Taking BMX world by storm

Mildura Storm BMX Club is growing and growing. Home to national and state champions, the small club is showing that you don’t have to be a big sporting group to build quality within your ranks. Its newest state champion, 16-year-old Ethan Zrna, sat down with Angus Dearlove to talk about where the club is at and how his love for BMX is back. Picture: Ben Gross

THERE is a good vibe at the Mildura Storm BMX Club.

It’s a Sunday, the club is holding a race day, and there are people everywhere at the Old Aerodrome Sporting Complex based track.

It’s noisy.

There’s the intermittent bang of a race start, people walking past wheeling bikes and chattering, and for new Victorian state champion Ethan Zrna it’s a welcome hive of activity.

“The past few months it has been buzzing, there’s heaps of new members,” he says.

“Heaps of new stuff being done around the track facilities-wise as well.”

Ethan has virtually grown up at the track, and has seen the sport rise in town from its humble beginnings to the scenes of last Sunday.

“It’s really good now, the sport is becoming a bit bigger in Mildura,” he says.

“It’s changed a lot, the corners are asphalt now, the gates have changed, when I was young it was a lot smaller, less people. It’s much better.”

The club’s rise has also been in a competitive nature.

Ethan himself now has a baker’s dozen state titles across South Australia and Victoria following his 16 year-old boys Victorian title last month, while veteran Kamahl Lord is a world and multiple Australian champion.

Fellow club member Aaron Wheatland is also a reigning Australian champion and competed on the world stage this year.

“It’s good for the club, and it also brings in new members,” Ethan says.

“People look up to those riders, it’s good to have ‘Wheatie’ back and Kamahl comes back every now and then for his couple of weeks before a big event.”

On his own success, Ethan was thrilled to claim another title – his eighth Victorian one to go with five South Australian wins.

He said enjoying the sport more was paying dividends.

“It’s just hard work and keeping at it,” he says.

“And especially lately having a bit more fun.

“It helps you with your skills on the bike and helps you stay in the sport.”

After the disappointment of nationals this year, when Ethan was the fastest qualifier only to be cheated out of a fair run in the semi final by an opponent running him off the track and subsequently being disqualified, the state title was certainly a happy return.

“The nationals were pretty disappointing so I had a couple of months off that,” Ethan says.

“So this event I wasn’t 100 per cent coming into it, I didn’t really know what to expect but it’s a bit of redemption I guess.”

Having sporting pursuits outside of BMX also helps, with Ethan part of Mildura’s run to the 2019 SFNL under 18 premiership – being an emergency for the Demons on grand final day in that grade.

“It definitely helped a lot, footy and now a little bit of basketball,” he says.

“It’s a bit of extra fitness, a bit of a team sport, stuff like that.”