BMX New Zealand

The Mighty 11s is an International BMX competition between New Zealand & Australia.

After a rider from Ipswich BMX Club was tragically killed in a car accident, his mother gave the club a trophy to be used in his memory. The Ipswich BMX Club committee at the time, decided to hold an invitational meet for a junior class, as the rider that the trophy honoured was eleven at the time of the accident. When discussing the event options and guidelines, it was reported that one committee member said "it can't be in June, my son will be twelve?" As a result, three (3) ages were put into a hat and one was drawn out, thus was the birth of the "Mighty 11s."

Out of a close friendship between the President of Ipswich BMX Club, Neville Gray, and New Zealand's, Errol Nelson, a Trans-Tasman BMX exchange was developed. Their vision was a cultural exchange trip along with BMX racing. The exchange was timed to happen with the Mighty 11s meeting, which then combined to create a Mighty 11s experience.

The cultural exchange was to give kids a look into differing cultures and environments, to learn and grown their outlooks of the world. The teams are billeted with local families, so parents are not involved in anything other than seeing their kids at the track during racing.

The Mighty 11s Experience

There are two parts to the Mighty 11s experience the:

Mighty 11s Test Team
Mighty 11s Memorial Class

The Mighty 11s Test team is a cultural exchange with AusCycling BMX, with a male and a female team from each country competing against each other to win the Toshiba Cup (boys) and Troy Fisher Cup (girls).

The Mighty 11s Memorial Class is for all 11 year old boys and girls to race together, to determine the overall Mighty 11 rider.

The Junior Test Team cultural exchange with AUScycling. The Trans Tasman series is raced at the BMXNZ North Island Titles and the Australian Series held at an AUScycling nominated event. The team consists of 4 male & 4 female riders. The team selection is open to all riders who will be 11 years old on the 30th of June* of the year of selection for the Australian event and 11 years old on the 31st December* of the year of selection for the New Zealand event. This is a BMXNZ funded trip with a small financial input by the families. BMXNZ also allocate a coach & team manager to the squad. Final details are provided on the event flyer.

*Selection Process - these dates are only a guide, the selection process will be confirmed on the event flyer when released.