WESTSIDE BMX Club in Balcatta is speeding towards a $1million facelift after a building tender was awarded last week.
The club has garnered a strong membership since it was founded in 1979, even producing some rising BMX stars aiming for Olympic glory including Kirsten Dellar and Kyle Green.
Club president Stuart Pepper said it was a much-needed improvement and the club had been in talks with the City of Stirling about upgrades for eight years.
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READ NOW“The current track was built in 2010 by a group of dedicated club members all out of fundraising money,” he said.
“There were four families that donated the money needed to build it and the club paid those families back over the next five years.
“We’ve now paid all that off and due to the national series events we have held for the past fours year the council have come to the party and agreed to put in the clubrooms.”
Mr Pepper said the facilities would include an upgrade of the clubrooms, a storeroom, new canteen facilities, new bathrooms, track upgrades and a viewing platform.
“At the moment there really aren’t any facilities on site where we can gold club meetings,” he said.
“It will make life so much easier for the club members and we will be able to put up a lot of the clubs history and memorabilia.
“Being an extreme sport, the upgraded first aid facilities are really important for us.”
The City of Stirling awarded the $1,346,962 tender to Shelford Constructions for the upgrades last week, with demolition set to begin at the end of the month.
Mr Pepper said the club has members from the age of two to 64.
“It’s a great sport for kids to get experience on bikes and it is a stepping stone for all bike sports,” he said.
“They can start in BMX at such an early age, develop good bike skills and from there progress to the other sports.”