AJ Donald taking on the world in BMX
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
Many kids spend their spare time getting out and about on a BMX bike , exploring neighbourhoods or even an odd race with their mates on a dirt track somewhere having fun . AJ Donald is no different to many of the kids you see riding on their pushbikes on any given afternoon .
His mum , Charlotte , said that AJ first got into BMX racing when he was at Cattai Public School when he was eight , and AJ was good , exceptionally good . He went to a come and try day at Hawkesbury in 2015 and started off competing against local kids of a similar age .
Some school friends were into BMX and encouraged him to go along – the come and try day planted the seed that has manifested over the years . It was an easy sport to do , and his mum said she would offer him the opportunity to go to the track to get his homework done back when he was seven . That ’ s a reasonable
AJ receiving the Newcomer of the year award in 2024 .
trade off and many parents would be able to resonate with this , as I have many times with my kids and grandkids .
AJ is still only a young guy and at 17 years old competes for Hawkesbury Hornets BMX club . This is his first year competing in Junior elite which is at international level . He has raced in Superclass which is national and state level , and this year he had to race in Superclass . AJ has competed in the world cup in Brisbane and NZ in under 23 . AJ is coached by Luke Madill , who works for Aus Cycling . In the world cup this year Australia won the men and women elite and u23 men ’ s and women ’ s elite . There are some really good riders out of Australia , in particular Anthony Dean and Sam Willoughby out of SA , and Luke Madill .
It was AJ ’ s first year competing at this level . He beat Olympians and took on Ryan Gilchrist who won the World Championships . AJ got one up on him when he beat him in Dungog earlier this year and after his first world championships is ranked number two in the world .
Races last less than one minute , which means you need to hit the ground running hard and fast . AJ is preparing for the Oceania competition now ; he was in the NSWIS squad and the WSAS . He trains Monday , Wednesday and Friday at the gym , does gate sessions ( practising the start gate ) two days a week and rides on Saturdays .
He practices sprints on the bike , works on his speed at the start , and on pedalling . AJ trains with Ollie Moran who won the national championships in Elite and won the world cup in u23s .
There are a lot of excellent riders competing at that level . If you have a successful gate , it can help you have a good start and potentially win the race . At Superclass level AJ didn ’ t make it through to the finals as only the top four qualify . In NSW , the riders train a lot together in the Elite Level and the top riders at Olympic level do as well , to
AJ Donald in action on the track .
help improve their skills .
AJ is looking at doing the world cups in 2025 which are overseas , competing in France , Holland and Copenhagen .
At Junior Elite u23 there were 14 competitors in the boys in the 17 / 18 age group AJ 5th overall . AJ finished 2nd in his age and is aiming to get into the 2032 Olympic squad .
He has trained really hard and has a lot of confidence to jump the big jumps .
Hopefully , AJ will continue to improve , and we ’ ll see him become the king of the BMX world .
Cricket is heating up in the Hawkesbury in 2024 / 25
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
This season has the potential to be one of the biggest in the Hawkesbury in recent history , with the touring Indian and Pakistani cricket teams both in Australia for the first time together in many years . It has increased interest and participation levels in competition cricket and general interest in cricket right across the country .
The Hawkesbury District Cricket Competition has also seen the emergence of the newest club to the district in one of the largest growth suburbs Box Hill . Box Hill Brumbies Cricket Club entered teams in the junior competition last seen and have stepped up their participation levels this year . They have an increased number of junior teams as well as the presence of 2 senior grade cricket teams , with 1 team in the 3rd grade competition , and 1 team in
Wilberforce Cricket Club with the 2023-24 trophy .
the 1st grade competition replacing Bligh Park who were in division 1 last season . Last season also saw Wilberforce Cricket Club win the 1st grade competition for the first time since 1992 / 93 .
In the 5th grade competition , there have been some strong performances by Bligh Park , which has seen them lead the competition on 34 with 5 wins including a 2 wicket win chasing down a massive total of 339 in round 1 vs Freemans Reach . Captain Jeremy Wood blazed away with a brilliant knock of 142 retired not out off 93 balls to start their season with a bang .
It must be noted the brilliant knock that Mark Racker from North Richmond displayed against Schofields had them chasing the ball all day long in the field . In 4th grade North Richmond are leading the way in a very tight competition with 33 points from wins with Wilberforce , Freemans Reach Maroon , Freemans Reach Gold and Schofields all tied on 30 points .
It ’ s a case of don ’ t blink or you might find yourself out of contention for the competition ! Wilberforce 4th grade put together a brilliant knock of 3 / 280 declared against Riverstone Rangers to put up a sterling display with a brilliant partnership between Ram Krishnan who scored 109 off 75 balls , and Tim Silk who had a genuine crack picking up 101 not out off 54 balls . Even Gary Chunky Ruzgas had a crack blazing 30 not out off 24 balls .
In 3rd grade Riverstone Rangers Blue lead from their same club rivals Riverstone Gold with Blue on 36 points ahead of Gold on 32 . New kids on the block Box Hill Brumbies are close behind in 3rd on 29 points just ahead of Pitt Town Sports .
In their first day out at the crease in the Hawkesbury competition Box Hill Brumbies rolled Schofields for 218 and then finished with 1 declared for 254 with Muhammad Bilal scoring 101 not out and Shreedhar Patel smashing and impressive 111 not out . In 2nd grade Schofields have streaked ahead by some distance on 42 points with 6 wins and no losses to lead the competition by 12 points from Glossodia . Glossodia carved out an impressive 304 against North Richmond which saw Siddarth Dinde score an unbeaten 113 against the North Richmond attack at Woodbury Reserve .
In the first-grade competition Freemans Reach are leading the competition again with 44 points from 8 matches to put a 9-point gap on North Richmond , and at this stage look likely to
Ram Krishnan and Tim Silk celebrate their centuries . Credit : Wilberforce Cricket Club .
finish first in the regular season for the 2nd season in a row . Matt Rose scored 100 not out for North Richmond against Schofields at Oakville Oval in round 6 . He also has 298 with the bat this season at 49.67 average . Liam Tully from Freemans Reach has picked up 22 wickets at an average of 7.55 with a best bowling performance of 4 / 10 .
As the competition heads into the second half of the competition there is still plenty of cricket to be played and lots of opportunities for players across the district to put their best foot forward .
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au HAPPY NEW YEAR ! ISSUE 176 // JANUARY 2025 29