Club Registration and Membership

Welcome to the New Plymouth BMX Club!

In order to provide an introduction to the sport of BMX racing your first 3 club days are free.  After this if you wish to become a member, the fees are listed below.  Membership means you areassociated with both the New Plymouth BMX Club and BMX NZ.  From there options are to race at club days only or events listed on the BMX NZ calendar – there are no prerequisite requirements to race away except being a member of a club and BMX NZ.  Club Membership is on an annual basis and runs from 1st of January to the 31st of December. It is open to all ages from young children to seniors.

There are four Categories of BMXNZ Membership/Licences:

For ages 7 years and under you must get a Sprocket Licence which includes a number plate which can be collected from the points hut once membership has been completed.  You can race at any race meet on the BMX NZ calendar just like a challenge licence.

For the riders that are turning 8 this year or older (UCI 8), you have a Challenge Licence.  If you want to race at race meets on the BMXNZ calendar you require a Challenge or Sprocket Licence (this includes BMXNZ race meetings in New Plymouth). These licences will allow you to ride at club nights and race away at race meets on the BMX NZ calendar anywhere in New Zealand.

Applications for licences are completed on-line through the BMX NZ App “Become a member.” You need to choose New Plymouth BMX Club and fill in the required fields.  This online form can also be found on our website under "membership".   -You will need to provide a copy of the members passport or birth certificate which is attached in the app as part of thelicencing process.  Full payment is also required on completion.  The online link to join New Plymouth BMX Club via BMX NZ is :https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/222068

The cost of annual membership consists of licencing through BMXNZ plus an annual club licence.  The different licence costs are:

BMX NZ Strider (no pedals) $5

BMX NZ Sprocket Licence $50 (UCI age 7yrs and under)

BMX NZ Challenge Licence $80 (UCI age 8yrs and over)

New Plymouth Club Fees $40 for 1 member, $50 for 2 family members and $60 for 3+ family members.  $20 - for striders (if no other family members are riding).

All these fees cover the period from 1st January to 31st December, fees are reduced for those joining from 1st July.

Race Plates:

All rider UCI8 years and over require a licence plate to ride at events.  A number between 51 and 999can be selected by the rider.  Once selected please email membership@newplymouth.bmx.nz to see if this number is available (no other club member has it).  BMXNZ has rules and regulations to following when ordering a race plate.  Speedy signs in NewPlymouth and suppliers through BMX facebook pages and websites all know these rules. 

The following plates need to be purchased:

Male twenty” (8yrs plus): Yellow plate – Black numbers

Female twenty” (8yrs plus): Blue plate – White numbers

Cruisers (8yrs plus): Red plate – White numbers

Numbers must be a minimum of 75mm high x 10mm wide and all plates must display a club prefix of 25mm minimum in height.  Our club prefix is NP.  Riders attending BMX events without the correct plate, colour combination and/or number will not be able to compete at the event.  The online form link to purchase a plate through Speedy Signs New Plymouth is: https://form.jotform.com/221495911692058

We understand this can be very confusing for new riders.  Please do not hesitate to membership@newplymouth.bmx.nz to ask any questions or talk to one of our committee members at the track.

Transponders:

You will hear people in BMX talk about UCI age - UCI is the age you turn in the current year, for example if you are joining for the 2024 year and your child will turn 8 anytime during the year, they will be classed as UCI 8.  All UCI 8 years and over riders require a transponder to be able to ride at club, interclub and BMXNZ events.  Transponders are used to score race times and positions of riders in race software such as Sqorz.  Transponders can be purchased through BMXNZ when you join as a member or off the BMX NZ website or app under the transponder page.  The transponder needs to be attached to thefront fork of the bike when riding.

Club Days/Nights:

Club days (during the winter months) are on Sundays, registration at 10.15am to 10.45am with racingfrom 11am.  Club nights (during the summer months) are on Thursday evenings, registration is online by 4.00pm or for new riders at the points hut between 5.30pm to 6.10 pm with racing from 6.20pm.  If you are new come to the points hut (green building at finish line) to register.  The online registration form can be found on facebook and on the website.  At each club night New Plymouth BMX Club members pay $3 rider fees and casual riders or riders that belong to other BMX clubs outside of Taranaki pay $5.  This helps with the running expenses ofthe club. Race format is generally 4 races (motos), a break and then the finals.

Race Meets and Major Events:

These are held throughout New Zealand from September through to May (the BMX season).  There will usually be 4 race meets in the Taranaki region in the BMX season.  BMX NZ issue a race calendar at around the middle of the year (after the BMX NZ AGM).  Details on all events can be found in the BMX NZ App or on bmx.net.nz.  Entries will close off approximately one week prior to the event.  All information relating to the event will be on the flyer that is issued by the Club hosting the event.  A Challenge or Sprocket licence must be held to race in these events.   All Challenge licence holders will also need to purchase a transponder and a subscription (order on-line from the BMX NZ App“Transponders”.  There are Regional Championships held throughout New Zealand during the season, with each Region holding one of these.  The 3 major BMX NZ run events are North Island Championships, South Island Championships and the National Championships.  Riders do not have to be selected to ride in the National Championships however they must have completed a minimum of 4 National Qualifying Meets (NQMs) in the calendar year prior to competing in the National Championships.  The flyer for any BMX meets and also the Race Calendar will state if a Race Meet is an NQM.

Bikes and Helmets:

Bikes, full face helmets and gloves are available to hire from the hire hut (behind points hut at the finish line.  For your first three club days/nights bikes can be hired for $3, full face helmets $1 and gloves for $1 per pair. After your first three club days/nights the price of gear hire is $10 per bike and $3 per helmet or gloves.  If you are looking to purchase gear there are several Facebook trading pages: Taranaki Only BMX Exchange, BMX Racing NZ Exchange, BMX Racing NZ Buy Sell and Swap.

Coaching:

Coaching is communicated through the members Facebook page.  Sprocket and beginner training is available free of charge for the first three goes and for members, non members pay $5 per session.  Dates and times will be published on the facebook page.  Club Training is held on a Monday night for all New Plymouth BMX Club members UCI 8 and older also free of charge.  The track will be closed when these training sessions are being held.  Extra coaching sessions and/or gate nights may be provided leading up to major events. 

Publicity and Communication:

All the current BMX information and news will be posted on our Club Facebook page, links to the race flyers and other important BMX NZ information will be posted on facebook and on the BMX NZ app and facebook page.  Information will also be sent to members by email when required.  Once you are a member you can join our closed Facebook group “New Plymouth Sharks BMX Members”. 

Shop:

New Plymouth BMX Club has a shop on site open during club days/nights and BMX NZ race meets.  There will be a variety of hot and cold food and drinks available for purchase.  Hot food needs to be ordered prior to racing starting, it will be ready to collect in the break.

Helpers:

Non racing adults will be asked to help with various duties required for the successful running of the club, such as call up, marshalling, operating the gate etc.  If you are keen to learn any of these tasks, please ask and we will show you how these roles are done.  Our club is run by volunteers so please help if you can.

Happy BMX racing!