By Mikayla van Loon
Lilydale BMX Club and Melbourne Radio Control Circuit Racers were among four local clubs to received funding in this year’s Yarra Ranges Council’s Capital Development Grant Program.
A total of $171,125 was awarded, helping sports and recreation clubs carry out projects that will improve and benefit not just themselves but the wider community.
Of that total Lilydale BMX Club will receive $28,000 towards path upgrades, the Melbourne Radio Control Circuit Racers will have $12,500 contributed towards its rostrum extension, $15,000 will go to Lilydale Montrose United Soccer Club for its bathroom upgrades and $11,000 for the Lilydale Junior Football Club to install netting behind the goals.
Lilydale BMX secretary Rob Fallon said as a club of about 100 members and with access to the public, this money will help ensure the facilities are safe.
“Over the period of Covid and with the heavy rains we’ve had the pathways around the track have become quite deteriorated,” he said.
“We’ve noticed several spots that are getting dangerous, tripping and slipping and that sort of thing. So we’re spending some money to upgrade all that to make it safer for both our riders, spectators and members of the public.”
As the host of some of the major BMX competitions, attracting over 400 riders and their families, Mr Fallon said making sure the track and the surrounding facilities are in perfect condition prior to next year is of high importance.
With the council contributing 50 per cent of the cost for these repairs, Mr Fallon said “it does lighten the load for the club”, potentially allowing them to focus on other projects in the future.
“In the long term, we would really like to see proper club rooms,” he said.
“At the moment, because it’s historically been entirely volunteer driven and the club was one of the first to be established in the area back in the ‘80s, we’re still using the shipping containers for storage and as a meeting space.”
As female participation increases, having appropriate club and change rooms is essential to growing the sport in Lilydale.
Mr Fallon said the club would also like to install a new starting gate using better technology and more lighting for the months where daylight savings does not allow after hours training.
For Melbourne Radio Control Circuit Racers (MRCCR) president Nick Salib, receiving a council grant to extend the driver podium at the track will open opportunities not only for the club but for the region.
“We’re going to extend it, we have the smallest drivers stand in Australia, we actually don’t meet the governing bodies sizing requirement as it changed about two years ago,” he said.
The extra 2.5 metres on each side of the rostrum will mean MRCCR can have 15 or 16 drivers racing at a time, rather than the current 10.
“So that is going to open up a lot more space and make it a lot more comfortable, bringing us into the 21st century as such,” Mr Salib said.
“It’s going to entice a lot more people to come to Victoria, to our race track. Our facility is totally one of the best in the country, the only thing lacking was the driver stand.
“We had an opportunity, an email came out to all clubs to host a world championship…We could not nominate our club, as it is, by far, one of the best of Australia apart from [the rostrum], because it is large scale, and they do run the 12 [drivers] we’ve had to say ‘we can’t put our hands up’.”
World Championships draw over 150 drivers from around the world to the host location, meaning accommodation, local attractions and restaurants would benefit from the competition one day being hosted in Lilydale.
Coming up in November the Lilydale facility will be host to the National Championships, where 50 to 60 entrants from all over Australia will join the competition.
Both Mr Fallon and Mr Salib said the Yarra Ranges Council has been very supportive of each club’s current and future projects.
