.
What if I want to join?
Our new program will launch in early November. Please stay tuned to mbosc.org to learn more.
The post Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz to leave IMBA appeared first on Mountain Bike Review.