For some people, coming down to help maintain a BMX track is an unpleasant chore. But the important thing to consider is, it’s not done by itself and volunteers are as important as the riders who ride the track. Many clubs, particularly in the country, find it very difficult to attract parents and riders to maintain the track on a regular basis. It’s usually left to the few dedicated members who do it for the kids, time after time. They know that without the job being done, there’s no track nor a club for the kids.
One such club facing these issues is Tom Price, based in the north of Western Australia. Their track is made from a combination of clay, fines and any other dirt they can basically get their hands on. The Tom Price track has been going for more than 20 years with Vice President Kero’s family involved for the past five. Over the years, the various families have made it what it is today, by traveling to different tracks and picking up elements to implement into their track to lift the skill of the kids.
Kero works six days on, six days off but manages to come down to maintain the track at least three times during his days off. Lawns need watering, the soft spots grinded and rain damage fixed up. Whoever has a vehicle at the time, will use it to roll over the jumps and berms to help compact it. Many clubs find this effective as long as they have the right moisture content.
Tom Price are in the process of using dolomite cracker dust, which goes down hard like concrete in some areas. It takes away a lot of the maintenance time and minimizes the damage, wind erosion and hosing down for racing. Currently the contractor hasn’t yet delivered it and it’s an ongoing process, even though it’s been paid for through canteen funds and sponsorship.
Some maintenance causes cannot be avoided. The biggest environmental threat is the lightening because of the surrounding iron ore. It strikes the ground and as soon as you mix the light poles around the track, they become lightening rods. The kids on the track ride their aluminum bikes on the track and that becomes a recipe for disaster, so if it looks like a storm is approaching, they can the night and come back the next day or the next week when the track dries out. In the mean time, there may be the need to maintain the track where the lightening has hit.
Tom Price now share a caretaker between the BMX Club and the neighboring Speedway to assist in preventing motorbikes using the tracks, which have been a major issue in the past. The caretaker takes a photo of any motorbike riders and walks off quietly before ringing Kero or anyone on the phone list to take action and come down. Currently it’s a big deterrent but some kids think they’re above the law, which is when the police become involved to take the appropriate action.
But finding volunteers to maintain the track has always been the biggest ongoing problem, an issue very hard to eradicate. In the Pilbara, a large amount of parents work shift work and long hours, making it difficult to support their kids down at the track and participate in club events, such as track maintenance days. Many seem to drop their kids with their bikes in the car park and use the club for babysitting.
“You get more people by organizing a social” Kero states. “A barbecue and beers makes it easier to attract more attention and support”. One north-west club suggested that parents could contribute several hours a month to help maintain the site in return for allowing their child to ride. It wasn’t followed up in fear that the club would lose members. It appears that some parents haven’t been made aware of the maintenance requirements behind the scenes.
BMX racing is one of the fastest growing sports but it is hard to keep the parents excited about the sport. It’s the parents that encourage the kids and without the parental support, kids get over the sport very quickly. Contributing behind the scenes to your BMX Club can offer great rewards: including learning new skills, social networking and becoming involved in the community. It only takes a few hours a month and its enough to decrease the burden on those who usually do all the hard work.
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