Riders head east for national competition

Several Karratha BMX riders will head east at the end of the month to compete in a national competition, with some also chosen for State squads.

William Gethin, 15, Callum Kirkwood, 16, Ryley Hinchcliffe, 15, Jason Tatham, 13, Sophie Taylor, 10, Josh Swiatek, 10, and Rod Gethin will all represent the State in coming weeks.

Callum and Sophie have been chosen to represent WA, Callum in the State squad athlete development program and Sophie in the WA Dynamite team at the National Championships in Bathurst.

Sophie said she loved the opportunity to race against both boys and girls.

"This is my first trip to nationals, but I have done State's a few times," she said.

"I think it is pretty cool that I get to race both classes."

Josh said he was excited about the challenge of competing at nationals.

"I've been training up for the past two years so coming up to nationals, I'm going to try to beat them all," he said.

"I started riding a bike when I was three and just liked it so I came to the track for a come and try day and this is my fifth year now."

Rod Gethin is a more experienced campaigner, having competed in a few State and national competitions.

"It's a lot of fun and a good experience to go to nationals because that's where the best turn up," he said.

"It's not in our season at the moment so the guys have been training out of season, which is a lot harder to do because it's so hot up here."

The club will host a have a try day on February 27 at the Rosemary Road track.