Hawke’s Bay BMX Club prepares for its biggest weekend yet

Hawke's Bay BMX Club president Blair Rendle. Photo / Paul Taylor

There’s been plenty of nights lately when Blair Rendle has woken with a start.

“I think ‘holy heck, the nationals are coming’,” Rendle said.

Then his mind turns to the 100 waves he’s got booked at a Melbourne surf park and he drifts back to sleep.

That trip’s booked for Monday, the day after the Hawke’s Bay BMX Club finishes hosting its first BMX New Zealand National Championships.

If you’re looking at the photo that goes with this article, and regularly frequent Romanes Dr Reserve or Guthrie Park, then you might not recognise Rendle without his straw hat.

But you’ll be aware of the surfer dude who seems to be watering and grooming the BMX track day and night.

Rendle’s a slightly reluctant BMX aficionado.

The Hawke’s Bay BMX Club president has been a jack of all trades since the first dirt jumps appeared in a corner of the reserve a decade ago.

“I didn’t want to stand and be cold with the other parents, so it’s kind of evolved,” said Rendle.

It’s not just his role that’s evolved, but the whole facility.

The dirt jumps soon became an Olympic-standard BMX track and now there’s a pump track, which will host a national championship of its own at the end of August.

None of it has been cheap, with the recent lease of the pump track land itself costing $440,000. Or the roof that has gone above the start ramp of the BMX track for these nationals, which was north of $50,000.

Just as well Rendle’s a roofer in his day job.

The maintenance and fundraising is all done by a group of volunteers, including Rendle in the guises of coach, track manager and club president.

“I’m nuts,” he said.

“It’s been nine years, bro.”

And every moment was worth it, as he prepares to host the club’s biggest event.

Riders train ahead of the BMX New Zealand National Championships in Havelock North. Photo / Paul Taylor

All up, 662 riders will compete from Friday to Sunday, many of whom have been training at the club for more than a week. They’ve come from as far afield as Perth and the oldest rider is 75.

The big screen, cameras and grandstand are going up, and 100 tonnes of lime has gone into the track which Rendle has shaped to within an inch of its life.

Some astroturf, which is used to line the outside of jumps, went missing recently. But Bay Skate and various bowling clubs - even one in Masterton - stepped up with offers of turf.

It’s those acts of kindness that help keep Rendle going.

His next project is fundraising for floodlights, so the club can host night racing and riders can train throughout the winter.

A crowd of over 2000 is expected for each day of the event, which will mean the closure of the adjacent Guthrie Park for parking.

Rendle himself is unlikely to have time to watch.

“I’ll be grafting the whole time and then I’m straight to Melbourne and that wave pool.”

Hamish Bidwell joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2022 and works out of the Hastings newsroom.