Our story

From 1950 to the present day

We aim here to highlight some aspects of the early days in WIMA and to juxtapose them with our current organisation to give a contemporary context. The purpose is to give you an overview and help you navigate through the webpage with the help of links to the different sections that contain more information. 

The Pearl Booklet states that “W.I.M.A. was formed in America in 1950 by Louise Scherbyn: the first members to the Association were Hope Jones, Grace Conrad and Elvira Eibling” and adds that “The idea of such an organisation came to Louise during the Second World War when she was corresponding with women all over the world”. What started 75 years ago as one woman’s vision has now grown into a truly global organisation with divisions on six continents. All our current divisions and their national presidents are introduced in the National Divisions chapter.  

The aims of WIMA

The original aims of WIMA were “to promote international understanding and cooperation and to provide a platform for women to get together to share experiences, problems and ideas and to encourage their involvement in competitions” (Pearl booklet). 

The first constitution, which was drafted in Europe 1951, can be read in full in the Pearl booklet, but ARTICLE II – OBJECT and ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP are of special interest as by comparing them to our current constitution, we can see that little has changed in the original intention and purpose of WIMA.

ARTICLE II – OBJECT (first):
The object of the Association shall be in the interest of improving and promoting activities, goodwill and sportsmanship of women enthusiasts in the motorcycle world (Pearl booklet).  

As can be seen in the current International Constitution, Article II is expanded to also include the promotion of well-being in general but apart from that, the initial object remains the same.   

Article II – OBJECTIVES (2022): 
The objective of WIMA International is to improve and promote activities, advancement, goodwill and friendship amongst women motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world. WIMA aims at using the common interest of motorcycling to promote the well-being of women in general. The Association is conducted independently of any personal interest. 

Membership rules then and now

The membership rules have gone through slight changes through the years and have adapted to the way WIMA is run now, through national divisions. Today, WIMA has two types of membership: membership of National Divisions and Honorary Membership. This is a simplification from the early days, when “WIMA had three divisions of membership in the States, one for riders, one for pillion passengers and one for interested women” (Pearl booklet).  

Today, membership is obtained by contacting the national president of the country you live in and one of WIMA’s strong points is that there must be no discrimination – WIMA always was and still is for ALL women interested in motorcycles. We are proud that WIMA doesn’t discriminate against pillion riders, but that they are eligible for full membership. The interest in motorcycles is the common factor.

As you can see, the membership rules have gone through slight changes through the years and have adapted to the way WIMA is run now, through national divisions. 

To date, the only members who have Honorary Lifetime Membership are Hayley Bell and the admins of the Women Riders World Relay (WRWR). You can read about WRWR on the page for WIMA Special Recognition. All other members are members through their National Division. Until 2023, the National Divisions paid a fee of 0.5 eusor per member to WIMA International. This exceptionally low fee had remained the samde since WIMA International was oficially established in Europe over two decades ago, thansk to the tiredless efforts of its ongoing team of volounteers. This has now been increased to 1 euro per member in order to create a support fund whereby National Presidents can apply for a grant of up to 500 euros, to enable a member who could not otherwise participate in an internationall rally to attend.

In ARTICLE IV, we can read about the Officers and in the early days the term for the national leader was Captain. This was changed in the early 2000s to President, as captain has certain military connotations and president was deemed a more neutral term.   

ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS (first) 
Officers shall be the International and the Divisional classification. 

A. The elected officers shall be the International President, International Vice President and the Divisional Captains. 

B. The appointed officers shall be Divisional Assistant Captains and other officers deemed necessary. 

C. The International Council of Officers shall consist of the Founder, International President, International Vice President and the Division Captains. 

Little by little, WIMA spread to other countries; communication was by post and therefore took time. It is therefore impressive that “by 1952, there were both individuals and small WIMA groups in seven countries. Those members outside America were given associate status only; they paid no ‘dues’ and had no voting rights” (Pearl Booklet). Much was achieved in just two years.  

Today, all national divisions are run independently under the umbrella of WIMA International, and the National presidents are part of the International Council of National Presidents (ICNP). Together with the International President, they govern WIMA International. This system was established towards the end of the 20^th century and Sheonagh Ravensdale was appointed the second International President in 1997. You can read their introductions along with those who followed on the International Officers page.

Working alongside the International President are the International Vice President and the Treasurer. A team of women also provide support in public relations, social media, merchandise, the historic archive and the website. See more about these volunteers and the work they do in the WIMA Officers page. The current set up is in stark contrast to the early days, when everything was run by Louise Scherbyn, first alone and later together with the first Vice President, Theresa Wallach. 

Charity and Supported Organisations

WIMA has a history of supporting different causes. Louise was always organising different projects and charity events for the members to take part in. The following example is from the Newsletter edition winter 71/spring 72: 

“BUTTONS NEEDED 
HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN to send a button, a few or more, to help the American-Canadian Division along on their Button Project? It was hoped a picture could be made of buttons from all or many of the countries represented in WIMA. There is still time to help. Surely everyone must have some buttons to donate. Buttons must be flat and colored.” (Pearl Booklet p.21). 

WIMA is still involved in many different projects on a national and international level. MJ Piki, the first women-run motorcycle-taxi and dispatch service in Tanzania, is WIMA International’s current officially-supported organisation. In addition, many national divisions also run their own local charity project, for example the street kids project in Estonia and Save the Earth in Japan to name just a couple. You can read more about MJ Piki and other humanitarian work by different divisions, in the Supported Organisation page.  

Newsletters

WIMA NEWS probably originally started around 1962 – the first newsletter in the archives is dated June 1963. Four editions per year were co-produced by Brenda Alderson, from the British division and Louise Scherbyn.  

“At that time, it took the form of a quarterly magazine. Brenda would prepare the drafts (from material sent to her by Louise), mail them to Louise, who would edit and approve them and would post them back to Brenda to type, duplicate, staple and send out! Later the latter process was taken over by an American member who had a printing business. In those days the entire WIMA membership amounted to some 200” (Pearl Booklet, p.21).  

These were lively newsletters with articles and letters from members around the world – the whole of Autumn 1964 is devoted to the vexed issue of women being banned from racing – successful WIMA racers had their licences withdrawn at no notice with the feeble excuse that racing was dangerous and accidents by women would bring racing into disrepute. Louise wrote numerous letters to the various authorities protesting the decision. Other newsletters detailed the hardy exploits of the women who rode to and camped in the snow at the Dragon Rallies in Wales and the Elephant Rallies on the continent. One issue mentions that Peggy Iris Thomas, author of Gasoline Gypsy (also published as A Ride in the Sun) was a former WIMA member. After decades out of print, the book is now available again. 

To this day, many national divisions produce a WIMA Newsletter. It used to be sent out in paper form, but is now done digitally, and WIMA International revived the concept of an international newsletter in 2021 which run breifely until 2024. The newsletters contained material sent in by the members and reflect the activities going on. Not much has changed in this respect! 

The following is from the winter 1967 newsletter, reproduced in the Pearl Booklet: 

WHAT WIMA (INTERNATIONAL) MEANS TO YOU 
I — INTEREST in motorcycling. 
N — NICETY of winning trophies from other countries. 
T — TOPS the motorcycling sport for ladies. 
E — EVERY member can share in the activities, competition and fun. 
R — REASONABLE fees for all. 
N — NEVER any discrimination of any sort. 
A — ACQUAINTANCE with lady enthusiasts throughout the world. 
T — TRIALS, Rallies, Road Runs, Moto-Cross, Field Events, Search Runs, Fox Hunts, Orientation Runs, Group Tours, Special Awards and Honors, a variety of contests and many more events make fun activities.  
I — IS always ready to further the sport of motorcycling.  
O — ONLY organisation of its kind in the world.  
N — NEWS and business and social matters of the organisation published quarterly in our own WIMA NEWS publication.  
A — ALL year round enjoyment, not just for a few months of the year.  

A fantastic summary of WIMA made by Louise Scherbyn well over 50 years ago and those currently familiar with WIMA will recognise these features in our organisation today. The strong focus on no discrimination and an organisation for all women on all types of bikes has been mentioned before and is strongly anchored in our current constitution.  

In addition to the newsletter, nowadays, we have the website and different social medias such as Facebook pages and groups, Instagram, Linked In and different chat channels, which are used to stay in touch with our international friends. In 2020, during the Coronavirus pandemic, the International Council of National Presidents held its first National Presidents’ meeting online, via ZOOM. These meetings have traditionally been held at the International Rallies each year, with the introduction of a hybrid meeting in Finland 2018. The embrace of digital communication channels helps with decision making, helps the divisions to stay connected, and improves democracy, as it is easier for national presidents to participate in the discussions.  

International Rallies

The International Rallies are seen as the lifeblood of the organisation and a highlight for many members. The yearly possibility to travel to a foreign country and spend an activity-packed week, together with international motorcycle friends is what makes WIMA different from many other motorcycle groups. While the Pearl Booklet mentions the newsletter as responsible for holding the organisation together in the early days, it must be said that the rallies are of equal, if not higher importance – although they were initially a purely European activity. The first International Rally was held in 1958 in the Netherlands, Scheveningen and these rallies have been held every year since then, with only three exceptions: 1962 when pregnancies and child births prevented it and 2020 and 2021 when the Corona pandemic made gatherings impossible.   

Founder of WIMA France, Agnès Acker, wrote this in the Pearl Booklet: “Every year, the Continental Division meets for a week during the summer in a European country, ranging from around the polar circle to beyond the ‘iron curtain’, bringing anxiety amongst the populations curious, as well as wary, of these wild women on their motor bikes. They must surely be dirty and of doubtful morality!” 

Details of all the rallies and as much information as we have been able to gather are in the WIMA International Rallies section. 

Songs

Songs have filled an important role at the rallies, both for entertainment and the very popular campfire. Over the years numerous songs have been composed and/or performed at the WIMA rallies.  We have dedicated a section for the WIMA songs that we’ve been able to collect and reproduce.  

The growth of WIMA

As WIMA grew there was need for an organised structure in Europe in addition to the USA. In her account, Agnes Acker mentions the Continental division. When WIMA was first established in Europe, it consisted of the British division and the Continental division. The first newsletter we have in the archives (June 1963) lists Jopy Deys van Dinter as Captain of the Continental division which was made up of members from various countries in mainland Europe. The Captain of the British Division was Brenda Alderson who was also the Newsletter Editor.   

According to the Pearl Booklet in 1980, “The Continental Division of WIMA is less of an organised Association than its British counterpart; it has no regular Newsletters or small gatherings. However, it has an annual rally to which members from all over Europe flock. This rally usually lasts a whole week and encompasses a wide variety of riding competitions and social activities.”  See the Rally section for full details. 

The creation of country divisions

Over time, country divisions formed in Europe and WIMA continued to spread all over the world, one continent at a time: New Zealand and Australia are first listed as one division in the Autumn 1966 Newsletter with Audrey Henderson as Captain. The first country in Asia to establish a WIMA division was Japan in 1996. The Pearl Booklet records that WIMA South Africa was established in 1971 and the founder was Lil Collett. This division was later lost and sadly no links remain. Later advancements have re-established WIMA on the African continent, as well as making the organisation truly international: the first Arab countries to join WIMA were United Arab Emirates and Morocco in 2019. In 2020, WIMA Mexico was founded, becoming the first division in Latin America and soon to be followed by Nicaragua and Panama. See the National Divisions section for full introductions of all our divisions.  

Membership numbers

Early membership numbers are a reproduction of what Frances Popley collected from newsletters and presented in the Pearl Booklet. She says that there was no way of cross-referencing them as there were no official records held. The same is true for a large portion of WIMA’s history. At large, records state if membership fees are paid but not how many members each division had. Only the last few years have records with membership numbers recorded for each division which we can compare with these early numbers. We must also bear in mind that in the early 70s, there were no actual national divisions, as such (for the most part, there were only individual members in different countries, so that the early numbers only indicate the country of origin for the WIMA members. 

Membership numbers 1968: 107 members

Country	1968
America-Canada	15
Britain	50
Germany	20
Rest of Europe	18
Australia/New Zealand	4

Membership numbers 1969: 123 members, 15 countries/1972: 197 members, 18 countries

Country	1969	1972
America	15	60
Canada	3	3
Britain	61	59
W. Germany	22	18
E. Germany	2	2
Denmark	1	1
Belgium	3	3
Holland	2	2
Switzerland	2	1
Austria	1	1
Czechoslovakia	2	2
France	2	8
Spain	1	1
Australia	3	2
New Zealand	3	3
Sweden		20
Italy		6
Finland		5

Membership numbers 2022: 2872 members, 40 countries/ 2024: 3841 members, 38 countries

Country	2022	2024
Australia	34	24
Austria	32	33
Bangladesh	10	10
Belgium	49	38
Bulgaria	69	148
Canada	1	46
Curacao	7	7
Denmark	68	79
Estonia	19	20
Finland	217	340
France	82	80
Germany	323	324
Ghana	11	9
Great Britain	227	320
Greece	12	–
India	20	40
Iceland	1	15
Italy	86	140
Japan	37	45
Korea	23	15
Liechtenstein	13	18
Lithuania	42	25
Luxembourg	4	3
Malaysia	25	20
Morocco	20	15
Mexico	32	20
The Netherlands	72	60
Nepal	27	56
Nicaragua	10	20
New Zealand	6	6
Norway	680	1050
Pakistan	7	11
Panama	1	–
Poland	4	4
Romania	105	110
Sweden	39	56
Switzerland	51	46
United Arab Emirate	1	1
Ukraine	7	7
USA	400	580

Divisions have waxed and waned in numbers over the years, and the progress has not always been steadily upwards. France, for example, which was growing strongly in the early years, disappeared completely in the early 2000s and was later revived and is now a very active division. Spain shows one member in the early years and did indeed have a small division in the 1990s and hosted an international rally, but then disappeared completely. Denmark had just one member back in 1969, but has recently launched an up-and-coming division. Norway has come from nowhere to head the league at 680 members, extraordinary when you consider how short the riding season is in the far north of Europe. And the USA makes a welcome return.  See the National Divisions page for a full introduction to all our current countries.  

Celebrations and milestones

Throughout the years WIMA has cellebrated various milestones and some are mentioned here. No doubt there are more examples for which we have no information. The Pearl Booklet relates the WIMA 20^th anniversary which was celebrated in style in New York (you can read the full description in the Pearl Booklet) and also in the Rallies Section: 

“Our President looked wonderful behind the birthday cake with as many as twenty national flags of the countries represented in the Womens International Motorcycle Association. Louise was dressed in her WIMA blue uniform with colourful insignia on her left sleeve. Seated at her right and left side respectively were Vice-President Theresa Wallach, who had ridden her BSA Royal Star 650 miles from Chicago and American-Canadian Division Captain Faye Rickert who had ridden as passenger with her husband, Martin, on their big Harley Davidson from Meadville. Pioneer rider Mrs. Fay McConn sat at one end of the top table, and pioneer Mrs. Mary James at the other end, she had come more than 3000 miles from Palo Alto. They made everyone feel proud of the spirit of WIMA”.  

There have only been two logos in WIMA’s history. The first was round, designed at a very early stage, and reproduced on newsletters and letterheads. A metal badge produced by GB was very popular – bags of them would be taken to international rallies in the 90s for sale to rally participants.  

Then in the early 2000s, after huge discussion for more than two years, with many designs being submitted, the traditional logo was updated to an oval shape to include Australia, New Zealand and Japan. 

For the 30^th anniversary, the Pearl Booklet was created by Frances Popley, with the round logo in pride of place on the front cover.

40th anniversary celebrations were held in several countries: this is Wales.

The 60^th anniversary was marked with a special cloth patch which was distributed to all participants at the 2011 rally in UK. 

The 70th celebrations which were supposed to be held at the international rally in Germany were postponed to the following year and then postponed again, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. An anniversary logo was created through a members’ competition and the national presidents voted on their favourite design.

Like many clubs, WIMA Divisions have produced their own regalia and memorabilia for decades and special items such as logo’d teeshirts and giveaways are regular giveaways at the international rallies. Samples of these are stored with the WIMA historian and in the rallies section each rally logo is included.

This latest history, is but a chapter in the life of WIMA – the only organisation of its kind in the world….