“Reframing Mountain Biking”

Val di Sole / June 1st -4th 2022

 

The 10th edition of the IMBA Europe Summit attracted a wide range of attendees and guest speakers from around World, all with one common goal and vision- to secure a bright future for mountain biking.  Through keynote presentations, panel discussions and breakout sessions, we reflected on the past, the present and the future of mountain biking.

IMBA Summits are a place where all key stakeholders in the mountain biking sector can gather to learn from one another, have open and honest conversations, form new relationships, and build networks. Our mission was to provide a platform to exchange new ideas, create conversation and lead thought-provoking discussions.

The central theme of the Summit, ‘Reframing Mountain Biking”, highlighted the trends and challenges of a sport that has expanded from something niche, into a sport that can be, and should be accessible for a wider audience. The topics of the Summit challenged attendees to rethink sustainability not only in terms of how we are building trails, but rather the broader sustainability issues associated with outdoor sports. Within reframing mountain biking, we need to reframe our identity as mountain bikers, and find solutions to make the sport more accessible and inclusive to a wider audience.

What is the IMBA Europe Summit?

 

The IMBA European Mountain Bike Summits have been held annually since 2014. Initially, to bring IMBA Europe’s widespread collective of member organisations together to share good practices, start new projects and discuss trends and challenges in mountain biking. Over the course of years, the IMBA Summits have attracted an increasingly diverse range of participants and organisations. From mountain bike advocacy groups, trail builders and professionals in the bicycle and tourism industry, to land managers, academics, public authorities, and health care practitioners.  More and more professionals are working in the emerging domain of mountain biking and the need to learn from each other, exchange knowledge, to get inspired and build partnerships has only increased.

The European Mountain Bike Summit is a two-to-three-day event, combining keynote speeches from opinion leaders with workshops, site visits, project meetings, panel debates and social activities, including daily (group) rides.

Reflections from the 2022 Summit