New family-friendly event draws crowds and sets the stage for the return of the Chuwels Challenge

The Greater Kamloops Motorcycle Association (GKMA) is celebrating the success of its first-ever TrueTech Trials event, a new addition to the local dirt biking scene that emphasized accessibility, community, and fun over competition.

Led by first-year president James Becker, the club has been working to bring fresh energy into the organization, particularly by engaging a younger audience.

“I really wanted to help take the club in a new direction, and start getting the word out,” Becker said. “We have a lot of volunteers that put in a lot of hours, but I wanted to try to really target a younger audience and it seems to be working.”

That vision came to life with TrueTech Trials, an event designed to be more social and spectator-friendly than traditional races. Unlike cross-country competitions where riders disappear onto long trails, the trials format kept all the action within a compact area.

“With this TrueTech Trials event, it was great because there were small sections within an 800-metre area of the staging lot,” Becker said. “People could walk to the sections that they were most interested in.”

The format proved especially appealing to families. Parents and children could move together between sections, with younger riders even taking part in scaled-down challenges.

“The kids could do the little sections, the parents could stand and watch,” Becker said. “Everyone cheered on the kids instead of just to the start line, it definitely encouraged families to hang around and encouraged kids to kind of just have fun instead of all that pressure for a race.”

Importantly, the event removed some of the pressure associated with competitive racing. With no series points on the line, riders of all skill levels were free to participate at their own pace.

“It wasn’t as competitive,” Becker noted. “There was easier sections, there was harder sections. The sections that some of the little kids loved weren’t necessarily the hardest, but it got them really excited because they were succeeding.”

The event drew 67 participants plus friends and family in its inaugural year, and organizers see significant potential for growth. Becker acknowledged that one of the biggest challenges was simply helping people understand what trials riding is.

“I’d like to make it even more spectator friendly,” Becker said. “I’d like to see people, not even part of the dirt bike community, come out and experience the chaos.”

Logistics will also be a focus moving forward, including improving registration and scoring systems, and potentially securing a larger venue to accommodate more spectators, vendors, and sponsors.

With momentum building from the success of TrueTech Trials, GKMA is now preparing for its yearly event, the Chuwels Challenge Cross Country Dirtbike Race, taking place June 6–7 as part of the Pacific Northwest Motorcycle Association series.

The race is widely regarded as one of the most demanding on the circuit, thanks to the rugged terrain of the Chuwels area. “It’s considered one of the harder races of the year for the PNWMA series,” Becker said. “Chuwels can be anything from dusty to muddy, so you might get everything in between all in the same day.”

Each year, the event draws more than 400 riders, along with families and spectators, creating a busy weekend that extends beyond the race course.

Becker noted that the influx of visitors provides a boost to local businesses, from restaurants to motorcycle shops, and the involvement of the community is noticed year by year.

As GKMA balances high-intensity competition with more inclusive events like TrueTech Trials, the organization is carving out a broader role in Kamloops’ outdoor recreation scene, one that brings together riders, families, and everything in between.