A CENTRAL Fife charity aiming to get people on their off-road bikes in a controlled environment have landed a £40K funding boost.
The Kingdom Off Road Motorcycle Club are using the grant from the FCC Scottish Action Fund to develop their facility at Cardenden Motocross Track.
Improvements include the creation of a large all-weather training areas, improved drainage and work on the main track.
The organisation's founder, David Paton, was delighted to have secured the cash to allow the work to take place.
"We like to thank FCC, Scottish Action Fund and their staff / board for the support – it's already making a huge difference," he said. We like to thank FCC, Scottish Action Fund and their staff / board for the support. It's already making a huge difference.
"The whole facility looks much more inviting and professional. We have recently tested our facility improvements and hosted two Scottish Championship Enduro events. We had very encouraging feedback from individuals and from the sport's governing body.
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"We also held an Open Day where over 300 people attended and we raised over £3,000 for our charity. The local attendance was great and we have seen more enquiries about beginners coaching, and we'll now be able to accommodate that.
"Our new all-weather training area will enable us to coach children, young people and adults through the Autumn and Winter, previously we would normally have to close."
With rising incidents of antisocial behaviour involving off-road bikes, David is keen to persuade people to use the vehicles in an appropriate way.
"It is unfortunate that they guys give us a bad name," he said. "They often grab the headlines and negativity and we sometimes feel we get tarred with the same brush.
"We are trying to stop everybody doing it illegally and get everyone up here because it is addictive. The adrenaline that you get from motorbiking is addictive. We want to harness that energy that you get and keep them motivated to keep them engaged.
"The health benefits of being involved in off road motorcycling, it is one of the most physically demanding sports on the planet. You would not think it but the physical intensity is quite phenomenal. People need to be really fit and in peak performance to be able to handle the bikes and compete.
"We all know there is a lot of evidence to say get kids involved in sports but there is a lot of fitness opportunities for football teams, swimming, golf but off-road motorcycling, there is little support from the government or from the local authority. We want to get more people involved in sports."
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