Other posts related to mec
Fall 2009 MEC Gear Swap
Karl Woll | September 29, 2009 2:40 pm
Get your sleeping bags ready.
This Sunday, October 4 from 10:30am – 1:30pm, MEC Vancouver is having one of their semi-annual Gear Swaps. The swap takes place on the roof-top parking lot and is always a great place to score some cheap gear. As such, it is always super busy, and the hard-core will camp out overnight to get in line.
The address is:
130 West Broadway
Vancouver, British Columbia
604.872.7858
If you have some gear you’d like to sell bring it to the store Saturday or Sunday or contact vangearswap@mec.ca
If you can’t make it, there is always MEC’s online gear swap.
Happy hunting!
2009 MEC Paddlefest
Karl Woll | May 19, 2009 7:37 amThe 2009 MEC Paddlefest is approaching with 2 events happening in BC. The Victoria Paddlefest is taking place Saturday, June 27 at Gyro Beach, Cadboro Bay.
The Vancouver Paddlefest is taking place Sunday, July 5 at Jericho Beach:
Event Description
This is a family event. The event will offer opportunities to test boats and equipment from various watersports manufacturers. MEC Paddlefest will have something for every paddler, from the beginner to the expert.
Registration
Pre-registration begins Monday, June 1, 2009. Please contact the Service Centre at 604.876.6221 or toll-free at 1.800.663.2667 to reserve your spot today. Pre-registration is strongly recommended to avoid disappointment.
Instructors and guides will include staff from SKILS (Sea Kayak Instruction & Leadership Systems), Deep Cove Kayak and MEC.
Presenters/Guides/Vendors/Retailers
The 2009 Paddlefest attendees, clinics and presentations are still being confirmed.
2009 Confirmed Attendees
* Aqua Lung, Stohlquist
* Baja Kayak
* BC Hydro
* Current Designs
* Deep Cove Kayak
* Dogwood Initiative
* Ecomarine
* Fraser Riverkeeper
* Georgia Strait Alliance
* Jericho Sailing Centre Association
* Kayak for a Cure
* Mountain Equipment Co-op
* Sea Kayak Instruction & Leadership Systems (SKILS)
* Seaward Kayaks
* Teva
* The Vancouver Aquarium
* Wavelength Magazine
* Western Canoeing & Kayaking
The final presentation / clinic schedule isn’t complete yet, but check their website for updates. Here is a quick video of last year’s Vancouver event to give you a taste:
- Related Posts:
- MEC Paddlefest
- Outdoor Retailers Around Vancouver
- Sunday Links
Bicycles Coming To MEC – Good Or Bad?
Karl Woll | May 13, 2009 10:25 amHere’s an interesting article I found in the Vancouver Sun that takes a closer examination of Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC)’s plans to manufacture and sell bicycles.
Bicycles are coming soon — as early as November — to Mountain Equipment Co-op stores in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg.
If you’re one of MEC’s nearly three million members, and if you like good gear and good deals, you might applaud this.
Or not. At least two groups of people, both small, aren’t happy.
First are those co-op members who have firmly held, even persnickety, views of what MEC was, is and ought to be. Among them:
- Some who think the co-op isn’t going far enough — although it’s going a long way — on ethical sourcing of MEC-brand bikes.
- Some who think MEC should never have expanded beyond its original niche of selling gear not sold elsewhere.
- Some who think it has become just another big box store, focusing on “lifestyle accoutrements,” not good gear.
- Some who don’t think it should compete with local shops.
- And a few, me included, who object to a giant like MEC using the tens of millions in tax-free earnings its co-op status allows it to amass to compete with businesses that get no similar break.
The other group of unhappy campers are owners of the 60 or so Metro Vancouver bike shops and their counterparts in the other cities. They fear the MEC juggernaut will wipe them out. It has already stunted the growth of Vancouver’s independent gear stores. It keeps them small, forces most to cluster in the shadow of the huge MEC Broadway store if they want any foot traffic, and confines them to niche products that MEC doesn’t sell….
It seems the issue of the tax breaks MEC receives from its Co-op status is stirring some controversy as it enters a new market and begins competing with local bike shops. 1 in every 15 Canadians is a member of MEC. It clearly is not the little co-op it used to be, so should it still receive the tax breaks it does? Arguing that MEC shouldn’t, you can read the open letter from the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada to MEC’s board of directors here (excerpt below).
Independent bicycle dealers – our members and the primary channel for the sale of decent quality bicycles in Canada – compete on a level playing field with each other. They contribute under a common set of tax requirements and must seek resources for capitalization for growth through retained earnings (which are taxed) or from financial institutions (at interest, or in the current economic climate with low interest but acquired at great difficulty).
In Canada taxes are used by democratically elected governments to support infrastructure and services demanded by the electorate. Taxes paid by all independent bicycle dealers are used to support public infrastructure – including bicycle lanes, bike lockers etc.
As a co-operative MEC and its members do not pay corporate tax on patronage returns re-invested in the co-operative. MEC is thus able to re-investment its surpluses into capital projects (new stores, etc.) while paying little or no corporate income tax.
This preferential tax treatment affords MEC a huge competitive advantage that permeates its entire business whether from building new stores to pricing based on ever increasing buying power – it is this preferential tax advantage that poses unfair competition to independent bicycle dealers.
While we appreciate the intent behind MEC’s stated objectives to, “…expand the cycling market in Canada and increase our support to cycling communities.”, we are perplexed as to how its entry into the bicycle market proposes to do that.
The Big Chop – 2009 Summer Paddle Series
Karl Woll | April 22, 2009 3:25 pm
The Big Chop Summer Paddle Series is kicking off again next week, April 30. For those of you who are new to the Big Chop, its a series of 10 paddle races that take place in English Bay every second Thursday throughout the summer. Its a great event for beginners and novices alike, with free demo clinics before each race hosted by MEC, and food and drinks afterward for the racers.
The Mountain Equiqment Co-op Big Chop Summer Paddle Series is a 10 race series happening on Thursday evenings in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The race is open to OC 1 & 2, Kayaks, Paddleboards, and Canoes. The 2009 series starts on Thursday, April 30th, at 7pm.
Imagine. It’s a Thursday evening and you just got off work. It was a stressful day and you need a release. You head to the beach as the sun is setting. 100 boats are lined up off of the shore of Vanier Park. Kayakers vs canoers vs outriggers are all set to battle the 7-10km course. Think Cannonball Run on water. The gun goes off, the race starts, the paddles churn the water, and the bow of the boats stir up the wake. Sweating, heart beating, adrenaline flowing. You finish. You smile. New friends, cold drinks, and tasty food awaits you. What a night. The long workday is now the last thing on your mind. That’s what the Big Chop Summer Paddle Series is all about..
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