More than 300 riders were in action in round 11 of the south summer series. Hosted by the Bournemouth BMX Club at their Iford Track, a full days racing provided all the thrills and spills that this exciting branch of the sport can deliver.
Categories start with the 6yrs & under and go right up to the “old timers”, the Veterans! It looks like fun and it is but everybody had their race faces on and more than a few bit the dust.
The first aiders were kept busy but nearly all of the fallen remounted to cross the line, with greater applause than the victors. Remarkably the Bournemouth BMX Club is celebrating its 30 year anniversary and is still going strong.
Enthusiastic Chairman Geoff Routledge was presented with a commemorative plaque to mark his involvement with the club over the years.
“ Our first race was in July 1981, 368 riders, today’s turn out is good for a regional with only one race left in the series most people have already qualified for the British Champs. The track has changed a lot over the years. “We used to paint the tyres that surrounded the circuit, it’s changed a lot” “The Olympics has helped the sport, a little bit, a little bit, a lot of the adults that used to race have got families now and they get their kids involved. 60% of our membership is under 8. We have got a couple good British Cycling coaches, John Moor & Lewis Lacey and they take the sessions every Wednesday night, we get 20 to 30 riders.” “It gets them out of the house, get some exercise!
Grins Geoff, “And it teaches them to respect judgments and what people say, quite often a kid will come across the finish line and think he has won and he hasn’t and he bursts into tears. It teaches them to accept a sporting outcome. We egg’ em on as much as we can but also to accept decisions”
The British BMX Championships will be held in Cheddar, Somerset from Friday 23-Sunday 25 September.
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