Nationals
March 29, 2026
Last week nine riders represented Capital BMX at Nationals in classes ranging from 8 Girls through to 17-24 Males 20″.
Aella Robinson had a very consistent weekend in the 8-year-old girls, placing fourth. Fast out of the gate and down the hill, she was often first or second through corner 1, before the other girls caught up on the rhythm straight. She had four 3rd-place finishes in her motos, along with a 2nd and a 4th as well as a 4th-place finish in her final
Odin Wedde in 9-Boys had one of the best gates and was consistently in a position to take the holeshot on corner 1 – just a little more confidence was needed to close the door. But a strong run of 2nd and 3rd places saw him through to the semi-finals where he placed 6th for 11th overall. Joe Hoy also in 9-Boys placed 29th with a mix bag of finishes, three 3rd places, two 5th places and a 7th place.
Kiera Ocoboc was another consistent rider with five 4th-place finishes in her motos, consistently around the 47-second mark. She made the final and Kiera placed 8th in the 10-Girls,
Otis Ropiha placed 9th in the 11-Boys. Consistently 2nd place finishes in his day 1 motos, along with a 1st and a 3rd on day 2 saw him get 2nd lane pick in the quarters, but a 4th place finish meant 7th pick for the semis. He placed 5th and was eliminated, taking 9th overall. Spencer Robinson also in 11-Boys was racing in his first Nationals and had to get used to the experience of so many other riders around him jostling for position over the first jump. But once he figured out he could jump the first, rather than try to manual or bounce through it, his confidence lifted. Like Otis he placed 4th in his QF, and 5th in the Semi Final, taking 10th overall.
Brielle Luke battled hard in 12-Girls with consistent 49.9s laps for a series of 5th places. Unfortunately a crash going into corner 2 in moto 5 injured her arm and so whilst she came back for moto 6 and battled on, it was more for pride in finishing rather than a place. We later found out she’d fractured her wrist in the crash, making that determination to race moto 6 even more impressive. They breed ’em tough in Karori!
Jack Kelly was strong in his motos in day 1 in 13-Boys with three 2nd place finishes and a 1st, but a crash in practice on Sunday morning ended his Nationals early without the chance to defend his NZ3.
Jamie Harkness was in his first year with the big dogs in Male 17-24. Everyone was fighting for Worlds qualification places, with this being the only class where a finals spot didn’t automatically mean selection. It was fine margins and a misjudged tap on the brakes going into the first jump in moto 3 saw him drop from 2nd to 6th in a moto could have placed third. He finished 2 points outside the semi-final cur off for 18th overall.
2025 National Series
At the end of racing on Saturday, BMX New Zealand recognised the 2025 National Series riders by awarding plates to riders 1-8 and a jersey to the winner of each age group.
The National Series is a competition over the course of the calendar year, so spans the second half of one season and the first half of the next, with points awarded to riders in the first four motos of qualifying events. The format has changed for 2026 but traditionally riders have to compete in Nationals that year; one of Norths or South Island Titles; and three of the seven Regional Championships. If you do more events, the points from your best Island Titles and your best three Regional Champs are tallied.
Its hard to qualify, so placing is an achievement of consistency and dedication. Capital celebrated 3 National Series riders:
- Kiera Ocoboc placed 4th in 9 Girls with 124 points (24 pts over her first 4 motos and a 7th place at Souths preferred to 19 points and 6th place at Norths; and Wellington Champs, Taranaki Champs and Waikato Champs, generating more points that Central Champs, and a tenth place at National generating 19 points ).
- Jamie Harkness placed 3rd in 16 Boys with 123 points from Central, Taranaki and Waikato Champs, South Island Titles and Nationals. A broken finger from playing basketball kept him out of Wellington Region Champs which would likely have pushed him up to second overall.
- Jack Kelly won the 12 Boys National Series with 145 points from Central, Wellington and Taranaki Champs, Norths and Nationals.
Huge congratulations to our riders who placed so well in the 2025 National series.