Spoke Stars BMX Club co-founder and coach Johannes Simon says the club was established with a mission to introduce young riders to grassroots cycling.
Simon says the club was established under the leadership of coaches affiliated with the Namibian Cycling Federation (NCF), including himself, Vaino Kali and manager Hilma Shipanga.
“The aim is to introduce young, passionate and talented riders to cycling, bike handling fundamentals, and structured skills training,” Simon says.
He says the club serves as an entry point into competitive and recreational cycling, focusing on discipline, technique and confidence building on the track.
He says the club, situated in Windhoek, is working with Suiderhof Primary School to make BMX a sport of choice at schools just like football.
“The age categories are from u8 to u14 and when they pass that age. We then move them to an active performance cycling academy but still under Spokes Stars,” Simon says.
“At first it was a challenge as some parents don’t really know much about cycling but now they are the number one supporters. Parents play an important role in motivating the children, which is really needed for them to learn something new. They are the backbone of the team.”
Simon says the club has grown tremendously.
“Looking from where we started, some children could not even ride a bike but now competed at the BMX nationals last weekend at IJT trails.
“We won the national u12 which really shows how far we have come but we aren’t stopping yet. The vision is big and we are just at phase two currently,” says Simon.
He says cycling in Windhoek has shown children that other sport codes exist.
“That’s how we all grew up, only knowing schools offer football as a sport. But with Spokes Stars we are currently working on making sure at least three primary schools offer cycling as well.”
He says there are Namibian children who know how to cycle but have not been presented with an opportunity to participate.
“Currently we still don’t have much planned activities on the outside but on the inside, we want to grow Spokes Stars not just at Suiderhof Primary School but around the capital.”
GIRLS PARTICIPATION
He says female participation has grown steadily, with parents showing increased interest in registering their daughters. While sport development has historically seen gaps in early exposure for girls, structured BMX environments offer safe and equal opportunities to develop their skills.
“Girls in categories ranging from u8 through to u16 actively train and compete alongside their peers in regional and national events.”
Simon says Spoke Stars has a girl who was not particularly interested in sport but is now achieving good results and enjoying the sport.
“We have an outside team as well for the ones that are not at Suiderhof where they all get the same opportunity.
NATIONAL TEAMS POTENTIAL
“We have Keano Boois, who was crowned the Namibian national champion in the u12 category, and we also have girls who have the potential and talent to make national podium performances.”
Simon says Spoke Stars clinched six podium standings at the national level which was the club’s first appearance, which is a plus for a small team.
“We are truly happy and proud of how far we have come.”
As for the club’s finances, coach Kali does the 70% and 30% comes from the school, NCF and parents also play a role in that.
Spoke Stars hosted one BMX event this year which was sponsored by NCF, RMB Namibia and Powerhouse Cycling. The event had riders from Spokes Stars and Physical Active Youth.
Simon calls on interested parents to register their children with Spokes Stars’ management.
