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The African Mountain biking arose from the simple question:
“How do we take mountain to the next level?”
If you asked me this question in 1999 I would have said:
“Build trails!” And back then that is what we started doing.
Today I still believe this to be true but I’ve been exposed to so much over the past years in terms of trail maintenance, trail construction, tourism development, events, nature conservation, the list goes on.
Dirtopia the CC was formed in 2001 to put financial structure to what we’re trying to achieve. Where we could see something that could certainly work but was hampered by funding or commitment, we just went along and did it. This approach was obviously a recipe for financial anguish but seeing stuff get off the ground and actually working, has been more than enough reward.
It is today even more clear to me that mountain biking has huge potential on the recreational front, but that waiting for tourism, sport&rec and the like to come to the party we’ll wait forever.
- Mountain biking must be driving the process to promote mountain biking, for the benefit of mountain biking.
- Obtaining advice and the building of trails and facilities must be an easy, affordable process.
- Our top riding areas (and still undiscovered ones!) must be on top of the list of MTB destinations in the World.
- Our towns must love mountain biking because of the economic benefit the sport brings.
What is driving me at the moment is that the above is very achievable. I’ve seen what the rest of the world is up to. (see Whistler learnings)
But building trails (my approach of 7/8 years ago) alone is not going to achieve this. There needs to be coordination, planning and a funding mechanism to get this process going.
Researching the way forward, I came across various similar initiatives around the world, again emphasising the viability, need and worldwide realisation of mtb opportunities.
I then looked into the structure of this new entity and widely consulted the best way to set up this venture. It is clear to me that the Section 21 (despite the inherent set up and auditing costs) is the only way to go and this was confirmed after a session with a tax consultant.
Naming the initiative
What started out as a Western Cape initiative quickly spiralled into much more and around a table the African Mountain Bike Association was born. Let’s create something that can benefit a wide base.
It is a bold name, yes, but it gives us the room to develop this great vision for mountain biking.
By Meurant Botha
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