It is never an easy decision to postpone an event, especially one that we look forward to as much as the symposium. Although British Columbia is making great progress with the vaccine rollout and case numbers are down drastically, there is still plenty of uncertainty around hosting large gatherings in September. We have considered other options including online, holding sessions outdoors, splitting into groups of 50, etc but it just would not be the same. The symposium is about connecting with other stakeholders and having a chance to get to know one another through our shared passion for mountain biking. We feel this would be better accomplished once we can finally remove the masks and gather shoulder to shoulder.
SilverStar/Vernon will remain the host location, however, at this time, a new date for the Symposium has not been determined. We will announce it as soon as there is greater certainty for hosting events so that we can confidently plan the best symposium possible.
In lieu of the postponement, we plan to have a “State of the MTB Sector” online evening event sometime in the fall. In this free 90 minute session we will invite representatives from key organizations to present updates on current issues and new initiatives important to the mountain bike sector. This will also help us plan for the symposium and identify the most relevant topics as we look to the future. More details will be announced in the months ahead.
In the meantime, stay well and have a great summer.
Martin Littlejohn
Executive Director, MBTA