Children at a Telford BMX club are celebrating after winning the backing of a local Rotary Club which has donated a new clubhouse.
The Rotary Club of Wellington members were left overwhelmed after hearing a presentation from volunteer Kirsty Smallman about the success of the club and the sessions it offers.
The Rotarians visited the BMX club in Dawley and despite offering sessions to hundreds of riders a week, could not believe they did not have a clubhouse or toilet facilities apart from one mobile toilet.
Rotarian Brian Richards, a member of the Rotary Club of Wellington said: “We are fortunate that Rtn Peter Seaward introduced Kirsty to our club and when we heard her presentation we were really interested to find out more about the BMX club and what they offered.
“When we visited the site we could not believe what a fantastic facility it was.
“The children are being offered such a brilliant opportunity to make new friends, get fit and enjoy a sport with their friends and with the whole family – and it is solely run by volunteers.
“All the members of the Rotary Club of Wellington agreed that they should fund a much needed new clubhouse and this was delivered earlier this year.
“We then put in a bid for a Rotary Grant to fund a toilet block,which was successful and we are looking forward to delivering that in September once the groundworks are complete.
“We wish the children and adults at Wrekin Riders every success for the future and we look forward to following their journey.”
Kieran Edwards, club coach and chairman, said: “We can’t thank the Rotary Club of Wellington enough for the support they have offered us.
“This means we can now have British Cycling visit and use our National standard track for training but we can now offer them a classroom facility for classroom based training.
“When we host birthday parties we will have somewhere for the children to enjoy food on a wet day It includes a kitchen facility and also a private changing and First Aid room which we have never had before.
“The new clubhouse will enable the club to offer so much more and will also enable us to offer things we couldn’t previously which will offer the club an added income.”
Mrs Smallman, who got involved as a volunteer when her two young sons joined the club, added: “The Rotary Club of Wellington have been amazing – they have taken a real interest in the riders and their stories and the club as a whole. The new clubhouse and the new toilet facilities will make such a difference to our club and our members.”
The club has seen visitor numbers treble over the last four weeks after the club also won a £2,500 grant from Telford & Wrekin Council under the Let’s Get Telford Active campaign.
More sessions have been put on to allow more novice riders to access the sport.
National riders from the club are looking forward to racing the British BMX Series throughout the rest of the year, before riders race in the British BMX Championships in August.
The club, run solely by volunteers, hosts novice sessions every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 12noon and expert sessions 12noon to 4pm, along with open sessions for expert riders every Tuesday and Thursday from 5.30pm.
An additional novice session is also held every Wednesday from 5pm to 7pm due to demand.
The club also offers bespoke coaching sessions for community groups including Cubs and Scouts for their cycling badge and schools including bike and helmet hire and a British Cycling qualified BMX specific coach. A schools coaching programme is also underway where Mr Edwards takes the bikes and equipment and coaches children within school grounds.
The facility offers a £250,000 floodlit National standard BMX track, a 350 metre flat speedway track for novice, a pump track, expert flat training and balance bike sessions along with Special Olympics sessions.
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