As climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, we know how important it is to pick the right partners. Our family of partners support the work we do to maintain access to our spaces, conserve and re-build our environment and educate and share the great benefits of our sports and activities.
Cotswold Outdoor , the national outdoor kit retailer which also runs the Snow+Rock and Runners Need facia, is our ‘Premium Partners’ and ‘Official Outdoor Retailer’ of the BMC. The partnership builds on a relationship between the two organisations going back a number of years where, more recently, Cotswold Outdoor have supported the BMC’s campaigns and activities including ‘Mend Our Mountains ,’ a project to repair footpaths in some of the country’s most popular walking locations.
The latest Sport England Active Lives report shows that hill and mountain walking has continued to grow, experiencing a larger boom than any of the other 80 sports or activities measured in the survey of almost 180,000 people. Regular participation in hill and mountain walking now stands at 3.58 million, up from 3.39 million last year. The figures show an increase of 40% since the data was first collected in 2015/16, when just 2.46 million reported regular participation.
Growth was also seen in the ‘Adventure Sports’ category, which also includes Climbing and Bouldering, seeing a rise from last year, with a total of approximately 278k people now participating.
As a recent addition to the Olympic family, sport climbing continues to grow in popularity alongside the infrastructure for the national team run by GB Climbing . With its first appearance in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the team are looking ahead to Paris 2024 and LA 2028 and to becoming a world-leading sport climbing nation.
Gavin Finch, Chief Commercial Officer at the BMC, the national representative body for climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers - with over 80,000 members , said; “We are incredibly excited to partner with Cotswold Outdoor at this significant time for the BMC, GB Climbing and the climbing, walking and mountaineering community.
“As participation in our activities and interest in sport/competition climbing grows it’s important we maintain and grow the connection with our communities as we continue to represent and support people to take part safely, responsibly and sustainably. We can’t do that alone and working with like-minded brands and organisations that share our values and goals is key and we look forward to building our family of partners.
“We have spent some time establishing a clear programme that provides organisations opportunities to partner with us in a number of ways. We welcome our premium partner into the BMC family and look forward to working in collaboration over the next few years.”
Jose Finch, Managing Director of Cotswold Outdoor (O&CC), said: “We’re proud to partner with the BMC and supporting their members and campaigns like Mend our Mountains is a high priority for us. In 2019 we launched our sustainability program, and protecting the outdoors is at its core. We pride ourselves on offering our customers the best brands and products coupled with a personalised experience provided by our in-store experts, to ensure our customers make the right kit choices for them, and for the planet. The outdoors is our greatest asset and biggest playground, but we must be responsible, ensuring it’s protected for future generations to enjoy. Supporting partners like the BMC is in our DNA and authentic to our values and our mission.”
Take a stroll through the BMC's one-stop shop for all hill walking content with our new website. Whether you're new to the hills or already exploring and want to expand you skills and training, we've got your back.
The new BMC Hill Walking website is the place to go to find all our skills videos, gear advice, hill walking resources and events to get involved in. It's our directory of podcasts, club and hut finders, campaigns and more.
The site includes 30+ new short films covering topics from tick talk to hydation on the hills, deciphering contour lines to learning to pace like a pro.
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