2020 Executive Director Summary

2020 Executive Director Summary

2020 – what a year! I generally feel grateful for living in Pemberton but as the world entered the Covid-19 pandemic, it became more and more apparent how special our community is. The access we enjoy to our beautiful trails and outdoor spaces provided the soul filling strength needed to keep it together to survive this challenging time. The community of Pemberton came together, whilst staying apart, many times this year. I want to thank you for all you do that is recognized or not, that contributes to this special place we call home. PORCAwould like to respectfully acknowledge that we live, work and play on the unceded traditional territory of the St̓át̓imc Tmicw (St’at'imc) and Líl̓wat First Nations.
 
At the beginning of 2020, PORCA was on track for our best year ever! When Covid-19 hit in March, we were forced to cancel all events including our Annual Fundraiser, both Enduro races, the Youth After School Program, Women’s Bike Club and Toonies. However, Pemberton is a town whose residents have a built in resiliency. It is a requirement for living in the mountains. With public health orders restricting social interactions many people flocked to the forest and pitched in to get the Spring trails maintenance done in no time. Thank you to all the volunteer trail workers that continue to provide the sweat equity required to make Pemberton the best mountain biking town in B.C. 
 
PORCA would like to thank the community contributions shown this year towards respect. This included people adhering to Covid-19 safety guidelines when biking, giving our wildlife, like momma bears, space when needed and supporting the Líl̓wat Nation as the search went on for Peter Oleski and River Leo, may they rest in peace.
 
I would like to thank our Board of Directors for supporting me in my first year as Executive Director, the Village of Pemberton and the SLRD for providing PORCA the seed funding and the Government of Canada for the 75% wage subsidy. Special thanks go to our Treasurer, Jen Fisher and Magali Roy and team at Peak to Peak Bookkeeping helping to figure it all out. 
 
In June, ViaSport released the guide on how PORCA could Return to Sport safely and we got to work doing the administrative tasks necessary to resume operations, though they would not look the same. PORCA was grateful that Sylvie Allen and Emily Slaco from Sweet Skills stepped up to fill the event gap with the Pemby Fifty which helped raise money for Pemberton Search and Rescue in place of our cancelled Enduro's ability to fundraise. With PHO’s restricting group sizes and the fact that we were in the dead heat of summer, PORCA focussed on getting the Women’s Bike Club up and running. After the first group ride, it reaffirmed how important mountain biking is to our community. Mountain biking reduces stress, anxiety, depression, boosts mood, confidence, improves sleep and ultimately your overall wellness. Being in nature is healing. Forest bathing is real. The mental benefits of mountain biking are equally as important as the physical. Bike Club provided an outlet for women in our community to come together safely.
 
In August, our Board discussed bringing back Toonie races but didn’t feel right about asking our already tapped businesses in town to donate their services or products. We wanted to give back and support those who have supported us. So, we got creative and the Pemberton Numerical Assessment of Radness (PNAR) was born, thanks to our President Ian Krugers’ bent mind. We focussed our energies on partnering with local artist Vanessa Stark to create one of a kind event posters and hats that pay tribute to Ts̓zil, the mountain that watches over our valleys. Thank you to board director Ming Sartee and graphic designer Zoe Lomoro for the patience to pull the concept together. Participants could collect points based on a trail point value system as well as collect additional points by doing various activities such as 1 point for every dollar spent at a local business. We had 140 people participate in this new style event where the riding was live, and the social was virtual. I’d say this event kicked ass and we plan to bring it back next year.
 
As we near the end of 2020’s mountain bike season, PORCA is happy to share that we currently have 632 members in comparison to 2019’s record breaking 695. Thank you for supporting us! For most, November is that time of the year where you don’t know what type of gear to pull out – bikes or skis/boards? For PORCA - its planning time. How do we plan for 2021 when we don’t know what restrictions may be in place? We will reflect on our successes and failures from the past year, take your feedback and do our best to forecast multiple scenarios. 

All things Trails

The PVTA and PORCA jointly funded the hiring of WORCA’s head trail builder, Dan Raymond to give Moose Jah and Bob Gnarly some much needed love. All of PORCA’s funds raised through Trailforks Trail Karma goes to trail maintenance projects like these.
 
PORCA will be planning with the PVTA on Spring Trails maintenance goals and execution. A reminder that the PVTA is looking for Board members so if trail building and advocacy is your passion – volunteer! 
 
BC Hydro plans to re-establish an access road up to the hydro towers in One Mile Lake area. PORCA will notify trail users when the work is to be done once we receive confirmation of dates from BC Hydro.
 
BC Wildfire Fuel Reduction work will start in Spring 2021. PORCA is working with the consultants hired by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development to advocate for what trail users’ expectations are while work is commencing and how trails are ultimately affected. You can find more information here.

Pemberton and Area Mountain Bike Skills Park

The Village of Pemberton and PORCA partnered on 2 grant applications to fund the build of the Pemberton and Area Mountain Bike Skills Park to be located at the Recreation site behind the new soccer field. Funding announcements will be in March and we are hopeful that this will be an important piece of infrastructure to support residents and visitors who mountain bike in Pemberton. PORCA would like to thank Jill Brooksbank, Nikki Gilmore, Lisa Pedrini, Ian Kruger, Paddy Kaye, Annie Oja and Cam Adams for their help with this so far.

Youth Mountain Bike Program

PORCA plans to offer the Youth After School mountain bike program in the Spring of 2021 (pending Covid-19 PHO restrictions). This program has been oversubscribed since its start in 2017. One of the challenges to expanding the program is the lack of Coaches available.PORCA’s Youth Committee has brainstormed ideas on how to build coach capacity and what expansion should look like.

For 2021,PORCA will include a Girls Only program to help build gender equity in our Youth programming. We have applied for two grants with the Canadian Women in Sport WISE Fund. The first grant application, if successful, will support 3 women interested in becoming a PMBIA Level 1 certified mountain bike coaches. Funding would also remove the financial barrier for female coaches to be able to work for PORCA’s After School Program by subsidizing the expense of coach’s childcare needs.

The second grant application is a partnership between PORCA and Indigenous Women Outdoors. If successful, the grant will support an Indigenous woman interested in becoming a PMBIA Level 1 certified mountain bike coach and fund an Introduction to Mountain Biking Program for women and girls from Líl̓wat Nation. Thank you to Sandy Ward for her vision and dedication to making mountain biking in Pemberton a more inclusive and diverse experience for all.