Future Olympians put pedal to get the metal

Future record holders and Olympians in one of the fastest growing sports are putting the finishing touches on their preparations ahead of this weekend’s AusCycling 2023 BMX Racing National Series.

The City of Stirling is thrilled to be providing funding support for the opening two rounds of the National Series, held at Westside BMX in Balcatta this Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 April. The event will involve 58 clubs from across Australia and over 470 individual riders.

With COVID border restrictions forcing the 2021 event over to Queensland, Mayor Mark Irwin said the drought will officially be broken this weekend with the BMX National Series returning to Perth for the first time in four years.

“With Westside BMX putting forward competitors like Daryl Rapley – just shy of his 75^th birthday – and Bradley Hux – who recently turned a mighty two years old – this event is guaranteed to be a whole lot of fun for literally all ages,” he said.

“Aside from the fun and excitement for spectators, the National Series are some of the largest and most important BMX events held through the year in Australia, with the five rounds counting towards the BMX National Cup. Outside of the National Championships, these events are the highest level of competition in Australian BMX.

“In recent years, the City has invested in new bike track and trail opportunities such as Newborough Rainer Bike Skills Trail, Dianella BMX and MTB Facility, and the BMX tracks at Bina Parkland.

“Supporting events like this is part of Council’s vision to create a vibrant City, where economic investment is encouraged and visitors are attracted to our local centres, but of course it is also a central part of promoting active and healthy lifestyles.”

Westside BMX President Faye Ratajczak said the club is looking forward to a bumper weekend of hosting the opening two rounds which will see some of Australia’s best Superclass riders compete locally.

“To be able to have riders coming from interstate and show them what BMX racing is in WA, that it's such an amazing, vibrant sport with a fantastic community of people, is a great opportunity,” she said.

“We have a history of hosting national events, the last time in 2019, and we held the State Championships here in 2022, so we've got a proven track record as a club of hosting these events. We knew we wanted a national level event to come back to WA after COVID restrictions meant the 2021 Championships were cancelled, and were able to put our hand up for it.

“Westside BMX was first established in 1979 and the current clubrooms were built by City of Stirling in 2017, so we've had really great support from the City of Stirling through the history of the club, and we have the infrastructure necessary to host major events.

“And that’s really important because these are the kinds of events that give our members in WA a taste for that next level of racing, and raise the profile of the sport which helps bring in new riders from the community that haven't heard of it to grow our member base.”

Funding for this event stems from the City’s Economic and Tourism Development Strategy 2021-2025, which aims to achieve over $200 million in external investment, 10,000 new jobs and 700,000 new visitors by 2041.

AusCycling’s 2023 Facilities Guide reports health benefits of $1.58 for every kilometre cycled, and for every $1 invested in cycling infrastructure, around $5 is returned in the form of health benefits.

According to the WeRide Australian Cycling Economy Report by EY launched in 2021 by the Treasurer, The Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, cycling contributed around $16.8 billion to the Australian economy, including $6.3 billion in direct contribution in 2020 and more than 34,000 direct jobs.