And the winner is…
Which crews will stand out in 2023 and take home the accolades and bragging rights? Have you and your crew got what it takes to make a difference; create positive change with your actions?
Europe's Outstanding
Trail Crews
Recognising the outstanding trail crews and associations throughout Europe!
This campaign is about recognising and highlighting the importance of the people behind the trails. Without trail crews and associations, we wouldn’t have mountain biking, it’s as simple as that. In 2023 we are putting a focus on youth participation in trail maintenance, and will be encouraging crews to find fun and innovative ways to get more of our youth out in nature, giving back.
Take Care of Your Trails has grown into something so much more than friendly competition between crews across Europe. It is an opportunity for mountain bikers to take responsibility for their environments, recruit new volunteers, and build better relationships within the whole MTB sector.
AWARDS 2023
We want to reward and highlight the individuals and groups who are creating the biggest impact in their local communities and are contributing to positive change in their communities. With all that in mind, we have come up with the following award categories for 2023!
- Europe’s Outstanding Trail Crew award
- Protect and Preserve award
- Trail Advocate of the Year award
- Youth Trail Advocate of the Year award
- Best National Mountain Bike Association award
Descriptions and prizes
2023 Awards
Europe’s Outstanding Trail Crew Award
This award will be given to the trail association / crew who has created the biggest impact during the campaign month of May. The criteria for this award includes;
- Increasing youth participation in trail maintenance
- Being inclusive in volunteer recruitment
- Organizing regular trail maintenance days throughout the year
- Communicating and engaging well with their local community & local stakeholders
- Spreading positive ride vibes
- Most amount boots on the ground!
What does inclusivity mean? Making your club or association accessible to all demographics. You can think outside of the box here, not necessarily just women and children, but perhaps your trail maintenance days include involving a troubled youth program, or persons dealing with anxiety and depression. If you have a project that you are working on, or have done so in the past that has focused on inclusivity, please contact us so we can consider the relevance for this award.
Think you’ve got a great proposal to win this award? You can find out more about the requirements and application procedure HERE
Protect and Preserve Award
This award will be awarded to the individual or crew who has a conservation project idea/proposal related to preservation/restoration of our natural environment. In 2023 Rupert Barry an avid mountain biker and employee of Forestry England took the honours as the first recipient of the award.
Single track mind- Exploring motivations to evolve riding culture beyond the trail
Rupert will be conducting a feasibility study looking into the motivations of local mountain bikers in Wales in relation to environmental awareness and climate action. From the results, Rupert will develop a communication toolkit to help mountain bikers form a greater awareness, appreciation and understanding of nature in their local areas, and what they can do to contribute to positive climate action.
Descriptions & Prizes
2023 awards
Trail advocate of the year + Youth Trail Advocate
You know that one person who just goes above and beyond what is expected of them? That person who encourages others to get involved, puts in extra hours, never complains, and just loves giving back to their trails?
Every year we love to highlight “Trail Advocate Of The Year”. This is a special award where the nominee must be nominated by someone from their club, crew or just an admirer of their work. The winners will receive a VIP Pro package thanks to Specialized.
So keep an eye out for those individuals who are putting in that extra bit of effort to ‘Take Care of Your Trails’.
Most Outstanding National Trail Association
The organisation who has lead (is leading) the way in trail advocacy work, community and capacity building within their nation.
The winning Trail Association will receive the Most Outstanding National Trail Association Award, to be presented at IMBA Europe’s Summit in Val Poschiavo, June 1st- 3rd. More details will be available closer to the date.
Think you and your crew has what it takes?
Apply now!
The winning crews distinguish themselves by innovative and refreshing trail projects, by making a positive contribution to the local community, by protecting the places they love to ride. By creative volunteer recruitment strategies; by ways to make the MTB community more inclusive’ and diverse; and by protecting and preserving our natural environment.
Think you and your crew has what it takes to win an award in 2023? Then put on your thinking hats, schedule your trail maintenance days, and get those boots on the ground!
Deadline for submissions is May 29th. Winners will be announced at the IMBA Europe summit, June 1st- 3rd in Val Poschiavo.
Rules
In order to become ‘Trail Advocate of the year’, you need to be nominated by your local trail crew members, your community representatives, land manager, colleague or bike buddy or maybe even by that board member or politician. We’re looking for both female and male candidates. Nominations should be submitted by May 29th latest. If you know somebody that has been of great importance for mountain biking, worked to create trails or preserved access or started that awesome kids mountain bike program, then you should nominate him or her by using the following form.
Besides the honour, both winners will receive a prize package from our campaign sponsors, which will be announced in the coming weeks via our social media channels and website. So stay tuned, start planning your ‘action’, and let’s take care of some trails!
