in CORP Business

The --MBA format bring a lot of familiarity to what we do. Even if people don't know exactly what it stands for, they probably will make an association to mountain bikes.

"I don't know what MAMBA stands for, but I know what IMBA, CAMBA, SOMBA, PAMBA, etcAMBA stands for!"

Ditto

Although I think Chuck forgets the word 'Association' on the end  :P

It is also worth noting that having the name (or as close to it as possible) in the web address makes tons more sense than saying we are club 'X' and you can find us at address 'Y'.  We are asking people to remember an acronym that doesn't make sense and tie it to an address that sounds more like it's for dirt jumpers or a composting club.

I've never liked the '...MBA' names but you make a very valid point about familiarity. Along the same lines are the '...ORBA's.

I don't like the "ORBA"s because "off-road" does not = mountain bike trail.

What about a specific forum for opportunities to help/get involved...A dedicated go-to place for work related events going on or things that need to be done, rather than just posting them in the specific trail or event forums. Or would this just get too crowded?

Also I was taking with someone who mentioned that they don’t check the website on a regular basis and wished there was more mass email notifications of events.  Perhaps a weekly or by weekly email with a brief listing of upcoming events and going ons?

I think alot of confusion or lack of exposure is the way Wisconsin promotes mountain biking  For example, one of the best forums I frequent a lot is MORC - Minnesota Off Road Cyclist.  Welcome to Minnesota if you like mountain biking, google Minnesota mountain biking and MORC comes up, not six or seven different clubs with different names totally unrelated to Wisconsin or Dane County for that matter.  If you don't know about CORP or Madcity dirt or other names, you will not find the site.  Just my two cents.

I think alot of confusion or lack of exposure is the way Wisconsin promotes mountain biking  For example, one of the best forums I frequent a lot is MORC - Minnesota Off Road Cyclist.  Welcome to Minnesota if you like mountain biking, google Minnesota mountain biking and MORC comes up, not six or seven different clubs with different names totally unrelated to Wisconsin or Dane County for that matter.  If you don't know about CORP or Madcity dirt or other names, you will not find the site.  Just my two cents.

A good point Dave. But I don't know how we would get there.
That was the intention of WORBA (Wisconsin Off-Road Bicycling Association for you newer to the sport) but that fizzled away. And in later years it never really helped the various chapters organize in the way MORC did. About the time websites were becoming ubiquitous was about the time their leadership faded. And now that we, and most other chapters in WI are a part of IMBA, their focus is on regional support rather than state by state.
It would be nice to have a main site that comes up if you search WI, then you could dial in by chapters. This is the goal of IMBA as well, but I am not sure most folks get there. Their site is not the most user friendly. And if you do find it and look under IMBA Affiliated Chapters and Clubs in WI on their site, we are listed as being located in Barneveld, WI. Obviously old info. Not sure how to get that updated? And if you search for Madison, WI Team Magnus comes up, with no links or websites listed. Also Blackhawk comes up under Middleton.

In defense CORP;  it is a bit dorky, but look around the next time there are a bunch of us together; not exactly inappropriate.

More seriously, I like the fact that it is more original and creative than the -AMBA/-ORBA names.  It doesn't take that much effort to say, "CORP, the local IMBA chapter," if you are looking for more clarity.  I also like the idea that it doesn't have Mountain Biking in the name, so that it doesn't exclude trail-runners, snow-shoe-ers, and other non-wheeled users of the trails, who are potentially good partners if we wanted to reach out to them.  And I don't think the ten or fifteen years of using the name should be discarded lightly; maybe we don't do the best job of getting our name out to the masses (which is probably not the fault of the name), but there are quite a few people who do know it, some of them in important positions, and that is something that would take time and effort to re-establish.

I do think the P should be silent, as in Army Corps of Engineers.  Then it would really be confusing.

I do think the P should be silent, as in Army Corps of Engineers.  Then it would really be confusing.

Yeah, I always thought it should be pronounced "CORE."

I like the name suggestions here, but not sure switching is good. If we decide to do this the name should focus on Madison and Mountain Biking, since that is where we are, and what we do. I think something like CORPMTB (Capitol Off-Road Pathfinders - Madison Trail Biking) might serve us well. It preserves the old name, while telling what we are about. We could pronounce it "COREMTB" and be all cool like that.

Changing the URL is tough. Lots of links will break and hurt traffic. Additional URLs aren't a bad idea. CORPMTB.COM and COREMTB.COM look like they might be available. If that is our name, we should get them both.

As far as finding us on the Internet goes, I think we have that covered. If you want to know about Madison Mountain Biking, we are number one!
https://www.google.com/#q=madison+mountain+biking
https://www.google.com/#q=madison+mtb
https://www.google.com/#q=madison+mountain+bike+trails
https://www.google.com/#q=madison+mtb+trails

CORP is a stupid legacy hang on from the beginnings of this club in the 90's.  It was dumb then and it is dumb today.  That said, changing our brand at this point in time is a distraction.  Maybe over the winter but lets try to stay focused on a migration towards revising the board structure, getting our events attended and our current trail obligations attended to.  Perhaps a renaming campaign this fall.

1. I have always thought a group's name should reflect what it does and have always wondered what Path we were Finders of.  Have MBA at the end of it does define the group.  I'm all for a name change. 

2. Now is exactly the time to discuss this, as a.) these things take time to make happen, and b.) winter will have come and gone before we know it. 

Also, here are some potential names:

SWAMBA (Southern WI Mountain Bike Assoc.)

SWAMBO (Southern WI Mountain Bike Org.)

MAMBA (Madison Area Mountain Bike Assoc.)

MAMBO (Madison Area Mountain Bike Org.)

SWORBA (Southern WI Off-road Bicycling Assoc.)

SWORM (Southern WI Off-Road Mountain-bikers)

MAMBC (Madison Area Mountain Bike Club)

SWMBC (Southern WI Mountain Bike Club)

D

Also, here's a link to a list of many of the mountain bike clubs  around the US and Canada.

D