Seems like it was just a couple of months ago that the track was having it's Opening day race.  Winter weather has caught up with us here in Michigan and with it comes the process of closing up the track and the buildings.  So far, our storage area has been put in more orderly fashion and anything that we could shut down to save electricity has been taken care of.  Due to past experience, audio equipment has been moved out of the building and all the pipes holding water have been drained.  The well pump has also been removed from under the announcers tower outside and moved indoors.  In the next week or so the track walk throughs and entries will be closed off to prevent snowmobilers and quads from using the track for jumping contest.   Doing so saves a lot of sweat and elbow grease when Spring weather breaks.  Since replacing the split rail fence 3 years ago, damage to the track surface has been minimal.

 

With regards to the track, the process of reconfiguring the huge triple step into the first turn has begun.  Before the cold freezes the ground the top part of the triple step was broke up and flattened.   The current makings of the jump have it so the clay from the top step have been spread around to widen the riding area with the top being a table approximately 25 feet long before the drop into the first turn.   It's just the beginning and the plans are to form a step table with a good flow the should enable experts to jump and flow smoothly onto the backside into the turn.  To quicken the change, we hope to have a backhoe out to the track soon to break up the front of the jump and place the clay where most needed on the rest of the track.  Some of the track has had the obstacles eroded away while the leading faces are starting to rut and could use some good clay to make the surface smooth again.  Plans are also in place to build a Strider track off the side of the third turn.  We are waiting for approval from the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission after providing them with a plan of the track layout and pictures of strider riders and their balance bikes.  It would be a great Thanksgiving gift from the parks should they give us a thumbs up.

As I mentioned three weeks ago, interest in being a part of the track board during the election process was weak and only 3 adults stepped up to take on keeping the race program running for the upcoming year.  Last week we added another volunteer to step in as a second Trustee.  Current board members as of this date are as follows:

Track Operator   -   Dennis Ybarra

President            -   Eddie Isom

Trustee                -   Keith Knapp

Trustee                -   Ryan Hladik

With the above volunteers, our track board is still needs to fill the positions of

Clerk of Course, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, a 3rd Trustee, Concessions Manager, and Members at Large.   Persons interested can send e-mail regarding the open spots to [email protected] and/or make mention of their interest and the position on our Facebook page Richfield Park BMX.  These positions are a great opportunity for Senior High students to forefill any community service requirements for graduation.   Our organization is a 501c3 non-profit and is listed among those with the Internal Revenue Service.  Such a designation also means that there are some tax advantages that comes with volunteering at Richfield Park BMX.  With all the above said, I hope those with an interest and some bmx background are interested in the open board positions.  Plus, keep your eyes and ears on our site to stay up to date on any new changes to take place.  Come back for all our updates and have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.  And I can't forget, Good Luck and race hard to all who are heading to Tulsa for the USABMX Grand National Race.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Richfield-Park-BMX/490745980943729?ref=aymt_homepage_panel