BMX track soon to be ready for riders

Hawke's Bay BMX Club members John Smith (right), Russell McKay (centre) and Lochie Short tend to limestone on the new BMX track in Romanes Drive, Havelock North. Photo / Warren Buckland

Hawke's Bay BMX Club members are putting the finishing touches to a 7000sq m Havelock North track, which is due for completion at the end of the month.

Romanes Reserve, in Romanes Dr, Havelock North, has been transformed to accommodate new football fields and the national standard BMX track.

Hawke's Bay BMX Club chairman Anthony Shaw said it was "all hands on deck" for club members as they used rakes, spades and brooms to tidy the track in the evenings. They were spreading and wetting lime on the track's surface to prepare it for national competitions.

The track's overall shape is complete and includes a 6m-high starting gate. Surplus dirt covering 7000cu m, or 1200 truckloads, has been used to build it, much of it moved by track sponsor Fulton Hogan.

"For a particularly small club to build something of this size, it's quite a feat."

The Hawke's Bay BMX Club, founded in 2010 with 60 members, has been yearning for a full-sized track for years. Once completed it will host a national qualifying BMX meet next month, which would bring about 200 riders to the region from throughout the country.

There were also tentative plans for the track to host the central region BMX champs in December, which would draw up to 500 national riders.

Construction began in April last year, with costs covered by community fundraising and local sponsors. The Hawke's Bay BMX club will lease the finished track from the Hastings District Council.

Mr Shaw said the club was still interested in local businesses backing the track and online donations could be made to its Givealittle page. "We're still looking for funding help, because we've gone over our budget in some areas."

To help the Hawke's Bay BMX Club build the BMX track, visit www.givealittle.co.nz/org/hbbmx