The $1.2m asset Southland built for $700k
“This is for the community; we get to hand this to the community."
The Southland BMX community is a pretty proud bunch at the moment - and they have every reason to be.
Invercargill is this weekend hosting the New Zealand BMX Championships for the first time since 1999.
Over 500 competitors are taking part, and most of them have brought parents to Invercargill with them.
Included in the list of competitors is Olympian Rico Bearman, a BMX rockstar.
But it’s the reason why Invercargill was granted the national championships which is why those involved in the Southland BMX Club deserve plenty of plaudits.
The 2025 New Zealand BMX Championships is effectively the official opening of the club’s new track at Elizabeth Park.
In many other parts of the country, it’s been estimated it would be a $1.2m project. But the Southland BMX Club managed to complete it for about $700,000 through thousands of volunteer hours and plenty of business support.
Southland BMX Club president Brendan Kerr is one of those who racked up countless volunteer hours to make the project a reality.
“It’s Southland, isn’t it?” Kerr said, about the willingness of many people and businesses to make the new track a reality.
Kerr said people ask why you do these things, in terms of the massive volunteer input.
His response is that someone back in the day put the original track at Elizabeth Park in place and it was now their turn to roll up their sleeves, so to speak, and make the new track happen.
“This is for the community; we get to hand this to the community,” Kerr said.
“It’s open all of the time and kids can come here and have a ride.”
The project planning for the new Elizabeth Park track began in 2017. By the end of 2019, they had the tick of approval and started to drum up the funding required.
The site dig-out started in 2021 before the track build began in 2022.
By February 2023 it was largely complete.
The Southland BMX Club pitched for the 2025 New Zealand Championships in 2022 before the track was finished, which, by Kerr’s admission, was a brave move.
The track at Elizabeth Park has been open to the public for about 12 months, although the finishing touches, ahead of the national event, weren’t complete until last week.
“A lot of the pretty stuff you see has only been done in the last two-three months, at best,” Kerr said.
Another Southland BMX official who has been heavily involved in the development project, and preparations for the New Zealand BMX Championships, is Ngarita Te Patu.
“We’ve had the support of the funders and the amazing community of businesses,” Te Patu said reflecting on the journey.
Te Patu would love to see Elizabeth Park utilised more. She is keen to see the old BMX track at Elizabeth Park turned into a pump track, with the possibility for a basketball court and other activities also introduced in the area.
“Something for our rangatahi… [Elizabeth Park] is a massive area and is probably underutilised,” Te Patu said.
The New Zealand BMX Championships started in Invercargill on Friday, which included the Mighty11s Trans-Tasman Test Trial before the main event.
The selected team will travel on the first leg of the 2025 test to Australia later this year.
The New Zealand BMX Championships will continue on Saturday and Sunday with some impressive elite racing, including Olympian Rico Bearman, set for Sunday.