IMBA’s sixth biennial World Summit ran from Oct. 10-13, 2012, in Santa Fe, NM. The international mountain bike advocacy and educational gathering opened at full capacity, with 350 delegates registered for the three-day program, plus close to 100 additional attendees signed up for pre-conference sessions.
Representatives from several nations traveled to Santa Fe, including Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Israel, Singapore, Spain and Switzerland. Canada was particularly well-represented, with over 17 delegates in attendance, and 8 members of IMBA’s Canadian staff. It was our most successful international gathering ever!
After a day of informative pre-conference sessions, such as Trail Solutions’ Bike Park Workshop, IMBA kicked off the summit on Wednesday evening by celebrating IMBA’s 25th birthday with founding leaders Jim Hasenauer, Michael Kelley, and Ashley Korenblat.
Day two of the Summit offered delegates a variety of break out sessions, such as developing urban trail opportunities, opportunities for mountain bike tourism, and Singletrack for Social Change. IMBA U.S. also made announcements about the 2012 Model Trails program, and as well as a new partnership with the International Mountain Bike Instructor Certification (IMIC). The evening’s events included an informational poster session and a community mountain bike art show featuring New Belgium bikes, paintings and photographs from IMBA members, and several pieces from the SRAM pART project.
Friday opened with an announcement from Bruno Maier of Bikes Belong that his organization is committed to increasing funding to IMBA U.S. by 50 percent in 2013. Additional speakers included IMBA Honorary Board member Hans Rey and REI Regional Vice President Rachel Litenburg. That evening, delegates were treated to the Santa Fe premier of “Where the Trail Ends.”
Saturday featured 150 people rolling out for an epic shuttle ride of the Winsor Trail, which began over 10,000 feet in the snow and finished with a closing BBQ at the Santa Fe Convention Center, host to the week’s events.
The Summit would not have been possible without the tireless volunteer efforts of the local IMBA chapter, the Santa Fe Fat Tire Society.