Olympians head NZ team to BMX World Championships

Olympians Sarah Walker and Marc Willers will lead a record New Zealand team to compete in next month’s UCI BMX World Championships in Adelaide.

Two hundred and twenty riders will compete in the championships to be staged indoors at the Adelaide Showgrounds from 20 to 26 July.

Walker (Kawerau) has picked up four world championship medals in open elite competition, finishing with a silver medal in Canada in 2007 and bronze last year in China. She also won the cruiser class world title in Canada and was third last year.

The 21 year old goes into the championships ranked No 1 in the world with fellow Rotorua clubmate Tania Carson, 21, ranked 24th and New Plymouth’s Victoria Hill, fifth in the junior elite last year, ranked 27th in her first time in elite open competition.

Nineteen year old Christchurch rider Matthew Davies is the top ranked elite male, currently ranked 17th with Olympian Willers (Cambridge) and Michael Williams (Pakuranga) both ranked 26th.

New Zealand age group competitors won five medals in the Challenge classes in China last year, with New Plymouth’s Hannah Sarten moving up to the 13 years division this year after world championship titles in both the Challenge and Cruiser classes in China in 2008.

The New Zealand team to compete at the BMX World Championships in Adelaide is:
(Club abbreviations: Northern region: EC East City, NH North Harbour, PAK Papakura, SC Sunset Coast, WHG Whangarei, WTK Waitakere.
Waikato Region: CB Cambridge, HN Hamilton, PAE Paeroa, TA Te Awamutu, TK Te Kuiti.
Central North Island: GS Gisborne, RO Rotorua, TG Tauranga, TPO Taupo.
Taranaki region: HAW Hawera, NP New Plymouth
Wellington Region: HVT Hutt Valley, KAP Kapiti.
South Island: NN Nelson, RAN Rangiora, KAI Kaiapoi, NAC North Avon, CHC Christchurch, DU Dunedin, SO Southland.)

Elite, men: Derek Mellish (SC), Kurt Bagby (EC), Marc Willers (CB), Matthew Davies (CHC), Michael Williams (PAK), Richard Gould (HN), Tim Ferguson (CB). Women: Sarah Walker (RO), Victoria Hill (NP), Tania Carson (RO).
Junior men: Andrew McKenzie (RAN), Geoffrey Beaumont (CB), Kurt James (CB), Shane Eady (WHG), Reece Montague (CB), Stephen Murphy (CB). Junior, women: Alexandra Williams (PAK), Elyse Imber (CB).

Age-group, 5-7 years, boys: Blake Pittams (RO), Cooper Merito (TA), Jaryd Robinson (SC), Lachlan Stevens-McNab (RO), Rico Bearman (NH). Girls: Tia Hastings-Thurgood (HN), Ella Hansen (RAN).
7 years, boys: Izak Parish (KAI), Joshua Hearle (NP), Rhys Halligan (TPO), Tasman Wakelin (NN), Wade McNabb (SC), Zach Paterson (RO).
8 years, boys: Rico D'Anvers (CB), Trent Jones (WHG), Tuhoto-Ariki Pene (RO). Girls: Baylee Luttrell (HN), Jessie Smith (GS), Jordan Bublitz (CB), Mikayla Bearman (NH), Zoe Macready (NH).
9 years, boys: Bailey Davis (SC), Devin Gregory (SC), Dylan Patterson (HN), Jamie Williams (NH), Liam Goodwin (KAI), Logan Caesar (CB), Logan Hirst (TPO), Luey Cotton (KAP), Mark Harland-Croft (TPO), Ryan Jordan (HN), Todd Halligan (TPO). Girls: Alicia Cutting (KAI), Ashley Williams (NH), Brooke Fevre (HAW), Jordan Donaldson (DU), Mackenzie Roberts-Craig (SC).
10 years, boys: Alexander Pryce (CHC), Caleb Parish (KAI), Clay Merito (TA), Cody Lush (SC), Harris Thurgood (HN), James Reddish (KAI), Jayden Fleming (EC), Kaleb Bublitz (CB), Maynard Peel (SC), Tau Edwards (WTK), Timothy O'Sullivan (SC), Zachary Kershaw (PAK). Girls: Taylor Gavin (WHG), Mikayla Bigwood (TG).
11 years, boys: Bayleigh Rees (SC), Carlos Kershaw (PAK), Ihakara Pene (RO), Joshua Smith (TA), Lewis Smith (GS), Logan Atkinson (WTK), Marc Edwards (WTK), Matthew Taranaki (CB), Regan Cornelissen (CHC), Richard Levis (TG), Zeon McNabb (SC). Girls: Rayner Jackson (NAC), Rebecca Petch (TA), Zoe Fleming (EC).
12 years, boys: Benjamin Osborne (RO), Cameron Vinson (WHG), Campbell Pryce (CHC), Codi Merito (TA), Daniel Bowers-Wilson (NAC), Gregory Tew (RO), Hamish Campbell (NP), Jake Jackson (NAC), James Nattrass (NH), Liam Perry (KAP), Max Macready (NH), Nathan Gavin (WHG). Girls: Abbey Whittaker-Forman (SC), Abigail Fox (Gisborne), Ariel Peel (SC), Emma Gates (WTK), Samantha Quintal (HN), Summer Lucas (SO), Tahlia Hansen (RAN), Taylor Smith (GS).
13 years, boys: Cameron Petch (TA), Carl Goodwin (KAI), Connor Halligan (TPO), Donald Ross (WHG), Keegan Wright (RO), Mitchell Wright (NH), Ryan Berney (NH), Stephen Reece (TG), Todd Barry (CB). Girls: Ellen Atkinson (WTK), Grace Campbell (NP), Hannah Sarten (NP), Kristy McKinnon (GS).
14 years, boys: Christopher Fox (GS), Cody Hobbs (TA), James Walter (CB), Matthew Tew (RO), Michael Franks (NAC), Ryan Lewis (TA), Shane McBarron (SC), Shaun Batterton (NH). Girls: Ashley Patterson (TG), Chelsea Watton (PAE), Kayla Pene (RO), Monique Smith (GS), Shannon Alexander (CH ), Shannon Slegh (HN), Siobhan Quintal (HN).
15 years, boys: Bradley Gates (WTK), Brenden Porter-Gemmell (TPO), Cameron Brewster (NP), James Cooper (WTK), Jayden Parish (KAI), Michael Bias (NH), Michael Gaskin (TPO), Michael Watson (WHG), Scott Slegh (HN), Vishal Patel (HN). Girls: Anne-Marie Sarten (NP), Cara Leyten (KAP), Holly Woodcock (SC), Nicole Eady (WHG), Nicole Wright (NH).
16 years, boys: Andrew Bias (NH), Connor Rowe (CB), Daniel Franks (NAC), Duane Huxtable (NH), Jamie Hansen (RAN), Jayden Davy (NP), Kane Barry (CB), Matthew Brabazon (RAN), Nicholas Fox (GS), Ren Miller (WTK), Trent Woodcock (SC), Tyler Quintal (HN). Girls: Abbey Payne (RAN), Hayley Gedye (NP), Michelle Montague (CB).
17-24 men: Avon Peel (SC), Ben Walter (CB), Fritz Leaning (NAC), Karl Ellis (HAM), Luke Browning (NAC), Philip Leyten (KAP), Richard Fox (GS), Troy Hansen (RAN). 17 and over women: Genelle Willers (CB), Jenni Conway (RO), Nicole Sarten (NP), Shanaye Peck (TG).
25-29 years, men: Daniel McElhinney (KAI), Tony Surrey (HVT).
30 years plus, men: Andrew Badman (CHC), Darryl Winsor (RO), David Mohi (RO), Kevin Tamepo (TPO), Paul Milson (TG), Robin Atkinson (WTK), Rowan Vendt (WHG), Steve Ewart (KAP), Cameron Osborne (RO), Sean Christensen (NN).
Cruiser class only, 30-34, men: Boyd Nelson (CB), Steven Schimanski (HAW). Women: Jocelyn Walker (CHC), Sara Pickin (CB).
Cruiser, 35-39, men: Kurt Ribeiro (TG), Malcolm McOnie (CB), Neil Patterson (HN), Richard McLaclan (EC), Steve Amrein (TPO).
40-44, men: David Browning (NAC), Derek Harris (KAP), John Hansen (RAN), Nigel Robinson (RO), Patrick O'Sullivan (SC), Paul Luttrell (HN). Women: Dianne Rankin (SC), Libby Bublitz (CB).
45 plus, men: Brian Ellis (CB), Colin Surrey (HVT), Craig Rowe (CB), David Fox (GS), Kevin Cattley (CB), Kevin Lindsay (CB), Laurie Penney (HN), Michael Batterton (NH), Peter Craig (SC), Robert Mayo (SC), Roy Leaning (NAC), Trevor Hastings (HN), Alf Amor (ROT), Andrew Bublitz (CB), Dennis Howlett (TG). Women: Cheryl Reece (TG), Jennifer Strachan (TK), Sandra Bromwich (CB).