Royston Club Press Releases

British Cycling BMX National Series Round 1

National Cycling Centre BMX - Manchester   14-15 Jan 2012

The British Cycling BMX 2012 National Series started last weekend at the new indoor track at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester. This is the first indoor national held in this country and at the custom built premises attracted over 750 riders to make it the largest National series event held in the UK under the British Cycling banner. The 2012 National Series had to start early this year as riders are still trying to get qualifying points for their qualification to the World Championships in May which are to be held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. These Championships are normally held in July but this year the Olympics take precedence  as BMX racing will account for 4 of the medals available in the cycling discipline.  

National races cover all ages and the Royston Rockets had 10 riders registered over the weekend and Joshua Abbott in the 7 year class got the Rockets of to a flying start as he took 5^th in the B final. The 11 year class James King and team mate Ted Dalleywater both make the A final with James taking 5^th just ahead of Ted on 7^th in one of the larger classes of the weekend. Royston also has two riders competing in the 12 year class, where Myles Fisher took 6^th in the A final and Daniel Blanche taking the B final win and in the 13 yr class the good results kept coming with Ethan Vernon taking 2^nd place in his A final even though he has moved up an age category. Maintaining Royston’s run of good results the 14yr class saw Aaron Dalleywater take 4th and in the ladies 17-29 Cruiser class 3rd place went to Helen Biggs. In the Masters category (30+) Richard Townsend just missed a semi final place but Royston’s newest recruit, Tom Dowie, took 8^th place in the B final of the 17-24 yr class. 

The next event on the BMX race calendar is the fourth round of the East Anglia Winter Series at Norwich on February 12^th followed by another trip to Manchester for the next National Series event on February 19^th.

East Anglia Regional BMX Winter Series – Peterborough 11/12/11

The weather forecast of heavy rain and high winds last Sunday kept the numbers low at the third round of the East Anglia regional winter series at the Peterborough BMX Club’s track although over 90 competitors from across the region made their way to the event including 11 riders from Royston. The weather was cold and by the time the racing started it was a bright sunny winter’s day but the predicted rains did start soon after the final race left the track.

As with the previous two rounds the action for the Royston riders started in the male 7and Under class the win went to Elliott Bowyer with Josh Abbott taking 3^rd and in the male 8-9yr class Ben Bates also took the A final win with Harry Evans winning the class B final. The Female 9-10 yr class saw Ella Tomsett taking yet another win for the club whilst in the male 10-11yr class James King took 2^nd place with and team mate Bradley Marvel finished in 8^th and in the class B final Sid Newman took a fine 1^st place.  The 12-13 year male class saw Miles Fisher electing to ride up a class where he also finished in 1^st in the A final In the Masters class (30+) Darren Foreman took 4^th place in the overall and in the 17+ female class the win went to Helen Biggs to round of a podium packed day for the Rockets.

The Regional Winter Series takes a break now until Round 4 on February 12^th at Norwich and as usual rider registration closes at 11.30 with racing due to start about 12.30.  

The Rockets last practice session of the year is on Sunday morning with the gates opening at 10.00pm. See more about the club and BMX racing in the region at www.roystonrockets.co.uk and the BMX East Regional site on www.bmxeast.com  or ring 01763 260959 for more information on BMX racing.

East Anglia Regional BMX Winter Series – Braintree 20/11/11

Royston Rockets BMX Club had a busy weekend with their own club award event on Saturday evening held at Bassingbourn Snow Sports Centre where the members and friends had over an hour sliding down the ski clubs very impressive hill on donuts and sledges. The Ski centre provided expert supervision and instruction aided by a few of the Rockets officials so everyone had a great time before the important subjects of food and awards ended the evening. After the club’s summer series awards were given out the special individual awards were presented with a new award for 2011, the coaches “Student of the year”, which went to James Handleigh for his efforts in his own training and his support of the younger riders. This was followed by two memorial awards with the Shane Keeler shield for the rider who has shown the most perseverance without necessarily winning going to Callum Barrow and the Rob Indri Shield for the most improved rider was awarded to Helen Nicholl. The final three awards of the evening were to the Club Member of the Year which was presented to Paul Blanche who has been one of the club committee members for a number of years and the Best New member award went to Josh Abbott who has progressed from Novice to his first British Championships where he just failed by one point to gain a semi final place in the 6 & Under class. The last trophy, The Club Rider of the Year, went to Aaron Dalleywater who has won 7 of the 12 National Series races in 2011 to take the title of National Champion.  

On Sunday the clubs riders were in action at the re-arranged second round of the regional winter series at the Braintree BMX Club’s track. Almost 140 competitors from across the region made their way to the event including 15 riders from Royston. The weather started foggy and cold although the fog did lift enough for the practice to start on time and by the time the racing started it was a bright sunny winter’s day. 

The action started in the male 7and Under class the win went to Elliott Bowyer with Josh Abbott taking 3^rd and in the male 8-9yr class Kele Newall finished in 2^nd in the A final with Louis Foreman taking 7^th and Harry Evans finishing in 4^th in the class B final on a borrowed bike after a puncture just before his race. The Female 9-10 yr class saw Ella Tomsett taking 3^rd whilst in the male 10-11yr class James King took 2^nd place with Ted Dalleywater in 6^th and team mate Bradley Marvel finished in 5^th in the class B final just ahead of Sid Newman in 6^th place.  The 12-13 year male class saw Miles Fisher electing to ride up a class where he finished in 2^nd in the A final and the 14-16yr class Sam Manser took 5^th in the class B final whilst James Handleigh had to retire after the second moto when an earlier injury proved to much to bear. In the Masters class (30+) Darren Foreman took 2^nd place in the B Final and in the 24” wheeled “Cruisers” classes saw Sam King also finish 2^nd place in the B Final. 

The Regional Winter Series moves to Peterborough for Round 3 on December 12th and as usual rider registration closes at 11.30 with racing due to start about 12.30. See more about the club and BMX racing in the region at www.roystonrockets.co.uk and the BMX East Regional site on www.bmxeast.com  or ring 01763 260959 for more information on BMX racing

East Anglia Regional BMX Winter Series – Royston 30/10/11

Royston Rockets BMX Club hosted the first round of the regional winter series last Sunday at their track in Burns Road. Almost 100 competitors from across the region made their way to the event including 18 riders from the host club. The weather stayed dry and the threatening skies cleared as racing started at lunchtime. The presentation of the Regional Summer series awards took place before the racing with Royston’s Mayor, Cllr Rob Inwood, assisted by Trevor Vipers of VB Trophies presenting awards to the riders who had qualified through the 2011 Regional Summer series. 

The Winter Series events use different classes and race age calculation dates to the normal summer regional and national series so the riders get a chance to compete against different riders for the six rounds of the series which ends in March next year. 

The action started in the girls 8 and under class with Harriet Alexander taking 2^nd place and in the male 7and Under class the win went to Elliott Bowyer with Oliver Dwyer taking 7^th in his first big event. In the male 8-9yr class Kele Newall finished in 3^rd in the A final with Harry Evans taking 2^nd in the class B final just ahead of Josh Izzard in his first regional level event in 3rd.  The Female 9-10 yr class saw Ella Tomsett taking 2^nd whilst in the male 10-11yr class the win went to Miles Fisher whilst James King took 2^nd place and Bradley Marvel finished in 8^th. The 12-13 year male class saw Daniel Blanche finishing in 2^nd in the A final whilst the B final win went to another new Rockets rider, Jadd Jalahi. The 14-16yr class saw James Handleigh unbeaten all day to take the win in the A final whilst Sam Manser took the win in the class B final whilst in the Masters class (30+) Lee Alexander had a good day to win the class and Gary Newall started to show his old form with a 5^th place. The 24” wheeled “Cruisers” classes saw more good results in the 17 and over class with Sam King finishing in 4^th and Matt Salmon taking 7^th overall. 

The Regional Winter Series moves to Ipswich for Round 2 on November 13th and as usual rider registration closes at 11.30 with racing due to start about 12.30. See more about the club and BMX racing in the region at www.roystonrockets.co.uk and the BMX East Regional site on www.bmxeast.com  or ring 01763 260959 for more information on BMX racing.

EAST ANGLIAN REGIONAL Championship – Milton Keynes 24/10/11

 Milton Keynes BMX Club were host to the final event of the summer calendar which was the East Anglia BMX Championships. Over 150 competitors from across the region made their way along the M1 including 14 riders from the Royston Rockets BMX Racing Club to chase awards for themselves and their club. The weather stayed dry and the blustery winds only occasionally made it difficult for the riders and when the sun shone it was hard to believe we are nearing the end of October.

 This event does not have novice classes so all the riders get a chance to take part in the same level of event and the action started in the girls 7 and under class with Harriet Alexander taking part in her first major event with a fine 4^th place and in the male 7yr class the win went to Elliott Bowyer with Harry Evans taking 8^th in his first event at this level. In the 9yr class Kele Newall finished in 5^th with Bradley Marvel taking 7^th in his first big event. James King took 2^nd place in the10 year class with team mate Ted Dalleywater was right behind in 3^rd and in the 11 year class the win went to Miles Fisher with Daniel Blanche finishing in 3rd after yet another race long battle for the top positions and the B final win went to Matthew Fraser. The 14yr class saw Aaron Dalleywater take 2^nd having elected to ride up a class to gain experience whilst in the Masters class (30+) Alex Shore Nye had a variable day including a heavy crash but bounced back to win the class B final. The 24” wheeled “Cruisers” classes saw more points won for the club with Helen Nichol taking 2^nd place but Carl Birt was another to take a tumble in the qualifying races which ended his days racing in the 40+ category.

 The final calculations showed Royston had just failed to take the top spot in the club rankings with Braintree on 284 points – just 5.5 points ahead of Royston with Norwich 1.5 points further back in 3^rd.

 Royston’s Ethan Vernon was competing in the European Series over the weekend in Geneva where he took 3^rd in the Male 11/12yr class on the Saturday and 4^th in the event on Sunday which, with over 40 of Europe’s top riders in the class, is a great achievement.

 The Regional Winter Series kicks of next Sunday (October 30^th) with round one being hosted by the Royston Rockets at their home track in Burns Road. Rider registration closes at 11.00 with racing due to start about 12.30. Everyone is welcome to come along but if you wish to race you should visit the clubs web site to ensure you have all the correct safety equipment and a suitable BMX bike to start with. See more about the club and BMX racing in the region at www.roystonrockets.co.uk and the BMX East Regional site on www.bmxeast.com  or ring 01763 260959 for more information on BMX racing.