WE’RE HOME! Blaine was discharged from hospital on August 16th and it’s been such a relief to get back to a sense of normality. He will continue with re-hab on an out-patient basis, and is back to doing some of the things he likes: hanging out with his friends, fishing, running, and riding his bike (pedal of course!). Tom and I genuinely believe that Blaine’s amazing recovery has been a direct result of the overwhelming prayers, love and support from our families and friends. The network has been huge and we thank and love you all. We also want to acknowledge and express our heartfelt appreciation for the financial thoughtfulness from our families, Pt. Alberni MX families; my employers @ Deluca Veale Investment Counsel; Tom’s co-workers at Flatiron; YANA, VIMX Injured Riders Fund and especially Jeneece Place. A big hug to Melitta and the boys for looking after Champ. Now that the worst part of our nightmare is behind us, Tom and I will share our feelings with you about that fateful day in June. We hold the Campbell River Motocross Association executive 100% responsible for Blaine’s crash on June 23rd. Their negligent and reckless actions, in not preparing and grooming the C.R. track for a series race, were unconscionable because they knew that their track should have been groomed and prepared for the race and they did not fulfill this most basic safety obligation. When another, affiliated track executive (an equipment operator/owner and MX’er who was concerned about the condition of the C.R. track) offered to complete the grooming, the offer was declined – god knows why. The race-day should have been cancelled due to lack of preparedness. Motocross racing is a dangerous sport, we are well aware of this. In all the 11 years that our family has raced motocross, not once have we gone to a series race with the expectation of an un-groomed track, except for the last 4 years in Campbell River. At best, it’s been a crap shoot. Tom and I had to do a lot of soul-searching and spoke with many MX families to decide whether or not to proceed with a personal injury lawsuit against the Campbell River Motocross Association (directors) and Landowner as we had valid grounds and were ready to proceed. But doing so would have meant the end of the track - for everyone. In the end, we did not feel it was fair to make the majority of our MX family pay for the negligent actions of a few. We have seen a decline in safety procedures at our island tracks over the last couple of years. This needs to change or someone is going to die (if it hadn’t been for ICU Blaine would have died). Most parents spend thousands of dollars on safety gear and countless hours on their children’s bikes to make sure their kids are ready for a race and safe. Equally important is the fact that track officials, hosting a CMRC Sanctioned/VIMX Series Race, have a duty to make sure their track is groomed, prepared and safe to race. If they can’t meet this basic but critical duty, the race should be cancelled. The following basic requirements should be re-instated: As in the past, the officiating CMRC Referee needs to walk the track before a race to make sure it is safe and ready for a race. If it is not safe or ready, changes should be made before any racing begins. As per CMRC Rulebook Requirement: an AMBULANCE must be at any CMRC Sanctioned Race, and the Referee shall not allow practise of racing to start unless one is at the course. Chapter 2 – EVENTS, A. General Rules of the Event, 5). Also, if both first aid attendants are attending to an injured rider, a race must be stopped as no additional first aid resources are available to help elsewhere. Please, and most importantly, support one another when you see safety concerns. Tom and I can’t believe how many families were upset at the condition of the track that day. We all need to take time to walk a track before a race to make sure it’s safe. And we should all be able to voice our concerns to track officials without being intimidated or ridiculed. After all, this is an amateur sport consisting of mostly…..children.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 23:36:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015