Shelter set for summer

A rider at the Sunbury BMX Club facility. (Taken By ST – Sports Photography).

Sunbury BMX Club is home to a new shelter in time for summer, offering riders, spectators, and officials protection from the elements.

Funded through Hume’s annual budget, the shelter was completed early last month and forms part of the overall upgrades to the BMX facility.

BMX club president Russell Hocking said the club is now one of the top three BMX facilities in Victoria.

“This year we got a state series round in AusCycling and … next year we’ve been offered another one, so the upgrades have … increased our membership and we get more people from all over other clubs coming to gate nights and other events,” Mr Hocking said.

“We’re averaging about 30-40 riders now at gate nights because we’ve got the lights now.

“Obviously there are probably other things down the track that we want to improve on as we go, but we’ve got pretty much what we need now … you can work in the canteen, you can work in scoring and you can see your kid out the window riding … we’re pretty lucky really in that respect.”

He said the new shelter will be especially useful throughout summer, providing sun and wind protection for riders, officials, and club members.

Mr Hocking said future upgrades the club could use include an undercover staging area for riders before they ascend the hill to begin racing and to seal the end of the finish line.

Oscar Parry