New National Talent Academy aiming to unearth next BMX freestyle superstar

Ever dreamed of touring the world as a BMX freestyle athlete and representing Australia at the biggest events on the planet? Are you ready to take the next step towards making those dreams a reality?

The pathway for aspiring BMX freestyle athletes has just become a lot simpler, with the launch of the AusCycling BMX Freestyle National Talent Academy.

The BMX Freestyle National Talent Academy will replicate academies in other disciplines, and identify, develop, and support amateurs who aspire for elite status by enhancing the skills needed to progress through the performance pathways.

Predominantly based in southeast Queensland (SEQ), the academy will enhance the training environment of riders by:

• Providing targeted training sessions and camps;
• Enhancing the daily training environment;
• Developing consistent opportunities for high performance education and skill development;
• Increasing the number of riders meeting key performance targets;
• Providing cross-discipline opportunities.

AusCycling BMX Freestyle Development and Talent Coach Chloe Kerr explained how the Academy would provide a targeted approach to athlete development, primarily through specialised camps and training sessions.

“Camps are the main academy activity designed to include athletes from across the country. These are intensive, multi-day camps focused on skill development, competition preparation, high performance education and building team culture,” Kerr said.

“Riders will participate in specialised workshops, coaching sessions, and performance trials. Camps will be mainly based at the National Training Centre but may at times be in other States to support athletes across Australia. 

“Training Sessions are additional activity and are regular, ongoing sessions that focus on riding, strength, and supplementary training to support the athlete’s development. These are available to athletes in the SEQ area and will be based at the National Training Centre.”

Kerr added that athletes from across the country will be invited to the camps, and non-Queensland athletes will be paired with an AusCycling endorsed coach to undertake individual training activities in their home state. 

Culture and mindset are also important, as riders must demonstrate a commitment to the sport beyond personal participation, and Kerr was unashamedly ambitious when asked what types of athletes would benefit from involvement in the Academy.

“We are looking for the next Logan Martin or Natalya Diehm. We are looking for the most talented young athletes in Australia who aspire to be on the World stage in years to come. This will suit athletes who enjoy competition and wish to take the competitive path in BMX Freestyle,” Kerr said.

“Athletes eager to learn, willing to take constructive feedback, and committed to improving will benefit the most.”

The launch of a National Talent Academy is the latest development in a remarkable period for BMX Freestyle in Australia. After Natalya Diehm struck bronze in Paris, AusCycling announced an expanded competition calendar for 2025, while regular jam sessions have also been established at the National Training Facility.

AusCycling Director of Pathways - Performance Donna Rae-Szalinski said that like development academies in other Olympic disciplines that are funded by the AIS, the BMX freestyle academy will provide a clear pathway to elite status in the sport.

“Once you get an athlete to a point where they're showing some aptitude, then [our role is] to provide them with a pathway towards categorisation, and then into the high-performance pathway with categorisation. So, this is our launching pad for that,” Rae-Szalinski said. 

“[We want] to provide that opportunity for the kid who watched a Logan or a Natalya get Olympic medals, and to realise to get to that level, ‘well, where do I start?’ And we're offering something at the beginning of that pathway.”

Rae-Szalinski indicated that by bringing functionally similar athletes into one environment, the academy will also facilitate cross-discipline coaching and talent identification opportunities.

“We have functional areas: Acceleration and Action for BMX race, freestyle and track sprint, and Endurance for track endurance, road and mountain bike XCO. The people involved in those disciplines understand how we look at cycling in those functional areas, and if they see an aptitude, they're going to facilitate that,” Rae-Szalinski said. 

Rae-Szalinski said the number of athletes involved in academies across all disciplines had grown from approximately 450 last year to more than 600 in 2024 with the addition of mountain bike academies in several states, and that number is set to grow even further with the addition of the BMX freestyle academy.

“As an organisation, we want to offer that opportunity to young people interested in cycling. Our primary focus is on Olympic disciplines aligned with our AIS funding, however we will offer non-Olympic disciplines where we have capacity," Rae-Szalinski added.

“We are thrilled to provide a clear and visible opportunity to explore cycling, and to see how athletes can work their way up towards becoming a Logan Martin or a Saya [Sakakibara] or a Grace Brown.” 

Applications for the BMX Freestyle National Talent Academy are open until December 1, with the first intake announced in the new year and the first camp in the January school holidays. 

Learn more about the BMX Freestyle National Talent Academy.

To apply, please use the following link: APPLY NOW

Images courtesy Sam Herbert Media