South Taranaki town Hāwera to host 2026 BMX New Zealand North Island Titles after 30-year wait

The Hāwera BMX Club is looking for sponsors and supporters and says it will need around $60,000 to host the event.

Hāwera will host the BMX New Zealand North Island Titles for the first time in over 30 years.

The event will attract more than 500 riders from across the North Island and Australia to the South Taranaki town.

The Hāwera BMX Club last hosted the event in 1995.

Hāwera BMX Club secretary Cushla Fevre said members are excited to have the opportunity to showcase their BMX track and facility.

“We’re really excited, to have the opportunity to run a major BMX event and have visitors from Australia is pretty special to us,” Fevre said.

The club has over 80 riders with memberships from as far as Whanganui.

One of the riders, Finn Lawrence, is a national champion, after winning the 12-year-old boys category at the 2025 BMX New Zealand Nationals in Invercargill.

The Hāwera BMX Club sends over 30 riders to major national events each year and will look to do the same when it hosts the North Island Titles.

The club is looking for sponsors and supporters and will need around $60,000 host the event.

“It’s a massive event, we are expecting 500-plus riders plus their families,” Fevre said.

“We can come out with a profit and that’s future-proofing our BMX club in Hāwera for those committee members so there’s an opportunity for them again to hold another event.”

Fevre is expecting visitors to stay for a week, despite the event running for three days, staying in accommodations from Whanganui to New Plymouth.

A large group of the club’s riders will head to the 2026 UCI World BMX Championships in Brisbane, Australia in July 2026, before hosting the three-day North Island Titles on Labour Weekend.

The Hāwera BMX Club starts the BMX season in mid-August.