Hall of Fame | Inductees | Nominees
Here are the nominations for the bmxultra.com Hall of Fame, it's time to tell you who these guys were and how they influenced BMX racing in Australia. If you have any nominations for 2008 please email webmaster@bmxultra.com.
Pauline
Williams (Victoria)
#1 Australia 1984 & 1985, #1 World 1984
Pauline Williams is the daughter of Keith WIlliams of
the Keith Williams medal that BMX Victoria continue to award for
outstanding effort at the Victorian Championships. Having won
the 16+ girls class at Suzuka in Japan in 1984 she is the first
of a string of Australian women who have won the pinnacle class
at the world championships. Pauline was well known for her strong
riding style and often raced in the men's classes for extra competition,
she also was a very confident jumper and had a unique "ski
jump" jumping style that gave her an edge over her competition.
In the first round of qualifying at the 1984 national championships
at Byford WA Pauline fell in the first straight only to get back
on her bike and back into the lead in the final straight but fell
again just 20 meters before the finish line. She recovered from
the fall like a true champion and went on to win the event.
Dean
Crisp (Queensland)
#1 Australia (15 boys) 1980 & (Senior cruiser) 1983
Dean Crisp was on the Mongoose Team, after having won
the 15 boys class at the first ever Australian championships.
In 1981 Dean travelled with Jamie Hales to the US to gain valuable
experience. started a company manufacturing number plates and
pads. The plates were different to others available at the time
with a super light and thin clear plastic panel that was printed
onto from behind, making them very popular for their time especially
with the weight conscious. Crisp then expanded to race gear. In
1983 he won the senior cruiser class at the Australian Championships
at Ashmore in his home state of Queensland. Late in 1984 Crisp
Bros added frames and forks to their product line. Dean left Mongoose
to promote his own company Crisp Brothers Racing. Dean may not
have the titles of his peers, but he was always a contender in
the early pro and open classes really dominating at major events
around Australia during the early to mid 80's.
Wayne
McIntosh (New South Wales)
#3 Australia 1984
Wayne McIntosh was the face of GT in the early 80's, the factory
team pro rider. While he never actually won a national #1 in the
open or pro classes he was always a contender taking out many
big wins at some of the biggest races in the country. In 1984
Wayne was the fastest Australian rider to cross the line at the
national championships, however the Australian BMX Association,
as it was known then had paid for Kuwahara's world champions Clint
Miller and Gary Ellis to attend. They took the #1 and #2. At that
point Wayne was off GT and riding for himself, having started
a business called MACCA, which didn't seem to go too far. He made
an appearance at the 1985 Championships at Launceston in Tasmania
wearing SE colours, and the number 9 on his plate that he became
known for using.
Darren
Miller (Western Australia)
#1 Australia 1983
Darren Miller's story is one of some luck, but BMX has
always been about being in the right place at the right time.
At the 1983 National Championships at Ashmore Qld Darren was awarded
the #1 plate after Jamie Hales was disqualified and their positions
reversed. Darren was injured for the 1984 National Championships
at Byford in his home state of Western Australia and unable to
defend the #1. Shortly after that Darren traveled to europe where
he had some success racing BMX but quickly faded out of the scene
altogether. He was part of the track committee for the 1999 Australia
Championships held indoor at Perth WA and raced the event to win
the cruiser class for his age division.
Chuck
May (New South Wales)
Invada
Invada was another racewear brand that was started in
the early days of BMX. Chuck May started the business when his
son Darren and his friends were after spare parts and equipment.
Recognising a hole in the market Chuck quickly stated up a small
pro shop and, soon after, moved into making his own line of race
clothing. Invada was a household name for over a decade with it's
most popular products being the pad sets, number plates and race
wear. Chuck and his Invada products were seen at every major event
on the east coast of Australia.
Brian Pierce/Judith and Richard Turesson (Queensland)
Peddlepower
Peddlepower is Australia's equivalent to American brands
like Max or M&M. Most on the early Australian race teams had
pants made by Peddlepower and jersey's as well for some of them.
Early in the piece it seemed like everyone was wearing Peddlepower
from the grass roots riders to the full factory team riders. The
company was started by Brian Pierce who went on to distribute
GT Bicycles as well. When GT seemed to have dominated the market
in the late 80's Peddlepower was sold to Judith and Richard Turesson,
parents of X-games downhill specialist Travis. Travis won and
was disqualified at the 1996 Australian Championships wearing
Peddlepower gear, the same gear he used as a rookie making a name
for himself on the US race circuit. Last we heard Peddlepower
was in "semi retirement".
Paul Semmel (New South Wales)
PJ/MAD and importer of CW
Paul Semmel is one of the lesser known of our hall of
fame nominees. He was the man behind PJ race clothing, pads and
seat covers. Paul originally managed a retail store in Sydney,
but moved into manufacturing in 1983. The 100% hand made in Sydney
PJ products made a big impact on the Australian market in the
early to mid 80's. In a time where the Australian BMX industry
was at it's strongest PJ competed with Australian brands Invada
and Peddlepower as well as US brands like JT, AERO, and others
and still managed a to take a large market share. By 1984 the
MAD range of gear was also available. Paul pushed his product
into the MX market too with some success but eventually faded
out of BMX altogether. Paul was also the early distributor for
American brand CW that are now popular amongst the old schoolers
for their unique handlebar design, high quality chrome jobs and
the infamous "Z" frame. He had put together a strong
CW national team to help market the CW and his own PJ products.
Graeme
Stevenson (Queensland)
SLA (Super Light Alloy)
Graeme Stevenson was involved in BMX racing on many levels;
as a rider, official and an innovator as a frame manufacturer.
Graeme was as well know for his frames as he was for his excentric
outfits he would wear to the track, fortunatly his sence of "style"
wasn't transfered to his frame designs. In the early 80's, along
with SE Racing and Race Inc, he was one of few frame manufacturers
in the world toying with Alloy as a substitute for crome-moly.
He had much success across the country with his frames, especially
in Queensland. With his reputation as a master frame builder he
later went on to manufacture frames for other Australian companies
in addition to SLA. Graeme is infamous as the official who made
the controversial call that saw Jamie Hales stripped of his #1
Australia crown at Ashmore Qld in 1983.