Sooner State BMX news

10-19-07: Still working on dirt. Exploring other options of track layout (we have a slight slope to deal with). Ever been frustrated .....

10-25-07 Should start dropping some dirt this weekend along with some other activities. Ponca City has started their work on the skate park, and should be done before Christmas this year. More pics of dirt to come... like you don't know what dirt looks like....

10-31-07 The dirt didn't show this weekend, but I have received confirmation that dirt will start dropping at the track site tomorrow. We started the foundation work for our sigh-in and concession, with concrete to follow shortly. We have our poles for fencing lined up for tomorrow..... I am still finding that many of our community have no idea of anything that is going on in that park....

I was sorry to see what they were doing at Yukon, and our BMX families up here wrote to their city to express our concerns. We are glad to see the city step up and fix the problem.

11-01-07 We have started to receive dirt. Almost 70 tandem axle dump trucks worth today. We also went and picked up some light poles for area lighting when we get the track finished to allow for night time festivities. You know, this would be easier on me if someone else were doing this, but then who would get it done...?

11-3-07 We have had a busy day today, and tomorrow will be just as busy. We have almost half the dirt on site now, and should start dumping some more tomorrow. I did some measuring for those interested -- from sign-in to the bathrooms is about 100 feet, from bathrooms to skate park is about 72 feet, from skate park to sign-in is about 100 feet, and from the sign-in to the park toys is about 50 feet, with the picnic tables in-between.

11-4-07 The weekend is over, and we have accomplished much. We moved some dirt for a beginning on the starting hill. We planted some posts around the sign in building. We laid our water lines (mostly). We planted our sign frame (we just need the sign now). We are now ready to pour our cement for the foundation. Now I suppose it is up to me to get the rest of the dirt on sight for the build in a week and a few days.

11-7-07 We laid our pad for the buildings tonight. We should be getting the rest of our dirt the next two days. Now to find a 3 yard front end loader...

11-17-07 This has been a busy week. Billy started building our track on Tuesday morning and finished Friday afternoon. Now the real work begins with de-rocking and smoothing, and watering, and sweeping, and.... and.... and... Matthew and I will most likely be out there Monday through Wednesday, but we are taking tomorrow (Sunday) off to have some personal time, and get ready for Grands in Tulsa. We have taken many photos of the build, and what you see in the gallery in only about 1/4 of the pics we took. We made the front page of the Ponca City News on Thursday this week - photo and article. We had a lot of fun with Billy, and were happy that we could make his stay pleasant. I wish we could have had a nice loader from the start and all the dirt (we were still brining in dirt Friday morning). If you have questions about how nice our park is just ask Billy when you see him next time.

11-25-07 The Grands at Tulsa... Now that was fun! We were only able to bring home a single trophy, but I believe we had fun and learned a lot. Nathan "OB1" Burch was our only hope for a trophy. He took all 3 moto's to qual for his mains, but he did not have to worry with 1/4's or semi's. Aidan was our second best chance, but when he was in his semi's, he was one place shy of the mains. Adam, Jonah, and Jake tried hard, but were unable to cut the mustard this go around. It's tough being so far from tracks. Our riders are not able to get the practice they need prior to National's. It was great to see our friends from all our "local" tracks. I hope our fellow okies, and Jay Hawkers were able to bring home some flare. For those "older" guys, Matthew and myself now have cruisers, and will try to race them when we are at the tracks. Nathan's little sister Amber is looking to start racing also. Looks like BMX in Oklahoma is starting to pick up a little. With any luck, next year, Ponca City will make a good showing at the Grands in Tulsa. I've got a few pics from the weekend, and will post them in the next day or two. As Tigger always says TTFN.

11-27-07 Shannon and Jenette Chambers welcomed Jordan KayLynn Chambers this morning at 12:51am weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces, 19 inches long. HUZZA!!!!

12-4-07 It was cold and wet today, oh, and muddy. We had a water line break under the slab and we were out till after 8pm fixing it. There are some dubious pics of the process in the gallery. Any one have any batteries??? Did I mention, that most all of us have been up since 4am to go to work all day.

12-10-07 The second building (for sign ups) is done and now we need to get the electricity hooked in. This persistent cough is finally dragging me down, along with all the work at the track and shift work to boot. Sooner Pearl posted some pics with info on their site. All this ice is not helping us get our track worked on. Most volunteers are not willing to fight the below freezing temps to rake a track and pack. Matthew and I just want to get it done, so we can move on to the next step.... the gate. We are sad to see Sooner Pearl have to close the gates for good, but hopefully with the move to Trosper park, they will bring a renewed enthusiasm for BMX in the OKC area.

12-31-07 I really need to redo this page... HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS--- THE SKATE PARK IS OPEN FOR FUN!!! We have been working on the buildings since the track is too wet, and it looks like the holidays have been good for most. We will see you in the new year.

1-13-08 Well I have been remiss in my keeping the news page up to date. As stated above the skate park is open and the city held the ribbon cutting last Monday night, with our picture on the front page of Tuesdays Ponca City News. I was also interviewed by the Daily Oklahoman that day, and on Tuesday they had an article in the state/local section about us! The skate park is a HUGE success! There have been people there from sun up till sun down every day since it opened. When school is out it becomes packed. The weekend has proven to be the most busy with over 100 people of all ages there all day long. WE HAVE OPENED A LIMITED CONCESSION STAND AT THE BMX TRACK. The track itself is getting closer to opening. We are finishing with electrical work, and still need to pour the cement for the starting gate and finish smoothing the track. Working the track has been difficult with the over flow of people from the park. We have never seen such use of a city park in years! We will be working the track this weekend the 19th and 20th. ONLY A FEW WEEKS LEFT UNTIL THE ABA SOONER NATIONALS AT GUTHRIE'S LAZY E ARENA! For those that do not know, spectators are FREE! I almost neglected to mention, we had some skate board scouts up this weekend taking video footage for possible sponsorships of some of our local skaters! HOW COOL IS THAT! If not for Ponca City Alternative Sports Association that would not have happened. Come out to the track and park and help support us.

1-21-08 We are now just 3 weeks shy of our opening race. I dislike deadlines. Framing up the starting gate slab will be done tomorrow with the concrete soon to follow. This last weekend we spent planting poles along the track (I'll get some pics tomorrow). This next weekend we will be conducting a clinic 1pm to 3pm for BMX racing: how to, what to expect, what you need to race, etc. We have a local bike store getting ready to open with in the next few weeks and he will be there this weekend at the clinic also. BRING A RAKE THIS WEEKEND AND HELP US FINISH THE TRACK.

1-24-08 The slab has been poured and is curing out. It should be ready for the gate installation on Monday. We have a BIG hole in the first turn infield due to finally getting our sewer tie for the concession stand. Electrical is now waiting on inspection, and then we can finish the inside walls. Gate is finished and our starting system should be in early next week. Trophies are ordered. Did you realize it was kind of cold today... but then that is all relative to what part of the world you live in.

1-27-08 We have raked the entire track this weekend, and it is looking much better. We also installed our doors on the buildings. Hopefully this week will see the electricity hooked up, the gate installed and tested, and sewer for concessions finished. Oh, the joys of building a track from scratch, with little assistance.

1-30-08 Electrical rough in is done and inspection complete. The electric is hooked up to the buildings and we are paneling them to get the final inspection Friday hopefully. The sink and final plumbing should be done this week also. We are working feverishly so that we can make the Sooner Nationals this weekend. So far the weather outlook for our opening race on the Feb. 10th is looking favorable. We just hope we can have good weather up till then too.

1-31-08 SNOW!!! This is a mixed blessing at best. We needed some moisture on the track, but it would be nice to work it at the same time. This could prove detrimental to our opening. Only time will tell for now.

2-3-08 We had fun the one day most of us could make it to Sooner Nat's. We had to be back here Sunday for a work day where we completed much. Thanks for Emery Park crews stopping by on their way home to say hello and check out our track. Crunch time this week. Next Sunday is shaping up to be a mid 50's and sun shiny day.

2-5-08 It is Oklahoma and the weather outlook has changed. It will be cooler and partly cloudy. On a brighter note- we have our announcer tower built (I need to get some pics and post them) and our local Bike/Board shop just received his shipment of skateboard stuff. His shop should be opening within the next week or so.

2-7-08 CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER! We have had 5 inches of snow, 1 inch of rain, and currently receiving another 1/2 inch of mix, plus all the freezing temps have made it not possible to have our opening race. Once again Mother Nature has played a foul hand to BMX.

2-11-08 The gate is functioning, the announcers tower is almost done (needs a roof), and now we are tweaking a few other things. OPENING RACE (attempting unless mother nature decides otherwise) WILL BE SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17TH. SIGN UPS FROM 10-12 AND BEGIN RACING 1PM (all subject to Matthew of course).

2-13-08 Talked with Brett Cox, and he said he will be opening his Brothers Bikes and Boards shop next week. He will be at the track for our opening race with all kinds of stuff. His shop link is on the Friends of the Track page. OPENING RACE.... the weather is still being fickle, so we shall see. The track has remained mostly frozen, making raking very difficult.

2-15-08 What's there to say... Oklahoma has such good luck weather early in the year. Not being able to race makes it difficult to get people interested in BMX, and makes it difficult to get points too. If only they would forecast the nasty stuff during the week, and leave the weekends nice... What a job to have... you get paid well to lie (or give your best guess) continually about chaos and not be accountable for it.

2-22-08 Still yet another no race weekend in Oklahoma. Brett has opened his store. We hope to be able to at least have practices this next week. Neither Matthew nor myself have won a lottery yet. I suppose a good thing with all this moisture is that maybe they have lifted the burn ban...

2-26-08 Another day and another speech given to a civic organization. People are wanting to know what is BMX and alternative sports. If given the chance, I recommend given talks at civic organizations to expand your community's knowledge on BMX or skateboarding. Our city is excited for us and our sport. They can hardly wait for the first races to happen. With Mother Nature giving Oklahoma BMX a break this week, we hope to make that happen. Hope everyone else's tracks are getting along. We hope to see Sand Springs, Emery Park, and Sooner Pearl making gate drops soon.

2-27-08 We received a donation today in the form of asphalt for our starting hill. Pics are on the gallery page.

3-3-08 We had our first official practice today, and it went well considering the track is still rough were the asphalt ends. We had no rain today, but that is supposed to change with tonight and tomorrow being wet and cold. I'm hoping that next Sunday will see us racing. Matthew is in route back home from Kearney with 5 trophy's that Adam won from all 3 days. Not sure how the rest of Oklahoma and Kansas riders did, but if they did as well as Adam then I hope to see some of them in the Olympics this summer.

3-10-08 WE HAD A GREAT TIME SUNDAY!!! THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR COMING OUT AND MAKING OUR FIRST RACE GREAT. We will be back to our normal time next weekend. I am seeing rain in the forecast for Thursday, but next Sunday is supposed to be just about as nice as this last one was. We had 54 riders in 15 motos from Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. We had visitors from as far away as Topeka and Little Rock! Matthew and I listened to your concerns, and we hope to hear more suggestions. We have a local church youth group coming out tonight to help clean up rocks, holes, grooves, etc. on the track. We will be packing the now unfrozen turns 1 and 3 this week also. MUCH THANKS TO KELLE AND RICHARD for their timely help with Motomaker. Thanks to all the racers that stepped in to help with last minute track prep. I will get a race result page and a hotel/food page up soon.

3-14-08 We worked most of the first stretch last night and we will be working the first berm tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get those lumps out. We worked berm #3 earlier this week and it is MUCH better. Looks like the rain is missing us, so we will be at it Sunday afternoon.

3-16-08 Another tremendous day at the track! We had 47 racers, 3 cruiser classes, and fun. Thanks to everyone that was able to make it today. We are in discussion about a race next Sunday on Easter... keep checking daily for the final determination. Turn 1 and 3 are much improved over last week, and we hope to keep making them better. Just in case you might find the occasional rock, that's ok, you can keep it as a souvenir! I really don't want it back... really.

3-23-08 We had our Easter race today, and I want to apologize to everyone for rushing the mains. I thought we were done with the egg hunt and ready to go. OOPS!!! It all worked out though. Thanks to all the out of town people that came and made a day of it! My grandma sent my Easter diner out to the track so, we could give everyone gates for next weeks Nationals. We had 32 riders in 10 motos today.

3-26-08 We just landed at Desoto and the track looks great. It's good to see so many Oklahoma and Kansas riders making a showing. Even though the weather has been nice down here the water in the pool is still cold. Check the gallery this weekend for updates on photos, and I will try to get some video footage on the site also. Go to www.go211.com and check out the BMX video feed that they will be providing for free, you just might see some of us racing. We will be racing in the 6 intermediate-Buckely, 7 novice-Megee, 7 intermediate-Grudowski, 9 intermediate-Grudowski, and 7 open-Grudowski & Megee.

3-30-08 We went down to DeSoto Texas, and we KICKED BEHIND!!! Adam Brought home a MEQ (main event qualifier) trophy for Friday - he crashed in his main or it may have been a First place. Aidan brought home a First place for Friday. Both boys made it to the main event for Saturday-the OLYMPICS qualifier, but Adam just missed qualifying by coming in 4th and Aidan was right behind him in 5th (you had to come in 1, 2, or 3 to get the qualifier for the USAC Olympics qualifier) Sunday Adam got a 3rd and Aidan got a 2nd. The competition this weekend was some of the toughest our boys have seen!

4-7-08 We had an excellent turn out yesterday! We hope that everyone made it home safely. We had our highest rider count at 57. I was informed that Casey Sills out of Yukon made Intermediate with his win yesterday, but as a reminder it now takes 8 wins this year. This one of the many changes in the rules from last year. Also, I need to remind everyone that there is a 35 foot rule from the gate that you can not impede any rider, or you will be disqualified.

4-13-08 Another WONDERFUL Oklahoma day.... (thankfully only 15mph winds and 50F weather--could have been worse) We hope that everyone made it home safe. I had the joy of having my radiator hose dropping all my cooling all over the ground when I left the track and went to Swick's to eat pizza... (it's always got to be something). GOOD NEWS--- Sand Springs is racing Tuesday night with sign ups 6pm-7pm. We will not be practicing that night, because we will be caravanning/carpooling down to race Tuesday night. Contact Matthew, or myself for more info. We listened and our trophy's got bigger. I told you all that we put in many hours Saturday to make the track ready for today, and I think it showed. With all the rocks we have pulled out of the track so far, I could have built myself a nice garden wall, or at least paved a myself a long sidewalk. The future of BMX in Oklahoma and Southern Kansas is looking up. Our area track operators are working hard to come up with the newest promotion to get our blood pumped up to race BMX! Keep checking those web site for the information that is soon to be here, and if nothing else, GO OUT TO YOUR TRACK AND PUT IN SOME VOLUNTEER TIME TO TRADE FOR THE INFO BEFORE HAND.

4-17-08 I am currently in the process of adding more to our site. Larry Hutson has been taking photos and asked that we incorporate his photos onto our web site, the page is www.soonerstatebmx.com\racingpics.htm.

4-27-08 I made it back from Elko, and Matthew has been back from visiting the ABA. He has all kinds of new/old info about BMX. I just ate some good food and played fireman for a week. Today was a GREAT day!!! We had 28 local riders and 9 riders from out of town. Thanks to everyone who was able to come out and play today. We discussed the need for getting a fence put around our track and that we are still needing volunteers to help out with stuff. We have had several of our parents step up and taken on a few minor tasks that help Matthew and I free up some time to work on other things---THANK YOU! We will probably not be racing the weekend of May 9, 10, &11 due to Nationals in Blue Springs Missouri. If you are interested in going contact Matthew (580)401-0055. I am working on getting a better photo gallery posted to help with looking at pictures on our web site, so that may be something new in the next few weeks or month. Those that have been out to the track may have noticed the new light poles around the park. The lights are working and provide excellent area lighting for using the park in the evenings, but not for racing--one of the items on our list to get--track lights. I think that Matthew said something about trying to go to Sand Springs to race this Friday night... ROAD TRIP!!!!

5-4-08 We had 39 riders today, and it was a GREAT day for racing! Thanks to all the out of town riders who made it down/up/over today, and hope you had a good trip back home. We will be having a meeting tuesday night to discuss next weekend, have practice (barring rain), We did have a group that went to Sand Springs friday night, and we had fun.

5-9-08 We took charge today! Travis got 3rd in his cruiser. Adam got 3rd in 7intermediate. Caleb got 2nd in 8novice. Kaden got 1st and Dylan got 2nd in 11novice. Kyle got 1st in 14novice. Kanon got 1st and Larry got 2nd in 17+novice. Shannon Parker got 5th in 19-27intermediate. Aidan made his semi's but just missed his main by one spot. I am trying to get some of our pics posted in the gallery, so check it at the bottom of the page.

5-10-08 We did well today (saturday). Adam got 2nd in 7I. Kaleb got MEQ in 8N. Kaden got 1st in 11N. Dylan got 2nd in 11N. Kyle got 2nd in 13N. Jake got 4th in 13I. Kanon got 1st in 19-27N. We still have tomorrow. We did receive some rain while we were on the track racing, and there were many wrecks, but none of us. Kanon and Jake both lost shoes while trying to qualify for their mains, but they did make it.

5-11-08 I forgot to write down what everyone got today, but over all we brought home 30 trophy's with only 12 riders. We had Kaden Thomas and Kanon Hutson turn Intermediate in Blue Springs with the wins they got. I also learned that I need to kick it up a notch, if I want to get a trophy in a non total points race. I've posted some more pics from the weekend up on the gallery, and when/if I get some more, I plan on posting some video footage the Grey family was kind enough to shoot for us (it shows how far behind I really was).

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