(Bentonville, Arkansas, October 30, 2018) The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is pleased to announce the honorees for the 2018 awards presented at IMBA’s Dirty 30 anniversary celebration. The Scott “Superman” Scudamore Volunteer Leadership Award, Local Leadership Award and Power of Partnership Award each honor individuals, volunteers and local partners for exceptional work in advancing mountain biking opportunities in communities across the country.
“It takes a lot of time, energy and resources to transform communities through mountain biking. These honorees work tirelessly to ensure they make the most of every opportunity to improve mountain biking in their backyards,” said Anthony Duncan, IMBA Local Program Manager.
The Scott “Superman” Scudamore Volunteer Leadership Award was presented to Shelley Lutz, for her selfless and continued contributions to mountain biking in Vermont. For 20 years, Shelley has worked to create trails in and around Pine Hill Park in Rutland, Vermont. She has also worked with several community groups to encourage and lead trail maintenance, runs an annual women’s mountain biking clinic, and runs a youth mountain biking summer program. The award recognizes an individual who has dedicated a decade or more to championing mountain biking in their community.
The Local Leadership Award was presented to Fremont Adventure Recreation for their outstanding efforts in creating a mountain biking destination in Cañon City, Colorado. In less than a decade these trail enthusiasts changed their riding options from doubletrack roads to 50 miles of singletrack, by being committed to the goal of making Cañon City a great place to live, work, recreate and visit. Extensive local outreach convinced the community of the value of trails and helped jumpstart creative programs that keep the trail network funded, maintained and in demand. The award honors mountain biking organizations that turn a big vision into reality.
The Power of Partnership Award was presented to Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund, Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition, the City of Sedona and the Red Rock Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest for creating more trails close to home. These groups are working together on the Western Gateway Watershed and Trail Enhancement Project, which will create a new 29-mile stacked loop trail system just west of the Sedona City Limits in an area that has intense pressure for public trail access. The project will serve as a major gateway to Sedona and to national forest trails. It is being funded through grants, fundraising and commitments from local businesses, and construction is slated to begin in November 2018 with a series of twelve trail volunteer workdays co-sponsored by REI Co-op. This award recognizes exceptional partnerships that form to create more places to ride.
The awards were presented on October 27th at IMBA’s Dirty 30 anniversary celebration in Bentonville, Arkansas, in conjunction with Outerbike. The combined event paired the country’s premier consumer bike demo and expo with the only nationwide organization dedicated to mountain bike advocacy and education. The weekend celebrated 30 years of IMBA with riding, parties and awards, all in a Silver-level IMBA Ride Center™ that exemplifies IMBA’s focus on more trails close to home.
