Kelly Makiha: Mountain bikers at Rotorua could die, ACC needs to rethink its funding

The Rotorua Mountain Bike Club First Response Unit is critical. Photo / File

COMMENT

There I'd be whizzing along a trail with my mountain bike wheel teetering on the edge of a sheer drop without a care in the world.

One false move and I'd be toast. But when you're young and silly, you don't seem to think about these things.

Mountain biking. If you live in the Bay of Plenty, it's somewhat of a crime not to come to Rotorua and experience it for yourself. It's good for the soul.

But let's face it, when you compare it with most sports, it does come with some fine print about the risk of injuries.

That's why in more recent years, I've been less gung-ho about the tracks I choose and have felt comfort knowing that if things did go belly up - literally - the Rotorua Mountain Bike Club First Response Unit would be there to help.

Riders know if they strike strife and can reach for their phones, the heroes at the other end of 08000 WHAKA1 will soon be whistling down the trails to your rescue.

In the past three-or-so years, they have helped nearly 1000 riders from throughout New Zealand. This isn't just a Rotorua lifesaving unit. More than half of those needing help aren't from Rotorua. They come from Tauranga, Auckland, Hawke's Bay, Wellington and elsewhere.

For ACC to announce it's pulling it's funding from April next year is a major blow. It costs about $120,000 to keep the trained medics who know the trails well on board. ACC funds about $80,000 of that.

Now the Rotorua Mountain Bike Club has the tough task of finding someone else during these tough post-Covid times to fill the gap.

ACC officially said this: "We continuously review our funding decisions to ensure we get the best possible outcome from the investments we make for all New Zealanders."

Is it not enough that the nearly 1000 riders who have been rescued come from throughout the North Island? All of these people have been either back-boarded out of gnarly spots in the forest or taken to a clearing where a rescue helicopter or ambulance has been able to get to in a timely fashion.

St John Ambulance Lakes Territory manager Leisa Tocknell has even told us that, without the unit's help, patients will have a much longer wait to get to hospital.

That equals the difference between life and death in some situations and, in others, the real risk of long-term injuries.

I would have thought an $80,000 annual investment in something all North Islanders use is a drop in the bucket when faced with the ACC bill of hundreds of injured riders needing ongoing treatment and medical care.