n
W
RACING AHEAD YOUTH MTB TEAMS GIvE BACK TO TRAILS
hen the Southern California High School Mountain Bike League (SoCal) was founded in 2008, its mission statement included the following: “Foster a responsible attitude toward the use of trails and wilderness.” Accordingly, founder and executive director, Matt Gunnell is launching a new initiative that could have a big impact on the future of trail advocacy. In the spring of 2012, Gunnell organized an official trail work day for the SoCal league, run by the Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association (CORBA), an IMBA Chapter based in Los Angeles. Sixty-five student bike racers from five area high school mountain bike teams volunteered that day in the Angeles National Forest. The event led to a discussion between Gunnell and CORBA about how trail stewardship and etiquette could be incorporated in the SoCal league’s culture. “I realized that most of the kids and coaches coming into high school mountain bike racing often have little to no background in cycling,” said Gunnell. “We want to teach them that trail work is just something you do. We don’t want it to be special. We want it to be as regular as their training.” Gunnell envisions NICA leagues and individual high school teams creating partnerships with their nearby IMBA Chapters and other established trail advocacy groups. To him, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel when successful organizations possessing tools, trail building expertise and relationships with land managers already exist. “The SoCal league is not a trail advocacy program,” he stressed. “It is a youth sports and development program. Think high school football team.” Gunnell emphasized the simplicity of the idea. Engaging with advocacy groups means a volunteer coach doesn’t need to become a trail expert — but Gunnell does want his athletes to view trail projects as part of the regular training cycle. All a coach has to do is stay in touch with the local IMBA Chapter or other trail organization to know when volunteer work days are, then show up with the team, ready to go to work. “Imagine going to a football coach and telling them that before their team can practice, the kids need to seed, mow and stripe the field,” said Gunnell. “That may make
us laugh, but that’s what we are asking of these kids and coaches. The trails aren’t going to build and maintain themselves. If we don’t do it, we can’t ride.” IMBA Chapters, with their non-profit status, are in a unique position to sign off on volunteer service hours for the students, which are required by many U.S. high schools. The students can also gain a valuable appreciation for trail work, while the chapter gets a cadre of energetic, youthful volunteers who can eventually help grow the chapter’s ranks and step up as future leaders in the mountain bike community. The SoCal league has grown from 105 student athletes on 14 teams in the spring of 2009 to 322 student athletes on 26 teams in spring of 2012. Gunnell expects at least 400 student athletes on at least 30 teams with 80 coaches by the spring of 2013. If each one of the racers and coaches (and the occasional parent) did just one, four-hour work day in spring 2013, it could equal 2,500 volunteer hours contributed to Southern California trails in one year. As high school mountain biking grows across California and around the country, those numbers could add up to a dramatic impact. By the end of 2013, Gunnell hopes to have metrics for the impact his idea is having. Currently, the SoCal league website (www.socaldirt.org) lists 11 regional trail and mountain bike advocacy organizations from CORBA, an IMBA Chapter, to the Tehachapi Mountain Trails Foundation, a multi-user group. There is also a form for coaches to fill out following trail-work days that will provide insight into the volunteer hours and trail miles that the high school teams are contributing. “At least once a year, each team should make a group effort to pair up with a local organization and get a big job done,” said Gunnell. he doesn’t see his idea becoming a hard and But rule, nor does he envision volunteer trail work fast NICA a SoCal “The reality is that becoming league requirement. and I don’t want to scare all of the coaches are volunteers there’s much to do,” said Gunnell. them off because too “I’m so teams have fewer excuses. The trying to dumb it down is strong — we’re just adding to that culture.” NICA culture — Special thanks to NICA’s Matt Gunnell and CORBA’s Steve Messer for contributing their images to this story.
11