PUBLIC INCLUSIVENESS INITIATIVES

The first goal mentioned in SMBA’s Mission Statement is: “Encourage participation in recreational and competitive mountain biking to people of all ages and abilities. Our track record over the past 14 years since this was written shows that SMBA has extended this vision to apply to a much broader spectrum of our community. Today, SMBA strives to make its mountain bike facilities and programs open and accessible to everyone — regardless of age, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (LGBTQ2S+), ethnicity, cultural background, religion, language, under-represented communities and socio-economic conditions. You name it, there are virtually no restriction on participation. The only exceptions are where it is necessary to limit participation in order to fully achieve the goals of the program, as outlined below.

Cost-Free & Inclusive

The club encourages those who can afford it to take out a membership which helps fund our basic operations, provides the numbers needed to fill volunteer roles, and ensure a cross section of opinions in decision-making, however, our entire trail network and bike park are open to the public, free-of-charge. This makes mountain biking more accessible to those who might not be able to afford a membership. And while SMBA’s primary focus is mountain biking, users don’t even need a bike to enjoy our facilities as the club welcomes hikers, runners, dog walkers, naturalists, school groups and any other non-motorized user to use our trails, as long as they respect the directional signs (some trails are downhill only) to ensure the safety of everyone.

Accessible Facilities

Specifically, we have begun working to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in our community by making improvements to our mountain bike network that remove barriers to the outdoors for people who have traditionally been excluded from these opportunities which includes those with physical, visual or social-emotional disabilities; and people from low income families, ethnic groups, or immigrants who might not have learned to ride a bike as a child. To this end, we have built a number of “green” or beginner trails to accommodate those who have physical challenges; are just developing mountain biking skills; as well as for the active elderly; and toddlers on run bikes. 

These trails are closer to parking areas, have grades that are more gradual, corners with a larger turning radius, and surfaces that are smoother. We are also in the process of applying for grants to further enhance the accessibility of these green trails by reducing some grades and expanding turn radii in order to meet the aMTB mountain bike guidelines established by the Kootenay Adaptive Sport Association. This will make the trails more accessible to people with physical disabilities who use adaptive bikes including hand cycles, recumbent bikes, trikes and e-assist bikes.

In a similar manner, we are currently fundraising to redesign and rebuild our 10-year old Bike Park to improve accessibility. The new design will include a revamped “green” line which will be more accessible to those with new or emerging skills, physical or visual limitations by being smoother, with larger turn radii, and more gradual, consistent grades.

The fact that the Bike Park is located within town limits and is easily reached with a short bike ride from most neighbourhoods and schools is an important factor to consider in the reduction of barriers to participation in recreational activities by groups who have traditionally been excluded. As the US-based advocacy group Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance put it: 

“As an initial step, I think we must recognize that however successful our past trail projects have been, we have still mostly created spaces that require tremendous privilege to access. It’s time to move mountain biking out of the mountains and into our communities. It’s time to remove barriers to the outdoors and invest in equitable access and opportunity. If we want all mountain bikers to feel at home in this sport, we need to provide them with trails close to home.”

With more funding and a lot of volunteer work, SMBA hopes we will be able to further enhance both the Bike Park and our Bluff Recreation Area trail network to ensure more equitable access to the physical, social, and mental health benefits of outdoor recreation for a much broader cross section of our community.

Inclusive Programming

On the programming side, SMBA does not restrict participation in any way other than the two exceptions listed below:

Sprockids: Open only to able-bodied children from ages 6-12 to ensure groupings of similar development abilities. We have been exploring the possibility of adding a group(s) for children with physical challenges but the availability of coaches is already a constraint for this program and so it is proving difficult to implement.

Women’s Workshops & Clinics: Open only to women, non-binary, transgender, and anyone who identifies as a woman in order to provide a safe setting for learning new skills and groupings of similar physical abilities.