Thirty six riders put the pedal to the metal at the Victorian State BMX Championships last week, and the Shepparton club returned with enough state plates to enter double figures, as 10 riders secured a top eight finish in their respective categories at Frankston.
“We had a fantastic state championship experience,” Shepparton BMX Club secretary Karen Kelly said.
“We had lots of different experience levels, with our youngest rider being three-years-old.
“Seeing all ages and success on the day shows a real testament of how the club has gotten bigger.”
But the success doesn’t end at the state level for Kelly’s crew - 16 riders will embark interstate to Sydney for the national championship held next weekend.
While no qualification process is required for the nationals tournament, which Kelly notes is a “unique part” of the sport, Shepparton’s cohort is one of the biggest contingents of riders from the region sent to a nationals event in years, and Kelly stated it indicates a growing popularity in the sport.
“Definitely, for us as a local club there is growth,” Kelly said.
“BMX as a sport is in very exciting times in the country, with the world champs being held in Brisbane, so to hold that in our country is huge for the sport and its popularity.
“But for us, since the last nationals we held, our membership has tripled.”
The national championships are held at MacArthur BMX Club in New South Wales next week.
“The exciting part is we have 16 that want to go to nationals, from all age brackets,” Kelly said.
“That’s our biggest contingent in some time.
“The sense of club camaraderie is so strong.”
Kelly encourages riders of all levels to reach out to Shepparton BMX Club via their Facebook page for those who are interested in joining the ever-growing community.
