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What disturbs me about ****’s email is not that the race promoters
and organizers are still making the same stupid mistakes. What
disturbs me is that none of US (the riders) do anything. Do we want
to get paid like Mat Hoffman, Ryan Nyquist, TJ Lavin, Tony Hawk?
Then take control of the sport as the afore mentioned did. If you go
to a freestyle or dirt comp you don’t see a fat bald guy in the
infield or on the street course looking for ankle high socks. The
dirt jumpers build their own jumps. The street courses are designed
by the riders. The promoters are ex-riders themselves, or at the
very least the promoters work with the riders to help facilitate the
event.
I know everyone is in the gym and doing sprints. I know everyone has
to be focused at the races and concern themselves with their own
performance. I know. BUT, at some point you have to ask yourself –
and maybe when you are appraoching thirty and angry at the fact that
you still have to have roommates and have no real future after BMX .
What have you done to help this thing move forward? Why didn’t you
speak up when they kept building ski slope starting hills with no
pedaling? Why do I let **** and ***** and ***** be the only ones to
speak up even though I am sometimes thinking the same thing? How long
can I just get by?
BMX racing is a sport in which the riders let Moms and Dads of kids
who have not raced in ten or more years have control of everything.
People like **** and Myself can only make noise for so long. If the
riders don’t care – then why should the people who run the races?
Oh Well, I am sure I will get no response from this email as everyone
is doing sooooo well as professional BMX racers and this does not
affect them. Keep in mind, unless you are Randy, Bubba, Kyle, Day,
or made a name for yourself in the late 90’s (its 2006!), I would
guess your pretty much struggling as a BMX pro – and I am not talking
about just paying some bills and getting by. I am talking about
really making a living and putting something aside for your future
after BMX.
Everyone needs to get off their ass! The race organizers need to
start listening and stop being politicians trying get a free trip to
the olympics. The riders need to get over themselves and start
thinking about what is right for the sport and their future, because
your mobile phone bill and selling yourself cheaper than the next guy
just to get entry fees and 4 flights is what P.Diddy would call
“short money”.
See you at the races – good thing I made my money Last Decade!!!
**********
Over thirty, not washed up like ****, passionate about the sport, and
hoping I don’t run into any ex-pros serving me at McDonald’s, and
yes, I like McDonald’s
He’s right, but unfortunately as we speak, and we are not pros, just riders that have been around and want to see the glory days of old return (the 80’s), no one wants to listen. There are alot of top guys with brains in this sport, unfortunately the oganizers look at them like kids riding bikes, rather than adults. Watch Transit 5 with the Jason Richardson interview, heres a guy who has been around, highly educated, articulate, and yet no sanction would probably take any of his advice or any of the other top guys.
What is needed? Some money and a whole new sanction, that takes alot of the positive things that can be done wirh the sport and showcases them.
THE OLYMPICS, the hell with them, baseball is not in the olympics, and yet it is our biggest youth sport. Curlng is in the Olympics, no anyone that curls?
Bottom line, worry about BMX, not the Olympics, which got horrible ratings, to make ourselves legitGood call guys. You are both right. Here is the main prolbem, nationals today are just big local races,nothing more. I know because after racing 500 of them it was all the same. One weekend was no different than the last. Pros got no respect, and any beginner could race it. National races should only be for pros and experts. Thats it. (and expert girls). This would make it legit. As it stands a beginner can get a national number. What is that? That does not showcase the nations best, it just provides a larger income stream for the saction. This is not to say that beginners are not important,but the national level should be for the nations best. Just like in any other area of cycling. You have to work your way up. I wish I had all the answers,but as it stands this is the way it is.
Exactly, you don’t have beginners classes at supercross, nor do beginner motox kids race a supercross track. We need events that showcase the best of the sport, and give the new riders something to shoot for.
No class other than X or pro at a nat
No Nat plates for and but those classes
No every weekendI don’t claim to know alot about Supercross, but from what I have seen, they obviously get some TV time and get spectators in the seats. I am sure a certain amount of these spectators are the younger lesser experienced riders. If the nats were scheduled right, would we get enough of the novs & rookies to go out and pay to watch a race?????
By getting the TV time, and by having big events scheduled properly and in strategic locations, they generate the exposure to get the younger dudes fired up and I’m sure a more vibrant and growing local scene. So it sounds like less but more strategically located and promoted nationals without Rookies and Novs, plus with better exposure = a better growing local scene and overall healthier sport. Sounds easy enough, right? 😯
I know getting TV time is not something that happens overnight, but in the age of the internet, there has got to be a cost effective way to do webcasts of the Nats, possibly even live. Or am I talking out my a** on this one? Just throwing ideas out there. That could be a way to bring the big races to the the folks who want to see them but couldn’t or can’t make it to the “stadium” to see the race.
I bet the sanctions would say if we have less nationals we are going to hurt the sport, but I think we all know that we need more opportunities to grow the local scene. Ultimately the two depend on each other, right?
Thats my thoughts for now.
…and no RVs were hurt in the making of this post.
Craig, the part about how it would hurt the sport, you hit it, that’s what would be said. The truth of the matter, is it would hurt their pockets!!! Think about how many beg, rookie, nov and what ever classes are there, thats bucks for the association!!! Every rider is a dollar sign. And the way they market it WE ALL KEEP following the travelling circus
Now, if they did make it more like supercross, that would cut down attendance at the Nats, so where would the money come from? No where, unless the sport is marketed, to get BIG CORPORATE SPONSORS. That would be harder than the taveling ATM machines they have created. Think about it, it really is a decent business the way it is run, and they don’t have to get any huge amounts of sponsorship money to keep them going. Just wave those plates in front of people like bait, and watch em come!!!!Wow, there seem to be some bitter people here. Let me start by saying that I do agree with some of what is said but I would like to know how a discussion on how to get riders more involved in the decision making turned into a screw everyone but x’s and pros conversation.
I agree with the writer when he said that people in charge have overstayed their welcome, but to say that (I might have misunderstood this) only current parents or former riders should make decisions is laughable. I will use the same analogy that was in another post( by the way baseball is an olympic sport as is girls softball). What owner in any sport is a former pro? Answer: not many . How about front office personell? Answer again not many.
I have a son in bmx and we ride in both the nbl and the aba. The aba runs what you are talking about – only x’s and pros with nat numbers. The problem with that is very few riders can attain this in the eastern half of the country. How about this – no regionals, period. That cuts out 5 weekends that could be spent at locals. Next, I don’t think that eliminating the rookie and novis classes at nationals would do anything. Who would travel 10 hours to see 15 motos? The couple of days leading up to a national are some of the most exciting days for my son along with the travel and the competition. It would be like taking a lollypop from a baby. That can’t be the answer.
Last, and I am sorry for the length of this rant, this is NOT 1980. I know that some of you would like to be but it is not. The tracks are set up differently, so what. The use of clips, which my son uses, is different. Sounds like sour grapes. This is possibly the worst. Every conversation eventually comes back to clips. I am tired, tired, tired of hearing it. There is a section where you can complain about it all you want, veterens group. I guess that we all should go back to the moto style bike that was used in the 70’s. How about we go back ot holding up the gate with our hands? Or how about class based on weight and height instead of age and proficiency? There is one word that can discribe it best, evolution. Not all changes are good but change is inevitable. The collective experience in bmx that regularly shows up here should be able to come up with ideas that are both good and progressive. We would not want the NFL to go back to no forward passing, even if there is a segment that remembers it fondly, would we? I say move forward not backwards. That is why I come to this site, Brett is doing everything he can think of to help grow the sport but you don’t hear him crying out to the bmx gods” why oh why can’t it be exactly like it was 30 years ago!!!” Brett sees(Ithink) the futility in this thinking and chooses to put his energy to better use, like the hangars and the flyers. By the way, Brett, if you hand out flyers to parents and ask the kids to shower there neighborhoods with them that may work.
I was not trying to offend anyone, just trying to focus energy in the right direction.
thanks for everything Greg Hill. My son Is really working hard.
One thought could be to run a seperate series for novices. Mabey Friday night. That would keep the money comming in. Then the rest of the weekend cuuld be the national. That kind of format could attract some corprate money. Not to mention the national would not take twelve hours to run. Making the whole thing better for the riders and parents. Plus it could be TV friendly.Make the event attractive for sponsors, make it legit. Think how big the nationals could be with a 5 to 10 million dollar budget. HUGE!!!
I agree, Bret something needs to be done but any talk of changing things at a national level is misguided,(although rider1 that would be a good idea). We cant even get the management at a certain south jersey track that will not be named but is in egg harbor to listen. The State director Quitand the nbl cant or won’t do anything. This state is in shambles. I hope the group of veterans can start to change things.One problem as I see it it that it is the only sport that relies on the state level to get anything done. You don’t see indvidual soccer clubs relying on NJYSA to get players. A while ago, My father in law attempted to start a track in Mt. Holly. He got in touch with the State commish in Florida( at the time the NJ commish couldn’t bother) and they sent us their promotional packet. Talk about thorough. It had everything, even ways to get riders. Brett, I will speak to him and get you a copy if you want.
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