Young BMX stars ready to shine
THEY may not sport the big, frizzy hair or the cumbersome ’80s safety pads, but cue the montage of helmets, pedals and whizzing wheels because these BMX bandits are ready to race.
Matthew Fox, 8, Gus Howard, 8, Emma Kelly, 9, Mica Moloney, 9, Ashlyn Tanswell, 9, and Lola Thompson, 9, will be among the youngest Cairns BMX Club riders competing at next week’s BMX Queensland State Championships in Brisbane – but don’t let their age fool you, these junior riders have plenty of mettle at the pedals.
For Fox, Howard, Kelly and Tanswell, it will be their first state titles and an opportunity to test their skills on a statelevel track against state-level competition.
“I decided to go this year as I have been doing well in local races,” said Tanswell. “I wanted to see how I would go.”
Ahead of the state titles, the junior riding group’s enthusiasm and competitive spirit is hard to ignore, particularly among returning riders Moloney and Thompson.
“I crashed in the semi-finals last year. This year I want to do better,” said Moloney, who has been riding BMX for five years.
Thompson will also be chasing better results in what will be her third state titles.
“I want to improve each year,” Thompson said. “I’m really excited to just get down there and race.”
Despite the riders going up against strong competition, Cairns BMX Club team manager Fiona Mundie said they would be well prepared after an eight-week training program.
“The younger kids were introduced to off-track fitness with a personal trainer, who also taught them the importance of preparing correctly for these big events,” Mundie said.
“Southern riders have a lot more track options when training and competing, but I know our kids have the biggest hearts and determination, and they will dig deep to bring home a trophy.”
The juniors will be in good company at next week’s event, with Cairns BMX Club sending a total of 30 junior and senior riders from ages five to 49, including five state champions and a current world champion.
I CRASHED IN THE SEMI-FINALS LAST YEAR. THIS YEAR I WANT TO DO BETTER