Industry Watch
By: Jo-Anne Farquhar
It’s the start of a new year and like a lot of people, associations, such as the Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council (COHV) take this opportunity to reflect on the previous year's accomplishments to see how we can improve on them in the year to follow.
The year 2007 started off with a new look and a new name for our off-road vehicles (OHV) association. The association once know as the Canadian All-Terrain Vehicle Distributors Council (CATV) was officially renamed the Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council (COHV). As the voice of the industry, and in our ongoing efforts to educate the public on safe riding practices and environmental awareness, our member companies believed that COHV could more effectively represent the industry to government and the general public with the integration of off-road motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles under one umbrella association.
In 2007, the sustaining and project development grant program, announced in July 2006, allocated over $2.2 million dollars to provincial off-road motorcycle and ATV rider federations across Canada. With the flow of sustaining grant funding since mid-2006 and the first project development grants being approved in February 2007, qualified rider federations moved forward on projects related to improving safety, rider training, environmental protection, land access, enforcement and health promotion.
For qualified OHV dealers and rider federations across Canada, the flow of these dollars means this special levy has and will continue to support the sustainability and growth of off-road motorcycle and ATV riding in Canada through:
This information is important to OHV dealers and consumers alike, because ATVs and off-road motorcycles have become very popular for families and friends who enjoy adventure tourism, trail riding and camping. For those new to the sport it's important for them to know they can talk to their local authorized OHV dealer about rider safety, training courses and where to ride.
Through this cooperative effort, the COHV, a non-profit trade association established in 1984, its member companies such as Arctic Cat, BRP (Can-Am), Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Polaris, Suzuki and Yamaha and riding federations across Canada will be able to continue leading a first class recreation and adventure tourism industry based on safety and environmental awareness. Find out more at <www.cohv.ca>.
Jo-Anne Farquhar is manager of communications for the Motorcycle & Moped Industry Council (MMIC) and the Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council (COHV) and can be reached toll-free at 877.470.2288, locally at 416.491.4449 or by email at <jfarquhar@cohv.ca> or <jfarquhar@mmic.ca>.
The year 2007 started off with a new look and a new name for our off-road vehicles (OHV) association. The association once know as the Canadian All-Terrain Vehicle Distributors Council (CATV) was officially renamed the Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council (COHV). As the voice of the industry, and in our ongoing efforts to educate the public on safe riding practices and environmental awareness, our member companies believed that COHV could more effectively represent the industry to government and the general public with the integration of off-road motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles under one umbrella association.
In 2007, the sustaining and project development grant program, announced in July 2006, allocated over $2.2 million dollars to provincial off-road motorcycle and ATV rider federations across Canada. With the flow of sustaining grant funding since mid-2006 and the first project development grants being approved in February 2007, qualified rider federations moved forward on projects related to improving safety, rider training, environmental protection, land access, enforcement and health promotion.
For qualified OHV dealers and rider federations across Canada, the flow of these dollars means this special levy has and will continue to support the sustainability and growth of off-road motorcycle and ATV riding in Canada through:
- OHV riding trails that are being preserved so that current and future consumers will have appropriate places to ride;
- The perception of off-highway vehicle riding is being addressed through positive grassroots initiatives and improved media access;
- Youth safety is being addressed in a more comprehensive manner than ever before;
- New, approved OHV trails were developed and have been opened in Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia and are under development in Quebec and British Columbia;
- Nine provincial ATV federations and five provincial off-road motorcycle federations are in place (three new provincial federations formed in 2007);
- Over 35 new clubs formed across Canada in 2007 and most federations report significant increases in membership (some as high as 150 percent);
- Over 10,000 km of ATV and ORM/C trails have been mapped for use (all mapping projects include plans to publish trail maps to assist riders); and,
- All provincial ATV federations are undertaking safety education and/or rider training as part of their grant funding – thousands, mainly youth, received safety education and/or training in 2007 alone.
This information is important to OHV dealers and consumers alike, because ATVs and off-road motorcycles have become very popular for families and friends who enjoy adventure tourism, trail riding and camping. For those new to the sport it's important for them to know they can talk to their local authorized OHV dealer about rider safety, training courses and where to ride.
Through this cooperative effort, the COHV, a non-profit trade association established in 1984, its member companies such as Arctic Cat, BRP (Can-Am), Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Polaris, Suzuki and Yamaha and riding federations across Canada will be able to continue leading a first class recreation and adventure tourism industry based on safety and environmental awareness. Find out more at <www.cohv.ca>.
Jo-Anne Farquhar is manager of communications for the Motorcycle & Moped Industry Council (MMIC) and the Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council (COHV) and can be reached toll-free at 877.470.2288, locally at 416.491.4449 or by email at <jfarquhar@cohv.ca> or <jfarquhar@mmic.ca>.
