IMBA VP Monroe Elected To NORBA Board

IMBA Trail News
Volume 12, Number 5
December 1999

Hasenauer steps down, reflects on nine years as access rep

Mary Monroe, an IMBA vice president and long-time board member, was recently elected to the National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) Board of Trustees. She fills the Land Access spot on NORBA's board, which became available when another veteran IMBA board member, Jim Hasenauer, stepped down.

Monroe, the former Sports Marketing Director at Trek, is now out on her own consulting on a wide variety of sports marketing projects. She lives in central Wisconsin. Hasenauer, who became a NORBA trustee in '91, is a communication studies professor who also served on the USA Cycling Board of Directors from '97-'99. He lives outside Los Angeles.

NORBA serves as the national governing body of mountain bike racing. For the last four years NORBA has been an Above & Beyond corporate supporter of IMBA's work.

Following his final NORBA board meeting in late October, Hasenauer wrote the following letter to his fellow NORBA trustees:

Thanks to everyone at USA Cycling and NORBA who acknowledged my leaving the Boards. I felt very appreciated and that's a pretty rare benefit in a lot of groups. I'm proud of all we've accomplished together and wish you all the best in what remains to be done. I've learned a lot in my involvement with the Boards and value the many lessons I'll take to other arenas.

I had intended to say a few words at the NORBA meeting about land access, but since we were so crunched for time, I'll take this one last opportunity. I know that Mary Monroe will more than fill my shoes and she'll bring a fresh perspective and new talents to the organization.

When NORBA was founded in 1983 it had a strong land access component which was given up when it was sold to the ABA and then to USCF in the late 80's. IMBA was founded in 1988 to fill that void and to represent the interests of recreational mountain bikers with public land managers. I've always believed that racers have a special obligation to support land access. They benefit the most from having nearby places to ride, and the impacts of racers' frequent riding and training on public lands intensify the management problems for land managers. I joined the NORBA Board to rebuild the links between racing and land access needs.

Now, relations are great between IMBA and NORBA. It's a developing partnership. For several years, NORBA has had a voluntary contribution checkoff box on its application. Most of this money is distributed as "Trail Tune Up" grants to local clubs doing important land access work. For the past few years, NORBA has contributed $1 per NORBA license to IMBA to support the National Mountain Bike Patrol of which NORBA is the Founding Sponsor. I hope these programs continue for a long time.

Racers need to be role models for the sport. We've had great success with pros endorsing responsible riding and training and need to continue that. We talked at the meeting about communication training for pro teams and a strong responsible riding message should be part of that training.

We need to make sure that our events are environmentally responsible. That means having a schedule that considers regional weather conditions, good course design, contingency plans for muddy courses, effective crowd control and well managed events. The land should be restored to its original conditions or even better after an event.

There's too little mountain bike racing on TV and we want to make sure that "EXTREME" images don't prevail and distort an understanding of what mountain biking is about. A few years ago we passed a resolution discouraging promoters from creating special, extreme, made-for-tv obstacles. This is going to be a tough one as we try to amp up the excitement of events, but we need to remember that mountain biking is about riding in all kinds of natural terrain, not about stunts, especially if there's a perception of high risk and possibility of injury.

NORBA's got a great board and a great staff. There are a number of difficult issues on the horizon. Everyone is too busy‹over worked and over committed. I'd urge you all to communicate, to respect one another, to give each other some slack, to reach out and involve one another when things are in development. A strong board supporting an effective staff will make a difference in promoting NORBA and mountain bike racing.