After an outstanding effort at the National Championships, Whangarei BMX Club riders are gearing up for the Northland Championships next weekend. The annual Northland Championships will be staged at Whangarei BMX Club on the highly rated Olympic standard track, and should attract around 200 competitors, BMX Club president Stu Bell said. Itwill be another chance for the talented Whangarei riders to measure their success against top riders in their region, including their newest national champion Nicole Eady. The 16-year-old cleaned up in her age group against a tough field of 11 riders at Nationals, in Pukekohe recently. "That's a pretty big field for the girls - as there aren't too many racing at this age group. It was a technical course, and it was a tough competition," Eady said. Another rider to excel at nationals was 11-year-old Julia Carter-Bell. The youngster was the third-fastest girl to qualify for the New Zealand Mighty 11 team to fly to Australia in June, for a week of training and racing, in Casino, New South Wales. Only three girls were picked for this team, with New Zealand's top five boys. Whangarei's Shayden Toka was unlucky to not make the side, qualifying as the sixth best 11-year-old boy. The following day at the nationals, Carter-Bell was second in her age group, capping a successful weekend.
Nearly half of the 30-strong Whangarei club contingent - and all of their female competitors - made their finals, the president said. Sharell Toka was third in the 14-year girls, while Nathan Gavin was third in the 13-year boys division. Trent Jones was impressive in the very competitive 16- year boys class, placing second. The youngest Whangarei club member to contest nationals was Emily Darrach, who flew home for third in the 6-year girls. Donald Ross also took third place in his 14-year boys cruiser class. Whangarei riders were able to fit a bit of practice in ahead of the Northland Championships at the weekly club day yesterday, as they prepare for one of the last meetings of the season. The championships will get under way on Saturday at the Pohe Island-based track, and racing will continue on Sunday, which doubles up as a New Zealand Superclass Series round, attracting some of the top elite riders in the country.
