Gravity Canterbury Downhill and Free Ride Club has received an NZCT grant of $19,655 for race timing equipment.
Club Secretary Will Keay commented, “Gravity Canterbury is a Christchurch-based mountain bike club that runs several high-calibre downhill and enduro races each year. The club is run by a passionate group of volunteers who love giving back to the wider mountain biking community. As a club, we organise events for beginners through to advanced riders, as well as run women’s events to help encourage more ladies into the sport. At the end of February the club hosted the National Mountain Bike Champs together with another Christchurch-based club.
“The recent grant from NZCT means the club can buy a new timing system which will be more accurate and easier to use. Timing is vitally important for events and training and to help members and competitors achieve their best when they are competing locally and around the country. The new system will meet the standards expected for international races and allow Gravity Canterbury to host better events. We can now provide more competitive racing to our members and a much better experience for our top riders who are already competitive on the world stage.”
Gravity Canterbury was established in 2003. It co-ordinates several annual events, including skills clinics and enduro races, as well as undertaking trail maintenance in Vic Park. It is focused on the key goal of promoting downhill biking, encouraging biking as a recreation activity, and having both competitive and fun events for mountain bikers.