Australia’s first-ever competition standard National BMX Freestyle Park has officially opened on the Gold Coast.
The new international standard Hurricane facility will see the riders able to practice their skills and tricks ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Summer Olympics.
Hurricane holds the rights to host Olympic and UCI BMX Freestyle events until the end of 2028.
AusCycling CEO, Marne Fechner, said: “Since Logan (Martin)’s win in Tokyo, the growth of BMX Freestyle has accelerated, and this park, along with our programs, will be a key focal point in attracting more young people to the sport.”
“Thank you to all the QAS, City of Gold Coast and AusCycling staff who have worked so hard to bring this centre to life,” said Fechner.
The Carrara based facility can create up to four different courses, featuring walls of up to 5.2 metres high and includes quarter pipes, big spine, step up, fat spine, box jump, half bowl and transfers.
AusCycling’s BMX Freestyle head coach, Wade Bootes, touched on the opportunity the course gives for Aussie BMX athletes to practice ahead of the World Cup.
Bootes said: “The riders are enjoying the course at the moment which is set up similarly to how the course will be in France for the World Cup.”
“Within the course, we have built, there are many different lines, opportunities, transfers, and the features of the ramps.
“Hopefully, it provides a head start when they get into practice at these significant events,’ said Bootes.
The new facility will complement the separate AusCycling BMX Freestyle Training Centre that was opened two months prior, built at the Coast Sports Precinct.
The new training centre will form part of the National Centre of Excellence for BMX Freestyle, where new skills and principles will be analysed before athletes attempt to perform them on the competition course.
This process, Bootes said, is to make a smooth transition onto the course and perform calculated risks.
“We’ve created a learning centre that is the HotBox 2.0, which features the foam pits and resi-mats (rubber mats),” Bootes said.
“We won’t do anything until we’re confident doing it inside in a 30-second run, then we apply that trick outside.
“That is our development phase and reveals the benefit of having a learning centre and the competition course on the same premises,” concluded Bootes.
