THE Blue Lake BMX Club has once again been represented on the national stage, with three riders competing in the 2018 national championships recently.
Of these, two riders brought home Australian plates, with Stephen Jones finishing sixth in the 30-34 men’s cruiser class and Jasmine Morgan taking out the number eight plate in the 10-year-old girls’ category.
First-time national competitor Lilly Jones also made the trip, finishing 14th overall in the eight-year-old girls’ division.
The event, hosted by the Brunbury BMX Club in Western Australia saw around 1300 of the country’s best riders go head-to-head on what Stephen Jones described as a difficult circuit.
“The facility was amazing,” he said.
“The track was really difficult compared to what we normally ride.
“And you get limited practice because there’s so many riders.
“You get an hour block with your age bracket, so you have got to learn a whole track in five laps or so.”
Jones competed in both the 30-34 year old men’s cruiser and 20-inch classes, finishing his championships with mixed results.
Making the final and finishing sixth on the cruiser to claim the respective plate on the Thursday, he was not as fortunate in his 20-inch endeavour Friday afternoon.
A crash in the third moto saw Jones miss out on a semi-final position by the slimmest margin.
“I missed out by a point on getting into the semi final,” he said.
“I was pretty annoyed, I was feeling good on the bike.
“I had a rough race and was trying to make my way through the pack and just made a mistake.
“But that’s BMX.”
Despite this unfortunate result, Jones said he was happy to have been competitive, after spending almost 16 years away from the sport before taking it up again last year.
“The last nationals I did was in 2001, so I’ve had a few years away,” he said.
“I’ve nearly been riding again for 12 months now.
“I’m happy I was competitive with the guys I was racing – they are Australia’s best in that class.
“Even though I was disappointed I can’t complain really.”
A crash also affected young-gun Morgan in her end result, after she looked to be well in contention for a podium finish in the final.
“In the semi I got third to make it into the final and I got two firsts in the motos and also one third,” she said.
With these impressive results leading up to the final, Morgan came unstuck in the big race and finished up with the number eight plate.
However, she is still pleased with the result and looks forward to returning to the event next year to hopefully bring home another plate.
And she will be more than capable of doing so, as she is no stranger to the top-order of her age group.
“This is her third year in a row getting an Australian plate,” mother and Blue Lake BMX club coach Sallyanne Morgan said.
“She finished number two, then seven and this year she got eighth.”
For the youngest local taking to the national stage, Lilly Jones, it was a matter of experience for the up-coming rider.
“Lilly was in the eight year old girls,” Sallyanne Morgan said.
“She had 15 riders and got 14th overall.
“It was her first time at nationals ever.”
Not only was this her first national-level event, but it was also only her second time racing away from home.
“The only other one she has done was the state title,” father and club coach Stephen Jones said.
“It was a big experience with so many riders and people watching as well.
“And the riders were a lot better than anyone she had ever ridden against.
“But she didn’t come away from it discouraged or anything, she’s keen to come home and practice some more.”
These riders, along with the rest of the Blue Lake BMX Club will now look forward to the South Australian and Victorian state titles later in the year, while the next big meeting for the club will be the two-day event over the June long weekend.
This will see the SA v Vic and Australian Country Championships once again hosted on the Mount Gambier track.
