Shellbrook Chronicle

MX Games bring mud-slinging fun
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By JORDAN TWISS
Shellbrook Chronicle Reporter

Marcelin’s MX Games have come a long way from the days when they were just some guys on quads splashing around in a big mud-pit in true small-town Saskatchewan style.

“The MX Games started as just a mud pit with quads and stuff like that,” said organizer Craig Verbonac.

“That started dying down, but we came across a video with tough trucks and thought it would be pretty cool to do. So, we started doing that and have grown our track more and more every year. It turned from a mud pit to a racing pit.”

Now in their 17th year, the MX Games have become the community’s must-attend event. And thanks to the hard work of the Marcelin Events Committee, they keep getting bigger and muddier every year, with Verbonac noting that this year’s crowd of 676 people on Saturday, Aug. 15, was the largest on record.

Add in a rainfall the night prior that left the track in great condition, beautiful weather on the day of the Games, and a strong turnout of 12 tough trucks, more than 40 dirt bikes across nine classes, and even five lawn tractors, and you have a perfect recipe for a full day of mud-slinging fun.

“It brings everybody together,” Verbonac said, noting that he also runs a motocross club with anywhere from 20 to 25 members each year in May and June. “It’s a big thing for a little town. It puts us on the map, and I hope the motocross club keeps growing and growing.”

For dirt bike riders, the MX games are a standard race to the finish. Meanwhile, the tough trucks compete in a two-lap time trial, with the best time bringing home the prize pot.

For Verbonac, the real prize is seeing all the kids taking part and having fun.

“It means the world just to get the kids off the couch,” Verbonac said. “It’s nice to see them on bikes. It gets kids and the community out, and keeps us all together.”

Despite all the work that’s gone into the MX Games track over the years, Verbonac says he’d still like to continue building up the jumps so they’re more friendly for the local motocross club rather than being designed for “some rednecks in trucks.”

And as much as they’re about bringing the community together, the MX Games are also about giving back to the community. For Verbonac, the priority is supporting efforts to improve or build a new town hall.

“That’s where our focus is, to either get a new hall or put some major renovations into it,” he said. “In years previous, we have donated to other causes, but for the next couple years we’re going to focus on our town hall and see if we can make that a go.”

This year’s MX Games winners were:

50cc/youth: Liam Erb

65cc: Chuck Kernohan

85cc: Parker McIntyre

Ladies dirt bike: Madisyn Verbonac

C Class: Clay Christopherson

B Class: Isaiah Lepage

A Class: Jordan Dent

Vet Class: Jordan Dent

Tough truck: Ian Tindall

Lawn Mower: Cole Carlson

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