BMX - Club defy mean thieves to host champs

Despite all odds, Whangarei BMX Club made sure the Northern Region Championships and the first pre-Nationals event staged at their new Pohe Island track went down with a blast.
Early last Friday the clubrooms at the track were broken into and $8000 worth of speakers, lights and cables for the pro-gate start system were stolen, as well as volunteers' tools. The blow came on the eve of the first event to be staged at the track, which was completed last December.
Club president Stuart Bell said it had been "a kick in the guts" for the club, who hosted the weekend's events as part of the lead-up to the National BMX Championships from April 9-11, but the gear for the start-gate being taken hurt the most.
"We had to borrow gear from other clubs to get the gates running," he said.
"It hindered our preparation for the championships but we scraped through.
"We would just love to have the gear back - and we would be happy for whoever took them to drop them back."
A huge volunteer effort from club supporters was actioned to get the track ready for Saturday's Northern Region Championships and the competition was con- tested without any hiccups. Yesterday's pre-Nationals event attracted 350 riders from Alexandra north - in town to test the track and discover where the troublespots and big jumps were, and basically get a feel for what they would be racing on next week, Bell said.
This weekend, 850 riders are expected to compete in the National BMX Championships, including Olympians Sarah Walker from Rotorua and Marc Willers, currently based in the United States.
The Whangarei club has 63 competitors riding in the Nationals across all the age-groups, and Bell said he anticipated some good results, especially from riders such as junior elite rising star Shane Eady.
The Nationals kick off at Whangarei BMX Club on Thursday with a trial day, followed by qualifying rounds on Saturday and finals on Sunday.