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WORCA to start Whistler youth team

Youth racing program, Halloween ride announced at AGM

The 1,000-member Whistler Off Road Cycling Association celebrated the end of the season, sort of, with their annual general meeting at the Spruce Grove Fieldhouse on Oct. 13.

Less than 50 people turned out to the meeting where the board was unanimously re-elected, with the exception of the treasurer who was stepping down after five years. Returning president Grant Lamont took this as a sign that members were happy with the direction of the organization.

"This was another great year," he said. "We’ve seen more growth in participation and programs, and we’re going to continue to expand to create an even more diverse riding experience for people in Whistler.

"We’re fortunate that we live in a rare town where the municipality is part of the solution and not a problem, and we’re going to continue working with the muni on developing the best riding in North America. It’s already happening."

Final participation numbers and financial figures were still being finalized at the time of the AGM. The year’s financial statements won’t be completed until the last of the 2005 trail contracts are completed at the end of October/early November.

At press time, WORCA had a healthy savings of close to $25,300, not including a last minute presentation of $1,000 from the organizers of the Comfortably Numb Trail Run. More than $10,000 of that will go towards completing trail contracts, and Lamont has plans for the rest.

"We are at the stage where we can start looking for matching funds for different projects, where we can double or triple our money by taking advantage of some of the grants out there," he said.

"Mountain biking is getting bigger and we need to start thinking bigger because you’d better believe they’re coming. Whistler is becoming the place to go."

Following the opening remarks, WORCA directors gave short presentations on their respective portfolios:

Trails

The WORCA trail maintenance schedule has been hectic with the biggest budget yet, according to director Boyd McTavish.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler awarded WORCA a $24,000 Community Enrichment Grant at the start of the season. "We usually get $6,000, or $8,000 or $12,000 but this year we decided to go bigger and ask for the $24,000. They (the municipality) recognized the need to invest in the trails, and I think we give great value for the money," said McTavish.

The Community Foundation of Whistler kicked in another $2,800 through their Environmental Legacy Fund, while Comfortably Numb Trail Run organizers added another $1,000. Put together with cash raised from Loonie Races and memberships, the total trail maintenance budget was approximately $30,000 for the season.

The early part of the season was spent saving A River Runs Through It, part of which was flooded when record spring rains punched a hole through the bank near the bridge. Trail contractor Chris Markle put in some new bridging, and built a dyke to channel the water back into the river.

Work has been completed on over a dozen trails this year, including Kill Me Thrill Me, River Runs Through It, Danimal, 99er, Cut Yer Bars, Shit Happens, Lower Sproatt Trail, Beaver Pass, Train Wreck, B.C. Trail, and the trail to Brandywine Falls.

The Lower Sproatt Trail project, which was funded by the Community Foundation of Whistler and matched by WORCA, will see a new entrance to the trail, new briding and waterbars, new switchbacks to the climb, and new sections where the original trail becomes a creek during rainstorms.

In addition to the trail contractor, WORCA hosted five volunteer trail maintenance events in Whistler, aided a trail maintenance day in Pemberton, and loaned tools to the Pemberton Valley Trails Association.

For the future, McTavish has suggested the need to train apprentice trail builders under the top local trail builders to ensure the community retains all the skills required to make and maintain its trail network.

Membership

WORCA will likely finish with more than 1,000 members, once all of the most recent members are added to the list.

But while numbers continue to be high, revenues from memberships were down this year when Cycling B.C. insurance went up for the third time in as many years. While the cost per member increased by $2.50 to $26.50, WORCA decided to keep membership prices the same even if it meant subsidizing costs for some family and youth memberships.

"We don’t know what will happen next year, but based on what we’ve been seeing I wouldn’t be surprised if (insurance) rose again," said membership director Todd Hellinga. "We don’t know if we can continue to eat the cost, or if we’ll have to raise the price of a membership. We should know by January."

According to Hellinga, the number of freeriders and Bike Park users becoming WORCA memberships this year has increased significantly. Attendance at the Phat Wednesday Downhill Series events was up significantly, with about 188 different people participating. Hellinga estimates that half of those riders are downhill only.

Youth

WORCA changed the focus of its youth program slightly to target younger riders. In the past, WORCA’s dirt camps were limited to kids aged 13 to 18, while this year the Youth Toonie Nights focused on kids aged five to 12. Turnout was high with 73 different kids participating on four nights.

In total, WORCA has 87 youth members, which means that just under 10 per cent of members are 17 or under.

"That’s impressive for the organization, but it also means that we have a lot of room to grow," said youth director Greg McDonnell. "There are a lot of kids in town that we could be working with, especially in the cross-country side of things."

The WORCA youth program is funded by the proceeds of the annual bike swap, which were more than $5,200 this year. McDonnell spent just $1,666 this year on the youth toonie nights and $500 to send a Whistler team to the B.C. High School Championships.

Some of that funding will go to hosting more youth clinics, bringing back the summer Dirt Camps for kids 13 to 18, and to a new Whistler youth mountain bike team.

Tentatively called Team WORCA/Whistler, the bike team would be based on the success of the Team Squamish program, which just wrapped up its first successful season with 30 elite and development members.

Like Team Squamish, the goal of the Whistler program is to increase participation, while also assisting kids that show promise in cross-country and downhill. The exact details will be decided in the fall, but the goal is to hire coaches and train coaches, find a team manager, and recruit young riders and sponsors.

The riders would likely meet twice a week for training sessions, and would attend events throughout the season.

"We’re not just interested in the elite riders, but in participation as well," said Lamont. "It’s for all kids who show enthusiasm, not just the kids that are winning.

McDonnell also started a WORCA Scholarship fund that raised close to $1,000 in donations at Loonie Races this year. That money will likely be presented each year as a scholarship to a student from Whistler Secondary who shows excellence in academics and athletics.

Race

WORCA hosted 25 races this year, with an average of 185 riders at weekly Loonie Race events. That raised $5,075 for WORCA, which will go towards trail maintenance and other programs.

While WORCA is hosting more Loonie events than ever, and those events are attracting more riders, race director Joe Lyons said he still had a list of potential sponsors at the end of the year who would step up and host a race if anyone cancelled.

"People like to race and everyone likes to support racing," said Lyons. "I guarantee none of the race sponsors are making any money from hosting events, it’s expensive providing food and beer for all these riders… which is another reason to support local businesses and spend our money in Whistler."

The Loonie Race season got started early this year with a potluck during a warm period in March. It will also end with a potluck as WORCA prepares to host its inaugural Halloween Haunted Forest Ride on Oct. 27.

Members should meet at the Lost Lake Warming Hut at 6 p.m. for signup, and the race will get underway at 6:30 p.m. when the sun goes down. Bring lights and headlamps for this ride, which will take place on the least technical trails in Lost Lake Park. The prizes won’t go to the fastest riders, but to the riders with the best costumes.

Planning

It was a big year for WORCA’s planning director, Ted Battiston, with the loss of two trails, Rolo Coaster and Roam in the Loam, to the development of the Olympic Luge Track and First Nations Cultural Centre, respectively. A section of Shit Happens was also at risk because of the proposed Rainbow Lands Development, as were sections of trail in the Interpretive Forest where the Olympic athletes village will be located. In addition, the municipality has released a drafted Protected Areas Network (PAN) strategy, that will impact new trail construction and development around Whistler.

In every case Battiston is working for WORCA’s goal of no net loss of trails in the valley. In other words, every kilometre of trail lost to development will be replaced by a new kilometre of trail. If the developer does not provide that trail, most have agreed to financial compensation of about $6,500 per kilometre of new trail.

"That’s the number we established working with developers and it’s a number we’re pretty comfortable with, and that developers are pretty comfortable with," said Battiston.

"It’s interesting, but one important thing has happened now that we’re finally get some research on the patterns of mountain biking," said Battiston. Among the findings, about seven per cent of all Whistler summer visitors are here primarily for the mountain biking, and riders generally stay longer than other types of visitors.

"We’ve always known that mountain biking was big money for the community, and now we have some real figures to back that up," said Battiston. "That gives WORCA a bigger role at the planning table, as well as the opportunity to look for more funding to keep our trails in shape."

WORCA will all be hosting the International Mountain Bicycling Association world conference next June, as well as the third annual North Shore Mountain Bike Conference. Up to several thousand delegates are expected to attend, and WORCA will help by hosting races, tours and trail maintenance workshops.

Freeride

Lena Martin helped WORCA bring the freeride portfolio to a new level this year, with record turnouts to the Wednesday downhill races, and clinics with top riders every second week during the summer. She also lent a hand by updating WORCA’s photo galleries on the website.

WORCA also presented the year’s top volunteers with awards. Gift certificates to local restaurants that support WORCA went to Tom Thompson, Chris Quinlan, Gary Baker, John and Taylor Derynk and Lisa Landry.

The entire WORCA board from this year was re-elected to serve again in 2005-06, with the exception of Treasurer Lisa Landry who was replaced by Sue Clark.