Luke Madill Q & A: What’s ahead for BMX Racing in 2023

Important changes are taking place in BMX Racing this year. The National Rounds and National Cup have been replaced with a National Series, the World Championship will be held alongside other disciplines for the first time in Glasgow, and the next generation of Australian riders is emerging.

Ahead of the BMX Racing National Series kicking off this week, AusCycling spoke to BMX Sport Manager, Pathways Luke Madill, to discuss some of the changes and find out where the sport is heading in 2023.

AusCycling: Why do you think having a National Series is a better structure compared to what we had previously with the National Cup?

Luke Madill: The idea of the National Cup was that, so you didn't have to travel everywhere, you could gain points in your own state to be competitive. But what we noticed was that it didn't increase the size of the event at a state/territory base, it didn't increase the size of the event at a national base, and it actually almost confused people, because they’re like, ‘How do we get points?’ And no one was really following it. The other major factor was from a state/territory points perspective, the different sized events also caused issues in trying to make it fair for the overall National Cup points. So, we just thought that trying to simplify it and still get people to go by concentrating just on the State/Territory Series and on the National Series, that it would be much easier to understand and follow.

AC: Do you think there'll be more than five rounds in the future?

LM: Yes, I am hoping so. That's one thing we spoke about internally the other day, trying to branch back out. The reason we cut it down a bit was because unfortunately we tried to do every state and territory, but it didn't actually work; we weren't getting everyone attending. So, small numbers. And therefore, with the small numbers, we just couldn't keep it running financially, and we had to try and find a different way of running it, which was again refining it just to a few different states and territories. But we definitely need to re-evaluate how we can expand it more. We have even looked at the old Probix series as we know that was popular with the 14+ riders.

AC: It must be good to get back to Western Australia. It seems like they've missed out because of COVID.

LM: Yes, it will be good to finally get over to Westside BMX Club as they always put on a great event and have missed out during COVID. It's hard because AusCycling obviously wants to support all states and territories, but also know it’s tough for places like WA, the Northern Territory, and Tasmania, as when they hold National events, the numbers are usually a little lower due to the financial impact on the east coast states, but we also know that we need to support these states and territories. Events on the east coast like NSW and Queensland do draw the big numbers, so we need to work out how we develop the National Series so it’s bringing the best riders together in the largest numbers, but also incorporating all state and territories. I don’t think we can always support and please everyone, but I do think we need to start looking at what creates a high-quality events, as this also supports rider development.

AC: What are you expecting to see in Shepparton at the National Championship in November?

LM: I think a good turnout. Everyone likes that track and the fact it’s a SX (supercross) track is more of a drawcard. It’s had everything from state, national, and international events. It’s going to potentially have Commonwealth Games and more World Cups in the near future, and it’s also not overlapping with the ABA Grands, so yeah, I think they’re going to have a pretty big turnout there, for sure.

AC: What are your expectations for the World Championships?

LM: I mean, we're always strong. World Championships is interesting at a Challenge level, and we've had discussions around, ‘Do we try and have a tighter criteria?’ a bit like the elite levels, where you’ve got to be at a higher standard to go, because most years, anyone can go. That's the advantage – and sometimes disadvantage – of our sport. It makes it hard to filter the riders through, because they can just jump to the top-level events straight away. But generally, if we've got someone that's a National Champion, they're always pretty close to being on the podium at a World Championship, so we end up with three or four World Champions, and then we also normally end up with probably a dozen world plate holders. I think a similar thing will happen this year. It just depends on who ends up actually going.

AC: From an individual perspective, are there one or two riders that you think are on the verge of a breakthrough or that is going to continue to dominate at the top?

LM: Look, it's always hard. At the very top, you've obviously got Izaac (Kennedy) just doing his thing, Lauren (Reynolds) and Saya (Sakaibara) are leading the race for the girls and they’re obviously at that level currently above everyone else. I actually think there's probably a bunch of younger riders coming through. Watching last year’s National Championships and the recent Oceania Championships, I am excited to see the talent that’s starting to step up, and a healthy rivalry emerge between our riders. Teya Rufus and Jesse Asmus have stepped up in recent events to show they are ready to take it to the next level, but then we still have the likes of Sienna Pal, Tom Tucker, Josh Jolly and Noah Elton fighting to earn their spot at the top. My role now is to try capture this talent and continue to expand on it.

AC: The National Training Sessions: What have they accomplished, and are there plans to expand them into other states and venues?

LM: Yes, for sure. These sessions were set as a starting point for riders around the country to come together and train at a higher level in gaining an understanding of where their development is at. The sessions are also used for collecting data to go towards a rider’s performance standard, which aligns with the categorisation process. I guess to simplify it, these sessions are for talent scouting which allow Sam (Willoughby) and I to see which riders are trying to raise the bar in this country. We definitely want to see these sessions branch out around the country and that is our next step. We could only use Sleeman this time as Shepparton and Adelaide are currently under construction, and we do not have as much data at places like and Darwin and Macarthur. Over the coming months I will be setting new opportunities for riders to come and train together, expanding on the first four sessions held at Sleeman, and also taking onboard the feedback from those sessions to raise the quality of the next training sessions.

AC: What are you personally looking forward to this year?

LM: Hopefully changing the culture of BMX. It's a big, big ask and it's probably going to take a few years, but I think this year for me is to really throw a big shift in the works and create more development opportunities, start to help clubs, riders, coaches, and everyone understand that there is a pathway. You shouldn't be just entering the sport and racing the top level just because the sport allows it; riders need to earn their stripes. So yeah, greater development opportunities is my goal, and I have new position within AusCycling this year, so I am looking forward to growing this area.

AusCycling 2023 BMX Racing National Series | Round 1 and 2

• Dates: 22-23 April, 2023
• Location: Perth, Western Australia
• Venue: Westside BMX Club, 1 Vasto Pl, Balcatta
• Times: From 10:30am Saturday and 8:30am Sunday (all times AWST)
• National Series information:available here.
• Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tik Tok: @AusCyclingAus

The 2022 AusCycling BMX Racing National Series in Perth, WA is proudly supported by the City of Stirling.

Main Photo: Get Snapt