IMBA and Partners Announce 2008 World Summit in Park City

For Immediate Release
08-29-07
Contact: Mark Eller, IMBA Communications Director
markeller@imba.com
303-545-9011

Mountain biking enthusiasts from around the globe will gather in Park City, Utah, June 18-21 for the 2008 IMBA World Summit. IMBA Summits bring mountain biking advocates, land managers, ski resort professionals, trailbuilders, tourism officials and the bike industry together for collaboration, planning and celebration.

Park City has a Great Trails Story

"We could not be more excited about the location of our 2008 gathering," says IMBA executive director Mike Van Abel. "Park City is a model trails community and IMBA's host club, the Mountain Trails Foundation, is also a model of shared-use leadership, with non-motorized groups coming together to create amazing trails and maybe more important, a tight-knit trails community."

"Park City was losing its trails to rapid development. In the course of a couple of years, we went from trails being an after-thought in the planning process to where trails are given equal weight with streets and utilities in new development," said Mountain Trails Foundation founder and IMBA Board Member Tom Clyde. "Practically all of the trail system is on private land, and now there is almost a competition among the development community to see who can build the best trails. This is because an active trails community got behind the cause."

The 2008 IMBA Summit will be open to the public, and will feature advocacy seminars, trailbuilding workshops, networking, great food, parties, celebrity guest speakers and some big surprises. Topics will include the economic power of trails, sustainable trailbuilding, liability and risk management, urban trail networks, building club capacity and much more.

IMBA's most recent Summit attracted more than 400 delegates from 17 nations for three days of seminars and discussions in Whistler, BC. A compendium of online resources can be found at IMBA's website.

Partners Shaping the Agenda

Many national and international partners are coming together to shape the 2008 Summit. To name a few, Trips for Kids will convene their chapter meeting at the summit with the goal of inspiring more of IMBA's 750 worldwide clubs to create youth mountain bike programs. The Bureau of Land Management is bringing key planners, and the League of American Bicyclists will provide guidance on how mountain biking can be incorporated into their successful Bicycle Friendly Communities Program. Pre-conference trailbuilding workshops are also planned in conjunction with national and international trail partners.

2008 Summit Partners Include:

• American Trails
• BC Ministry of Tourism, Sports, & Arts
• Bikes Belong
• Capilano College
• Federal Highway Administration - Recreational Trails Program
• League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly Community Program
• National Park Service
• National Park Service, Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program
• National Recreation and Parks Association
• National Trails Training Partnership
• Parks Canada
• Professional Trailbuilders Association
• Trips for Kids
• U.S. Bureau of Land Management
• U.S. Forest Service

2008 IMBA Summit Preliminary Schedule

• June 18: Mobile Workshops (day) and Opening Ceremonies (evening).
• June 19-20: Seminars, networking and great afternoon riding and evening parties.
• June 21: IMBA Epic Ride - Mid Mountain Trail and Park City Community Party

"Park City Utah is delighted to be selected as the host community for the 2008 IMBA World Summit," said Mountain Trails Foundation Executive Director Carol Potter. "Park City has a rich history of incorporating trails into community planning with more than 260 miles of trails mostly on private land. This Summit promises to be a totally unique mountain bike conference in a world-class, Olympic resort town with a highly energetic mountain bike community of locals and visitors."

Join Agenda Advisory Committees

Speakers, seminar topics and sponsorship opportunities for the 2008 IMBA Summit are in development. IMBA's partners are creating the agenda now through several steering committees to capture the most important issues and secure the best speakers on all things mountain biking. For information about seminars and speakers, write Patti Bonnet patti@imba.com. Sponsorship inquires should be directed to Rich Cook. Or call IMBA's offices in Boulder, Colorado, at 303-545-9011.

Watch for more exciting annoucements to come on speakers, events and new partners. For now, save the date and plan to attend the largest international gathering in IMBA's history.