GCC is raising its membership fees.  That has left an elephant in the room: members have brought to our attention that third party events (eg races, tour operators, skills clinics, etc) should be “be adequately compensating the bike club for the use of the trails”.
Well, GCC has been looking into just that over the past 4 months.  After many conversations with the bike clubs of Fernie, Cranbrook, Revy, Nelson, Vernon, Penticton, and Rossland; GCC has decided to increase the fees charged to third party events.  Most clubs do charge a fee to these event organizers.  GCC has come up with a fee structure that adequately reflects GCC’s specific financial situation.

In case you didn’t know, GCC has been either charging a fee to these events or receiving a donation from them for the past 3 years.  The fees for 2018 will be the same as 2017 for all returning events (that way these events will have reasonable time to prepare for the increase).

Fee Schedule for 2019:

***NOTE: all fees are per participant per day.  These fees are charged to the event organizers not the individual riders.

  • Non-profits who do not charge a participant fee: $0
  • Non-profits who do charge a participant fee: follow the fees as in all the other categories
  • For Profit skills clinics and tour operators: $5 (fee waived for participants with a club membership)
  • Running races: $5
  • XC events: $6 plus $1 per timed descent within the course
  • Enduro: $8
  • DH: $8
  • 24hr races: $6 but 24hr races will be consider 2 days, as they happen over a 2 day period.

In addition to the above fees, all races are subject to a rehabilitation fee to cover the costs of damaged sections of trail resulting from the race.  This fee will be determined by a pre-race and post-race assessment by GCC and event representatives.

Much consideration, conversation, and time has gone into this issue.  GCC held conversations with some event organizers in order to get their input as well.  Event organizers understand GCC’s intent (ie. recouping the costs of maintaining and developing trails), however, these event organizers explained how such a move will impact their ability to hold a race that is financially viable for them.  GCC acknowledged the economic benefits and sporting opportunities that the events brought to Golden.  The event organizers acknowledged the costs that GCC shoulders as steward of the trail networks.

Plain and simple, it costs money to maintain and develop trails.  With the increase in fees for third party events, and GCC’s recent membership increase, GCC is attempting to share these costs across all user groups in a reasonable manner.   The updated fee structure for third party events will provide a consistent policy that is fair to all events, and fair to all trail users.