West Virginia, British Columbia Top 2004 IMBA Report Card
Click Here to View 2004 IMBA Report Card Results
For Immediate Release
12-13-04
Contact: Dan Vardamis, IMBA advocacy manager
303-545-9011
For the first time, a state east of the Mississippi River has taken top-honors in the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) Report Card.
West Virginia received the highest grade in the 2004 edition of IMBA's annual survey of mountain biking. The Mountain State has everything a mountain biker could want: endless miles of backcountry singletrack, stunning Appalachian Mountain scenery and a community of avid riders. The West Virginia Mountain Biking Association has emerged as one of the top mountain bike advocacy groups in the nation, balancing trailwork, advocacy, riding and racing to appeal to a broad spectrum of cyclists. But what really sets West Virginia apart is the support of government agencies like the state tourism department and governor's office.
Internationally, British Columbia retained its position from last year as the ultimate global mountain biking location. Whistler ski area's freeride park is the benchmark for lift-accessed mountain biking. B.C. advocates are taking a lead role on improving access by hosting the World Mountain Bike Conference in Vancouver this summer. Finally, B.C. clubs do more than anyone to ensure the future of our sport by getting kids - sometimes by the thousands - on mountain bikes.
New Jersey received the lowest grade this year because of crowded trails, strong, anti-mountain biking opponents and trail-user conflicts. Scotland received the People's Choice award, determined by the highest grades in an online poll of IMBA members. Indiana, which got the lowest grade last year, bumped up a full letter grade in 2004 to notch the Most Improved award.
The IMBA Report Card is a tool to let IMBA members and mountain bikers know where we're doing well and where energy needs to be focused. This is the sixth edition of the IMBA Report Card.
"A clear trend, overall, is that mountain bike access is improving," said IMBA executive director Mike Van Abel. "Advocates are more sophisticated and land managers are more open to the sport. Places that received low Report Card grades in the past have successfully used those grades as motivation and leverage for improved trail access."
