Volunteer marshals at Tōtara Park Mountain Bike Club are often spread across hundreds of hectares, located in bush, down valleys and mostly out of line of sight on race days and at club events.
The club relies on walkie talkie radios for quick and easy communications between the race village base and its marshals.
“Mountain biking can be a hazardous sport at times, and we must do everything we can for the safety of participants and other park users. The radios are indispensable for responding to incidents, directing medical teams, locating people and for everyone’s peace of mind,” says Club President Alan Zuppicich.
Wiri Licensing Trust recently supported the club’s application to Trillian for funding to buy more radios.
Before the grant was approved, the club had to hire radios for every event it ran, and precious volunteer time was spent collecting and returning the equipment all over Auckland.
The grant funding has also paid for a PA sound system for communicating to large audiences in the open park environment, ensuring important communications and safety messages can be heard, and a new electronic timing system.
This financial support has reduced the obstacles and costs the club faced when delivering its popular events.
Tōtara Park Mountain Bike Club has almost 300 registered members, and 4.8K followers on Facebook. It organises several popular mountain bike races and events throughout the year, including the Summer Race Series each February and early March, sponsored by Woodside Bar, Dining and Functions, the Piki50 in November and the Totara360 in late March.
These events draw participants from all over Auckland and beyond, catering for riders aged from eight to 68, with novice riders right through to seasoned competitors taking part.
Former Club President Kelvin Hieatt says members have two passions – competing and maintaining the tracks at the park.
“We get around 15 to 40 people to a working bee each month. It is through this that the club builds on and maintains this amazing community asset that literally thousands of people, many who live nearby, use each year.”
Many of the trails are also used by walkers and runners so the club helps people maintain their fitness and wellbeing.
Wiri Licensing Trust’s Board is passionate about helping the club grow participation in mountain biking, which is an emerging sport in the area, and extending its trails, says General Manager Kim Green.
“It’s amazing to see the work the bike club does to open up the park for other users – walkers, runners and orienteers.”
Alan says there is currently about 14 kilometres of trails in the park, made up of 18 grade two, three and four tracks. It is currently working with Auckland Council to plan future tracks. “Seven of the 18 tracks were built in 2018 and 2019 with funding from the Trillion Trust. We will be looking to approach funders again in early 2025 to fund a new track, which we hope will increase the track network by another two to 2.5 kilometres.”
The long-term vision is to increase the track distance to 30-plus kilometres. This will cement the park as a regional mountain bike destination for South Auckland, able to host both North Island and national events.
“These additional trails will help open up more of the park’s natural features to the public, creating a recreational and environmental showpiece within the city.
“The Wiri Licensing Trust’s support has been invaluable in allowing us to hold and operate our race events safely, and to build a legacy by significantly expanding the trail network.
“It’s crucial to the survival of a club like ours and it’s helping us build something the whole community can be proud of. We highly recommend taking up the opportunity to apply for funding through their partner the Trillian Trust.”
Keen local riders who want to take part in the Woodside Summer Race Series, the Piki50 or the Totara360 can find details on the club’s website or Facebook page.
Wiri Licensing Trust wants to connect with local community groups and organisations that are doing great work in our hood to understand how we can better support you – email us on info@wiritrust.org.nz.
