The BMX track in Municipal Park is silent as the Grand Forks Club wrapped the 2023 season with trophies, good-byes and a look to the future.
Families packed the park on Wednesday night for the club’s annual awards and annual general meeting. It was a great year despite starting out with flooding in the park from the Freshet, then extreme heat and wildfire smoke, said outgoing president Ryan Vaugeois.
Among the many accomplishments the club racked up was winning the Kootenay Cup for the first time. The club won between West Kootenay, Salmo and Cranbrook, said Vaugeois.
The club has managed to maintain higher-than-average ridership with about 35-40 riders, which he said is impressive for a city of 5,000.
Much of that is due to new riders coming in.
“A lot of those riders are younger, too, so it’s great to see so many kids taking up BMX racing,” he said. “The number of riders stays flat at 35 to 40 riders, but that’s good because new people are coming in as fast as others are leaving. It ebbs and flows.”
This year, there were 43 riders and five “half-trackers,” toddlers who are just learning to ride bikes.
This is also impressive because as a track operator in West Kootenay told him, 20 riders is considered the average for smaller communities.
The popularity of Grand Forks’ track also brings in a lot of people from outside the city and even Americans, Vaugeois said. While he couldn’t say if their track was the best across two countries, he said they have done a lot of work to make it a superior track over the years. There will be more work for maintenance, plus upgrades planned for next year with a $5,000 donation from The Phoenix Foundation to help the club pay to improve the corners on the track.
While riders compete for points, the club makes sure everyone goes home with a trophy, he said. Club riders’ points are totaled and they are ranked, but that only determines how big of a trophy they receive.
“These awards are just for our club and it’s based on the points they collected during the season at this track,” he said.
Of all 43 riders, Lawren Laird was the top rider for 2023, taking home the biggest trophy. He said he didn’t want to race much this year, but his racing game was great.
But the best part was seeing the track busy during the Wednesday evening races.
“It’s always great to have more people show up and race because that’s what this sport is about,” he said. “This gets more people into it.”
The previous week was the last official race day, which saw a large pack of racers hit the track. Among them was adult racer Deron Schroeder from Deer Park, Wash. For him it was a trek to get in some late-season racing for himself and his children, who have all gotten into BMX racing.
Coming to Grand Forks’ track is a highlight for the year for himself and his family.
“This is one of the better tracks between B.C. and Washington, I love riding on it,” he said. “I’ve been racing for years and I try to get here at least once a year. The way it’s built and the club’s organization it’s a lot of fun and a a challenge to ride.”
