BMX scoops multi million dollar Olympic Boost

[Bmxbandit]

This is what our elite guys need the jr kids have great tracks in QLD were can the elite guys go to train ?

Yes it is what the Elite guys need.  I don't think anybody is questioning that.

Its great to have a Supercross track but it is equally important to have facilities that help developing athletes bridge the gap between the club standard tracks and supercross standard tracks.

Unfortunately in Queensland there is not a track that is anywhere near a standard that would fit into this middle ground.  I know we all jump up and promote and defend our home tracks but if you look at it realistically I believe this is the case.    I don't think anyone could hold their hand on their heart and say they thought we had facilities anywhere to help our riders of all ages prepare for what they had to ride at the Worlds in Adelaide.  A few days on a track like Shep on the way to Adelaide would have helped most people enormously.  Months or years on a track of this type would have been even better.  The Kiwis have a couple of tracks in a much smaller geographic area at this standard and I think that stood out.

If we depend on the clubs who are primarily a group of volunteers and number no more than a dozen people in most cases to develop tracks to this standard it will never happen.  This development has to be driven by the sports governing bodies. 

[bigbird]

Holly Chrome moly,has this stirred up a hornet's nest.I always tell my children when they ask me to do something outragous like jump off that 10 foot ledge.WE ARE ALL NOT SUPERMAN, and this is exactly what the problem is.Elite athletes are made up of say a percentage of maybe 5 in 100,the rest of the 95 % are simply not superman ,they are the more mundane superpeople who go out there and race every week for the fun of the sport.
Just remember if they build a super track which no one can ride but the absolute best it will be used maybe twice a year for uci events.
I want to know who is going to maintain this outdoor supertrack with the Queensland weather and who will benefit from the proceeds.Is a club going to take over the running of the facilty or is the state government going to run it.I really think no one has thought this through.
If they do build this track they will have to cater for the 400 plus SEQ riders who race every week end.And just for the money why the hell spend that much on a track and infustructure and not build it inside blows me away.
Will this mean the end for some grass roots tracks around Brisbane or can i see more clubs combining like Sydney football teams .
Just remember how many sprockets make up the total of queensland riders.
At first i was all for it,thought it was a great idea but now i think it may be a swinging axe for bmx in queensland.Please have a massive rethink and allow the BMX riders of Australia to put this to a vote.
captain caveman has left the building.

[UNBLVBL]

you guys have typed a lot above and I cant be bothered reading it all, but I am working on this job and any info that I am allowed to pass on I will for you all...

[just rollin]

I dont understand why anyone thinks that the Jr/novice classes are going to miss out on anything by us getting this track. Like the "red bull under your wing" camp at Luke madills track this will prepare our 14 plus riders to really move forward and give all those underneath something to aspire to I dont see how any other club is going to miss out on anything. This money dose not come from a government bag labeled "BMX MONEY" it has nothing to do with the grant money that is available so how is anybody missing out ? I dont get it our elite guys need a track like this Australia needs a track like this isint it better to have tracks like this so our riders can win more supercross events and those said riders can earn a living doing what we all love and that our kids have something to strive for in there sporting career. Can anyone one tell me how many out of the top 5 bmx nations dont have a supercross track ?? Im pretty sure we are the only one who dosent

"
Unfortunately in Queensland there is not a track that is anywhere near a standard that would fit into this middle ground."

by the end of the year nerang and a few other clubs will have UCI standard 5 meter start hills nerang will hopefully also have there berms tared 8.5 meter jumps in the first straight deep rhythms and 9 meter pro jumps thats pretty close dont you think?

anyway that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the bris supercross track because as I said befor the money comes from somewhere completely different If people think bmx QLD is going to try and get 1.5 mill from the state government and then spread that around the 31 clubs in qld they really have no idea thats not how it works if they asked for that the state government would laugh in there faces
anyway in the end nobody is going to be any worse of only some people are going to get what they need

[pkaye]

Does Latvia have a permanent Supercross Facility? Not being cheeky, I just want to know.
I agree whole heartedly that this facility is much needed for our top riders. Let's face it, Luke Madill should not have had to build his own track to prepare for the Olympics!!
I think what most people are getting at here though is if so much money is going to be spent on the facility, why not cater for all? I have seen other facilities where a 6 m gate sits alongside the 8m and there is a seperate first straight. A modern first class facility that has supercross and world championship standards would benefit all. They will already be doing seperate straights for the female elite riders anyway.
You must remember just rollin, that Luke built a second start hill for the under my wing weekend and to cater for the likes of my old backside within the club. The riders trained and competed on the female elite/amateur side of the track.

[Bmxbandit]

Nobody suggested spreading anything amongst all the Qld Clubs.  But it would be nice if we could have at least one world class facility in each zone.  Call it a centre of excellence if you like!  Even 2 or 3 would be great.

[bonzai]

Take a look at the new track hey are building in NZ It has a SX and Normal start hil, two pro straights and is an amazing facility. Why can't we have something like that in each state

[kessud3]

Who knows what they will build,we have not seen any detail or designs at all yet.

[thedbc-]

Some of you guys are a serious burn out. Always focusing on the negatives. Who cares how much it costs. If the jnr kids are good enough they will get invited to come ride the track. Let me ask you this- Why would you have the younger kids ride a 8m start hill day in day out if 99% of there racing is done on a " normal " size start hill?

Everyone can have a world class facility if the people building the tracks make them world class. Too many parents worry about their little johnny and build small tracks that my nanna could get around on.

[Paul 40]

Let's look at the medalists from 2008. 2 from France, 1 from Latvia and 3 from USA. Now in 2008 there were 3 permanent Supercross tracks around the world (4 if you count Luke's track), China (now gone), World Cycling Centre (WCC) in Aigle, Switzerland, and Chula Vista. Now the Euro teams had easy access to the World Cycling centre and the US riders lived at Chula, while the Aussie team travelled 14 odd hours to stay at Chula for what, 1-2 weeks. Hmm I think the number stack up pretty well in favour of having a permanent training base close by.

I agree with just rollin, this money hasn't been stolen from local bmx clubs, infact without the Olympics and the need for a Supercross style track, bmx would never get money like this spent on it from the government or any sponsor for that matter.

Australia needs this, whether you like ot or not. Without it we will become a bmx backwater. I spoke to a HP team member last weekend and he told me that anyone wanting to go to the Olympics or race at World cups (or Elite at Worlds for that matter now) has to spend as much time as possible on Supercross tracks, no matter how good they are on a standard track because the tracks and racing is so much different. It took Sam W 1 1/2 years riding Supercross tracks before he got it down and started to make finals and he would have to be one of the most skillfull riders on the planet. Imagine how much quicker he would have had it dialled if there was somewhere close by back then for him to live and practice.  The US already has 14 and 15 yr olds, both boys and girls doing full laps of Chula, day in day out, Australia is already way behind.

Sorry for the long rant but I feel pretty stong about this and find it hard to believe anyone thinks that it's a bad idea and the money could be spent in a better way.

For the record my name is Paul Tomkinson and I'm happy to speak with anyone about it. Please this is not a challenge, just an offer.

[Gorey]

WELL SAID Paul, absolutely correct mate I totally agree with all that you have written.

Especially with regard to the USA riders, heres a link to the vids at the worlds http://www.goreysvids.com/2009-World-BMX-Championships.php Download the 14 Girls final and the 16 Girls final. Both girls that won were from the USA and both girls jumped the last double into the 1st corner, these girls were the ONLY ones to jump it up until the JNR elite women & only 3 did it in their final, just goes to show the training that's happening at Chula Vista and how much  benefit it can have.

[just rollin]

just to clear thing
UCI Switzerland has one that's Europe covered
USA has chula
New zealand has one but its two tracks side by side 6 meter one side 8 meter the other
Madrid's track is permanent
Copenhagen is permanent
that's 5

[ashie22]

Well well well.. This has sparked quite the argument.

It's the old 2 sides to every story - what came first, the chicken or the egg?
Does increased participation at the grass roots level make a larger pool of talent in which our elite riders are chosen? Or does the success of elite athletes improve participation at grass roots levels? Realistically there is no right or wrong answer.

However.... If you are a rider in Australia in junior or senior elite, hoping to make the elite development squad, I bet many of you don't know that without not ONLY experience, but podium finishes(!!!) in supercross rounds, you will not even be considered. Now I don't know about everyone, but I know me and my bf both would like to have the opportunity to do well, but for me especially, I can't afford to jet off to Madrid, Copenhagen, chula vista etc AND still do the worlds etc... And even if I could afford it, how am I meant to be competitive on a sx track when the only thing even remotely close to that level is in Luke madills backyard?

Someone made the comment about Latvia ... Maris has been living in America for ages now, as long as I've known him. Just coz he rides FOR Latvia, doesn't mean he trains there! The OTC facilities in the US are a huge advantage, and is primarily responsible for the loss of our aus elites to America. Look at Jared, Sam, khalen, etc. How often did we see them in aus? And why? They're off training at purpose built facilities. So why should we as a country fall behind?

This is an amazing opportunity and will allow development never seen before in Australia. I bet the people complaining will be the first to proudly announce their involvement in that "awesome" sport known as Bmx if and when we have success at the olympics thanks to these facilities?   

[what]

This is what our elite guys need the jr kids have great tracks in QLD were can the elite guys go to train ?

Yes it is what the Elite guys need.  I don't think anybody is questioning that.

Its great to have a Supercross track but it is equally important to have facilities that help developing athletes bridge the gap between the club standard tracks and supercross standard tracks.

Unfortunately in Queensland there is not a track that is anywhere near a standard that would fit into this middle ground.  I know we all jump up and promote and defend our home tracks but if you look at it realistically I believe this is the case.    I don't think anyone could hold their hand on their heart and say they thought we had facilities anywhere to help our riders of all ages prepare for what they had to ride at the Worlds in Adelaide.  A few days on a track like Shep on the way to Adelaide would have helped most people enormously.  Months or years on a track of this type would have been even better.  The Kiwis have a couple of tracks in a much smaller geographic area at this standard and I think that stood out.

If we depend on the clubs who are primarily a group of volunteers and number no more than a dozen people in most cases to develop tracks to this standard it will never happen.  This development has to be driven by the sports governing bodies. 

This post just struck me and I had to comment. I would have to disagree that no tracks in queensland would have prepared riders for Adelaide.  Adelaide  was not a fully blown supercross track, big start hill yes, but who needs to practice that?    There are several straight two jump pro sections around qld that I know of.

Also to raise an interesting point - can you imagine if somthing like the third striaght at worlds was put into one of the tracks in queelnsland or anywhere for tht matter?
I think there would be many complaints.

I think those of us who wont get to ride the new training facility should focus on getting our local tracks more challenging, then ejoy the wave publicity our sport as a WHOLE will get when this monster is built   

[thedbc-]

Madrid doesn't have a permanent sx track. Frejus and Copenhagen do but the UCI takes the start hills down the day after the world cups are done. The Netherlands and Argentina have 8m start hills also.