MOORA HOSTS POLITICAL HEAVYWEIGHTS
The country town of Moora is situated on the banks of the Moore River in the Wheatbelt Region of Western Australia, 200km northeast of Perth. Moora is the largest centre between Perth and Geraldton and provides a wealth of services to the region, but one of its best assets is Moora Speedway, a track the entire Speedway Australia family should be proud of.
Moora Speedway recently hosted two very special visitors to the venue, Minister for Sport and Recreation Mick Murray and The Governor of Western Australia, the Honourable Kim Beazley. Both visited separately within the space of a week, making for a very high-powered start to the 2020/21 season.
Mr Beazley first spoke with Cheryl Chipper, who designed and helped paint the amazing 19m mural at the track. Cheryl shared how the artwork has helped continue the special heritage and link between two communities. He then met with committee and club members up at the new club rooms and was very impressed with the clubs innovative and modern facilities.
Co-President, Dale Cockman talked about the club hosting National and State Titles and how these big events bring big numbers of people to town to compete which helps boost the local economy. The Governor then spoke with club members Des King and Michael Vanzetti who helped to start the club, back in 1966/67 and shared how the club has grown over the years into one of the best speedway facilities in the country.
Finally he spoke with one of the youngest drivers, Taj Vanzetti who explained about Junior Sedan Racing, the safety components in his car and the great opportunity speedway provides for young people in becoming safe drivers, learning mechanics and importantly learning to follow rules and instructions via the stewards and officials. Mr Beazley was interested to look closely at the two speedway vehicles set up to showcase our sport and mentioned his memories of visiting Claremont Speedway and enjoying the thrill of watching dirt track racing.
It was a wonderful opportunity for the club to showcase the importance of Speedway to regional communities and the club would like to thank the members who attended and made themselves available to meet with the Governor of WA. Particularly to Geoff O'Hearn and Mick Vanzetti for bringing out the race cars for display.
Sports Minister Mick Murray visited for the opening night of the season on October 31 and was also extremely impressed with the progress the venue has made in recent seasons. He was keen to hear about the national linkages and benefits that Moora Speedway receives from being aligned with Speedway Australia, who charge no affiliation fees or commissions to tracks in WA (or anywhere else in Australia).
Moora Speedway are included in the innovative “Cropping Program” that the Local Shire have put in place in recent times. The Local Shire have a 34-hectare block which is made available to local sporting clubs on a 3-year lease with Moora Speedway currently in their second lease. Donations of fertiliser, chemical and seed are received from local businesses and harvesting occurs each year around October. Profits from the harvest assist with completing projects and the general running of the venue.
It’s initiatives such as this which have seen the venue go from strength to strength, with a great team on board, a proud history, and an extremely bright future.