Ballarat Sebastopol BMX Club will become the first BMX club in Victoria to have a sealed all-weather surface track.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Regional Development Minister Jaala Pulford announced the club was successful in its application for a Pick My Project grant of almost $200,000 on Tuesday.
Ballarat Sebastopol BMX Club funding research officer Ashley Pollard said the current unsealed track was often unsafe and unusable after rain.
“About a month ago we had to cancel an event because the track got soft after heavy rain. Thirty riders couldn’t race that day because of it,” he said.
“Had we had the sealed surface, we would have been able to wait out the rain and then run the race.”
Ms Pulford acknowledged the ‘enormous’ effort the club’s volunteers had made to maintain the current track.
Mr Pollard said a group of parents had spent four hours one afternoon a couple of weeks ago to fix the track’s last four corners.
The new surface to be installed at Marty Busch Reserve will be low-maintenance, saving countless hours of volunteer work.
The project will include a weatherproof and hard-wearing surface along the straights, bitumen corners and improved drainage.
Concept designs propose a yellow colour for the the surfaced track to reflect club colours.
Resurfacing the track is part of Ballarat Sebastopol BMX Club’s campaign to encourage more elite riders from around the state, while improving local participation.
The club also received a $10,000 City of Ballarat community impact grant to purchase bikes, helmets and gloves last week with plans to bring more people to the sport.
“We want to break down barriers,” Mr Pollard said.
“It cost $600 to set up my five year old son and as they grow they go up bike sizes.”
The Marty Busch Reserve BMX track is permanently open to the public and the club hosts monthly race events.
A state event held earlier this year drew 230 riders from across Victoria and around 500 spectators.
Ballarat Sebastopol BMX Club president Rob Pompe thanked club and wider community members for voting and supporting their Pick My Project campaign.
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.