A Wakefield teen is spearheading the charge to get McGazzaland back on its feet after flooding destroyed many of its jumps.
Cooper Girvin, 14, lives right across the road from the Wakefield track, and tries to get out there on either his mountainbike, or his BMX, whenever he can.
“When I moved here there wasn’t the pump track. I remember it getting built, which was hard, because I was watching it every day but couldn’t ride it yet.”
The Waimea College student says the pump track has been “severely damaged”, so he organised a dig day last week, sharing it to social media.
Cooper says he expected about five people to turn up so was pleasantly surprised with the 30 that arrived last Monday evening.
“The goal was to clear the pump track and get all the silt and mud off the track, and we achieved that.”
Now, Cooper says, what they need is some good quality clay to rebuild the jumps that were lost in the flood.
“Even if it’s less than a truckload it would be super helpful. There’s so much to do, so even just a little bit is helpful.”
Dan Shallcrass, who was a driving force behind getting McGazzaland off the ground, says the rebuild will be “substantial.
“We’ve lost a lot of the good soil that has washed away, so the jumps are unrideable until we do, essentially, a substantial rebuild.”
He says, although wet weather is supposed to continue through winter, “we’re not afraid to rebuild it”.
Keep an eye on future dig days on Instagram by searching mcgazzaland_rebuild. To discuss any donations call Dan on 027 282 0838.
