Whistler, B.C. – The Real Estate Association of Whistler has awarded the Whistler BMX Club a grant of $5,000 towards the construction of a new community cycling facility in Bayly Park, Cheakamus. The money will be used to build equipment storage and a registration shed to support the grass roots development of cycling in the Whistler community. Construction is already under way on the site with volunteers working hard to finish the track in the next few weeks.
Ray Longsmuir, President of the The Real Estate Association of Whistler, said “The organisation, through the generosity of its members, is happy to support the Whistler BMX Club in Cheakamus Crossing. This family friendly facility will be open to all age groups and levels of competency, whether a recreational rider or for sanctioned competitions, and best of all it will be free for the community to use. We feel privileged to be able to contribute to its success and would like to thank the many volunteers for their hard work.”
The Whistler BMX Club is keen to stress to the public that the track is not yet complete and can be damaged by people walking or riding on it. Track Director, Brian Finestone writes “we need people to stay off the features, berms and start hill until we finish compacting the soil. A set of footprints up the face of a berm or tire tracks over the features will set us back a week or more.”
The Whistler BMX Club is thankful to local firms for their support so far, including McElhanney Consulting for survey work, Alpine Bike Parks for site layout and Joyride Bike Parks for acting as principal contractor for the build. The club welcomes new volunteers interested in helping with the final weeks of construction and those interested in helping run the club. The club’s email address is: info@whistlerbmx.com
The land, as well as funds for track design, were contributed by the RMOW. The track design funds were from the Province of British Columbia’s Resort Municipality Initiative program. These Resort Municipality Initiative funds will be used to landscape around the track to ensure it is integrated within Bayly Park. BC Hydro and Tree Canada recently donated $6,200 to purchase 40 aspen trees to be planted near the track. Funding for the track has come from a wide range of donors, including the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, Gibbons Whistler and The Spalding Family Foundation with American Friends of Whistler. Donations from local businesses and individuals plus a number of community fundraising events and a crowdfunding campaign have all contributed to the huge effort put in by a volunteer team.
