Waitākere City BMX Club is on track for winter racing

BMX riders at Waitākere City BMX Club, are looking forward to races in winter once the all-weather track surfacing is complete, thanks to a NZCT grant of $60,000.

Club President Gareth Lauchlan said, "The Waitākere BMX Club is committed to providing a safe and encouraging environment for all ages and abilities of riders. We have a great mix of riders from as young as three through to those pushing fifty. Many of our parents will give BMX a go alongside their kids, with some advancing to competitive riding."

While BMX is a competitive sport, as a club we have always strived to be not just about results, but also promoting encouragement, participation, resilience and respect amongst our riders. There is a fantastic atmosphere during our Friday club nights with families watching the racing while having dinner and the riders staying around after the last race to continue to practice and improve their skills.

As the sport of BMX has advanced changes have had to be made to our track to provide a training and race facility that grows the skills of our riders and meets international UCI guidelines. With the help of NZCT, our riders can now train and race on a track that caters to riders that are just beginning, through to our riders who compete at the UCI BMX World Championships.

Generally, BMX athletes take a break over the winter months as with less sunlight hours and more rain the traditional lime surface of the track is too soft to ride and can cause significant damage. The funding from NZCT has enabled us to lay a new all-weather surface on the track able to be ridden all year round. This allows our club to continue operating for longer periods, keeping our riders race fit and ready for the new season.

With the upgrades to our track nearing completion, the Waitākere BMX Club secured the hosting rights of the BMXNZ North Island Titles in October of this year. This is the second largest national event for BMX in Aotearoa and will see over five hundred riders from Australia and New Zealand competing across three days of racing.