Talia On Track for excitement

15-year-old Talia, a Mundaring hills Girl Guide, is also Go-Kart racer. She is coming into her fourth year of racing and she loves it!

Getting started

Go-Karting wasn’t always something Talia loved. Originally, she would go up to the track with to watch her brother race. Talia hated the noise and the smell, but being a helpful Girl Guide, she would assist with lifting the karts on and off the tracks, fetching trolleys and supporting the racers. On 18 November, 2017 Talia decided she would like to give Go-Karts a try. After the monthly club races were over, she jumped into her brother’s kart. She remembers putt-putting around the track for about five laps, then coming into the pits. Talia got out of the kart and discovered her legs and hands were shaking from the adrenaline and excitement of how “fast” she was going!

The first race

Talia continued to practice on the weekends, each time putting the foot on the throttle a little more, slowly trusting herself with the kart and the track. She applied for her kart license after completing the theory test on safety procedures and flags. The following year, Talia’s family was sponsored by a WA business, which allowed them to get custom made suits in team colours. She used her brother’s old kart, got a helmet, and by the next month’s club meet, she was ready to race. This was Talia’s first time racing with more experienced racers. She says, “All my thoughts were: Don’t Crash! Breathe! This is fun! It will be over soon! and Wow – they are fast!” Talia recalls that she would always come last in those regional races, unless there were racers who did not finish or got disqualified.

A Growing Sport for Girls

Talia says that when she started, there were only about four girls racing at local meets. However, throughout the years she has been racing, she’s seen more girls of all ages join, both at her home track and regional clubs. “At my home track I would generally be racing with mainly boys and one girl. But when you’re out there racing to have fun and earn points, your gender doesn't really matter.” Talia says one of the downsides of being a female in this sport is that the seats were not made for hips. By the next day she is usually sore from the bruises around her hips and ribs. But she says, “with a little bit of determination and courage, yeah, it’s scary but if you believe in yourself you can do it.”

A Mentor and Ally

One of the girls Talia met at the regional rounds was Grace, who was a few years older

than Talia and understood what it was like getting pushed by the guys. Every time Grace went out on the track, Talia would watch how she took the corners and where she went fast and slow. Grace became a kind of mentor, helping Talia out in the regional rounds, watching Talia and congratulating her on her races. “When it was late night or early morning, we would walk around the track and Grace would tell me stories about where she had been hit off, or where her kart did not work. She would walk me through where to put my kart on the track when entering sharp turns.” Talia was glad to have a female ally in Grace, and someone to hang out with after races. “Aside from talking about the track, we would talk about school, friends, clothes, family, and other stuff,” Talia says. Talia has been able to pass some of that kindness on. “When I moved up to KA4 Junior Heavies I would have the ‘lights’ in front of me. We had a new girl join the lights and I could see the way she took the turns, so after the race I helped her out and told her to follow the person in front of her and see what they do, and that helped her so much.”

The Danger Zone

Talia warns that Go-Karting can be a dangerous sport and she has had her share of accidents, from karts ramming into her, to being run over or hitting the tyre barricades at full speed, and even losing a tyre. “Throughout my first year of racing, anytime I got knocked off the track, or beached the kart in the sand, or was in a small accident involving a couple of karts, I would get upset – which was normal,” she says. When she first got off her P-plates, Talia says it was quite scary because she had to race in the pack, sometimes even starting at the front. At regional rounds, she would ask to start at the back because she didn't want to be stuck with people who were determined to get to the front. She just wanted to have fun and didn’t mind about where she placed. “Whenever I beat my personal best time, Mum and Dad are proud of me and I am too. When I overtake, when I don’t spin and crash, when I don’t get lapped, that all makes me happy that I can simply succeed at a small task.”

How Guiding Helped

Talia believes that Girl Guides has helped her make bold choices and actions, including trying Go-Karting and becoming a student leader at high school. “Guides has given me the confidence to try new activities – to not always do ‘the normal’ and to be different. I don’t have to worry about what people think about me.” She says that Guides has taught her to step out of her comfort zone and to enjoy each little moment. Talia is also the newest member of Girl Guides WA Youth Advisory Council (YAC). She sees her role in YAC as one of the next generation of new ideas, to help spread the word about Guides and what we do, as well as organising and helping to run events.