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30/04 Review: MTX Mototrax PS2
There's not a great deal of new BMX games coming out at the moment,
so the guys at Activision sent us their new motocross game called MTX
Mototrax. Click here
to check out our review.
30/04 Frankston track changes
We hear that the Frankston track is scheduled to go through some
changes this weekend. Apparently the third straight is to be completely
demolished and rebuilt, the changes are in preparation for the Helltrack
meeting later this year.
29/04 BULLY riders help out with ESPN2...
Recently
the BULLY Bikes team riders, David Healy and Jimmy Hale, were asked to
help in the filming of a TV show shown in Elementary School Classrooms.
The show, called "ESPN Sportsfigures", uses practical examples
of physics to help explain the theories to the students.
Part of the show was filmed with Co-Host Dave Mirra in Greensville and the other parts in were shot at Brian Picolo Skatepark in Cooper City, Florida.
Enclosed is a picture of David Healy waiting to play background in the next shot. With a full catered lunch and freebies the guys said they could definitely get used to this!
Brian Fell
bullybikes.com
29/04 New BMXUltra.com tent
Pazzaz has been a long time supporter of BMXUltra.com, they have
given us a tent to take to the races. It's blue and printed up with the
BMXUltra.com and Pazzaz logos, so you can't miss it. Drop by this Sunday
at Sunbury and we'll have some stickers and two for one vouchers for the
first two games for Melbourne's own Ice Hockey team, Melbourne Ice (9
May 4pm and 22 May 5.45pm). Photos to come soon. Thanks Pazzaz (www.Pazzaz.com)
.
29/04 Sunbury Entry form
Looking for an entry form for Sunbury for this Sunday? We finally
got hold of one last night (thanks Sally). It might be a little late for
some people to get their entry in via post, but you will find a contact
number on the entry form. Given the entry form has been so difficult to
find it might be worth trying to get in a phone entry. Click
here to download the entry form with all the details.
28/04 One Bicycles @ Euro Champs
European Championships Rounds 1 & 2 April 24-25, Lempdes (France)
Round 1 and 2 of the European Championship were held in Lempdes, France.
With the vulcanos of Clermont Ferrand in the background, racing promised
to be hot. And it was.
As we all know Thomas Allier (GT) races in Europe again after a few years
in the States. He was the man to beat in Elite Men. And that is what happenend
on saturday. Florent Boutte (B-52), from France, beat him on the finishline.
UK's Kelvin Batey (ONE Bicycles) has been training in Denmark for a few
months and it has paid off. He took a 7th place on saturday. ONE's rookie
Elite Men Arturs Matisons was IMPRESSIVE, but on saturday when he missed
the gate. Sunday he took the holeshot in the main, but Allier managed
to pass on the first straight and he was on his way to his first international
victory in Europe. Matisons got t-boned in the 3rd turn and made room
for the others to pass. ONE's Joost Wichman raced his way to a 3rd place
on sunday after his crash in the semis on saturday.
ONE's rookie in Junior Men, Maris Strombergs was from another planet.
His starts were incredible. Saturday he had the holeshot, but 2003 Junior
Men no. 2, Arnoud Dubois, passed him in the first turn.
Sunday Maris wanted to start even better in the main, but he went to early
and crashed over the gate.
Some of ONE's Elite girls were competing their first race of the season.
2003 European Champion Jana Horakova (Czech Republic) and Dagmara Polakova
(Slovakia) were on their way back from injuries and they're getting in
shape. Jana did very well with 2 main events and Dagmara missed her main
on sunday by landing too hard on one of the many jumps. Lithuanian Vilma
Rimsaite took holeshots all saturday, but missed the main. On sunday her
starts were not as good, but she made clear that her 3rd place tastes
for more.
The youngster in the ONE Bicycles team, European Champion Magalie Pottier
from France was unbeatable, jumping it all and winning it all in 15yo.
girls.
Next round in 2 weeks ion Esselbach, Germany.
ONE's sponsors are: Troy Lee Designs, Bombshell, Fizik, FSA, ODI, Nike
ACG, Zitoun.nl, EVS, Maxxis, Bomba, Bollé, Haribo and WLM Design
| Round 1 Junior Women
Junior Men
Elite Women
Elite Men
|
Round 2 Junior Women
Junior Men
Elite Women
Elite Men
|
Challenge
Girls 11/12: Merle Van Benthe (Holland), Quality Gardens
Boys 11/12: Denis Teullet (France)
Girls 12/13: Joyce Seesing (Holland), Schijf
Boys 13/14: Nicolas Aboudai (France)
Girls 15/16: Magalie Pottier (France), ONE Bicycles
Boys 15/16: Martijn Scherpen (Holland)
Boys 17/18: Julien Boillon (France)
Men 19+: Remon Brink (Holland)
28/04 Slim Jim To Sponsor “Vertical Up-Rising”
Action Sports Event
June 5 Event At Kansas Speedway To Feature Dave Mirra, Tony Hawk And Other
Action Sports Stars
KANSAS CITY, Kan.– Bike stunt specialist Dave Mirra and skateboard legend Tony Hawk will be among the action sports stars performing June 5 at the Vertical Up-Rising action sports event presented by Slim Jim at the Kansas Speedway® on the same day of the Kansas Lottery $200 Grand ARCA RE/MAX Series race.
Joining Mirra and Hawk will be Bob Burnquist, Dennis McCoy, John Parker, Sergie Ventura, Jesse Fritsch and Rick Thorne. They headline the event that will take place on a vertical ramp in Kansas Speedway’s infield, the first time a collective group of action athletes of this magnitude has been in the Kansas City area.
“The Vertical Up-Rising action sports event will mirror the intensity and excitement of Slim Jim and will allow consumers to connect with our brand,” said Mike Duggan, Director of Marketing for Slim Jim. “Slim Jim has long been a supporter of the action sports industry and athletes like Dave Mirra. We’re excited to bring this event to Kansas Speedway because it provides great entertainment for the whole family, and it ties in well with other race day activities.”
Vertical Up-Rising presented by Slim Jim is part of an all-star lineup of events at the Kansas Speedway®, including the June 5 ARCA RE/MAX Series race and the fourth annual Kansas Speedway-Oklahoma Joe’s Barbecue Cookoff. Tickets are $25 and $30 and include access to all three events throughout the day. For details, log onto www.kansasspeedway.com/slimjim, or call 913.328.RACE.
Vertical Up-Rising will offer the chance for local talent such as bike stunt participant Dennis McCoy of Kansas City, Mo., to participate in front of friends and family.
“I've toured the world with these guys and we're finally getting together in my own backyard,” McCoy said. “Trust me, you don't want to miss this.”
Slim Jim’s Vertical Up-Rising event is part of ConAgra Foods overall sponsorship strategy of associating its brands with events and activities that its consumers enjoy. The Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods, part of NASCAR’s Nextel Cup series, is scheduled for Oct. 10 at Kansas Speedway.
ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America’s largest packaged food companies, serving consumer grocery retailers, as well as restaurant and other foodservice establishments. Popular ConAgra Foods consumer brands include: ACT II, Armour, Banquet, Blue Bonnet, Brown’ N Serve, Butterball, Chef Boyardee, Cook’s, Crunch ’n Munch, DAVID, Decker, Eckrich, Egg Beaters, Fleischmann’s, Golden Cuisine, Gulden’s, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt’s, Kid Cuisine, Knott’s Berry Farm, La Choy, Lamb Weston, Libby’s, Life Choice, Lightlife, Lunch Makers, MaMa Rosa’s, Manwich, Marie Callender’s, Orville Redenbacher’s, PAM, Parkay, Pemmican, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Rosarita, Ro*Tel, Slim Jim, Snack Pack, Swiss Miss, Van Camp’s, Wesson, Wolf and many others. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.
27/04 Vet Pro events coming to Vic
A while ago we spoke of the Vet Pro class in Australia, since
then we have heard that there are 2 events in the pipeline in Victoria
which intend to include the Vet Pro 20 inch class.
Something else we heard was that if a Vet Pro 20 inch class was to start
up a few more of the old school pros would get back into racing. Dean
Patch was one name that we heard, he used to have close races with Anthony
"Howie" Waye.
All you 30+ riders out there, it's time to dust off the 20 inch.
27/04 J&C/Supercross news
After all of the rain during the week, we were surprised to see that the
Fort Hamilton BMX track was in race condition by Saturday morning. The
track drying procedures were a little different than anything we've seen
before but they seemed to work. J & C / Supercross took a disappointing
5th place on Saturday but we are still securely in first place for the
Midwest Regional Team Series.
In the mixed 13 to elite women's class, our Elite woman Ashleigh Ybarra
took home a perfect with Ashley Baird in tow for straight seconds. 13
ex Scott Glannan also came home with a pair of perfects! 10 Novice Ryan
Glannan rode his new pearl white and red Supercross UL expert to his first
regional win! 11expert Adam raczka busted his way up to a 2nd place finish.
15 ex Ben Bradford, 8 expert Jared Goolsby, Dennis Ybarra (old guy cruiser
class) and 30-34 cruiser Chris Goolsby all finished 3rd in their respective
classes. 16 rookie Duane wurster followed up with a 4th place in his class.
It rained from late at night until well after start time on Sunday. There
was a little confusion on the team entry procedures for a rain-out, so
we don't know what our team finish was for Sunday but we do have faith
that the NBL will have it all sorted out before the next National race.
A special thanks to Team Diamond for hooking us up with King's Island
amusement park tickets for Saturday night (They placed 2nd behind Ft Hamilton
BMX). We had a great time and managed to go on 7 or 8 of the "major"
attractions in about 3 1/2 hours. Thanks as usual to our sponsors - Supercross,
Answer, Fly, Takata, Sun Ringle', Profile, S & M, Challenge Bike Shop
and 24-7.
Check out the J&C website at www.jandcracing.com
26/04 Natarsha Williams still in Aus
2
times UCI elite women's world champion, Natarsha Williams (Sun Ringle)
is still in Australia waiting for her visa to be cleared before she can
get back to the American race circuit. Entering this late in the season
gives here competition a little head start, will it be enough to keep
Natarsha off the end of year podium? That's possible, but those who know
Natarsha know just how determined she is. Besides there are the world
championships that she's always a contender for, and she'll be out to
prove a point.
Check out www.tarshasbmxworld.com.
26/04 Racing at Sunbury this Sunday
If you are in Victoria this weekend, and looking for some racing,
Sunbury will be hosting the third round of the Northern Rivers Regional
championships. Sunbury will also be the host of the 2004 Victorian State
Championship in November. We'll see if we can get hold of an entry form.
For more information check out www.nrbmx.com.
26/04 Factory Avent / Bombshell tears up Super
Nationals & moves back into first
Desoto, Texas - While part of the team was making their mark
in Monterey, California at the Sea Otter MTB race, the rest of the Factory
Avent / Bombshell powerhouse was representing at the ABA's Super Nationals
in Desoto with pretty much the same results. Without "dR" Donny
Robinson or Joey Bradford, the upstart Factory team managed to dominate
the competition to tie for first on Saturday and rake in a close second
on Sunday.
Mike Lundy had a huge Double-Double over the weekend, raking in wins in
both 17-18 Expert and 17-20 Cruiser on both Saturday and Sunday. Not to
be outdone, Mike Moeller was on fire with huge come-from-behind wins to
rake in his first Double-Double of the year in 16 Expert and 16 Cruiser.
TJ Johnson made his mark on the 26-30 Cruiser Class with wins on Saturday
and Sunday. "The Beast" Alise Post continued her winning ways,
adding another Double-Double to her impressive list of wins. The ABA's
National #1 Cruiser rider won 13 Girls Cruiser both days, 13 Girls on
Sunday, and 13-14 Mixed Open on Saturday. Lahsaan Kobza came alive in
Desoto, battling with BoBo Lechner and Elliott McGrath for the top spots
in the 12 year old classes. Lahsaan took home a win in 12 Cruiser on Saturday
and a host of top three's for the weekend. Also in the mix for the "Bomb
Squad" in the Lone Star state were Eric "E-Dub" Elliott
and "Angry" Steve Stewart.
With two outstanding team scores over the weekend, Factory Avent / Bombshell
moved back atop the Factory Team competition. With the US Nationals right
around the corner, expect the Factory Team leaders to be in full force
in Roseville with new team rider Tory Nyhaug (Canadian National #1, ABA
NAG #1, and UCI World Champ) in the Bomb Squad uniform.
23/04 BMXPros.com Race Report
ABA Super Nationals Desoto, Texas
Round 8 of the 2004 ABA Pro BMX race series was held this past weekend
in Desoto, Texas. Metroplex BMX is one of the nicest and most thought
out BMX race facilities in the USA and the riders are always happy to
attend the events there. With 16 of the top AA Pros in attendance, it
was going to be a tough battle to make the main events, and adding to
that, it was a 3rd weekend of traveling and BMX racing in a row for all
of the BMXPros.com riders, after attending the NBL Florida spring break
races. Here is how they finished up:
Randy Stumpfhauser has had a great 2004 season aboard
his GT Ultra Box and Desoto was just another example of that. On Saturday,
Stumpy finished 2nd in AA Pro and Pro Open. On Sunday, it was a 3rd in
AA and a 2nd in Pro Open. This puts Randy in 2nd overall in the ABA AA
Pro points chase, where he also sits #1 in the Pro Cruiser points. GT
Bicycles, Hyundai, IRC Tires, Shimano, Fox Racing, Sun Ringle, Bombshell
Forks, AC, Thomson, SDG Seats, Powerbar, CTI Knee Braces, Easton, Marwi,
FSA Headsets, S & M, BMXpros.com, and Smith Eyewear.
Brandon Meadows has been putting in a lot of time on
his BMX race bike lately and it showed off in Desoto, as he was in the
AA Pro main both days. On Saturday, Brandon rode to a 5th place finish
in AA Pro. On Sunday, Brandon rode consistent once again, this time placing
6th in AA. Brandon's sponsors include Specialized, O'Neal, Tangent, Adidas,
Sun Ringle, Marazochi BMX Forks, Marwi, Oakley, Powerbar, and BMXpros.com.
Dale Holmes was planning to go to England to race and
appear at the UK Bike show, but due to his Visa not showing up in time,
he flew down to Desoto last minute to race BMX. Spending all week on his
MTB effected him just a bit this weekend, but he still made 3 out of 4
main event. On Saturday, Dale placed 5th in Pro Open. On Sunday it was
a 8th in AA and 5th again in Pro Open. Dale's sponsors include Free Agent,
KHS, O'Neal, Kenda, Sun Ringle, Shimano, Profile, Marwi, Powerbar, Truvativ,
Daleholmes.com, S & M, and BMXpros.com.
Double A Marketing proudly represents Cristian Becerine, Kyle Bennett,
Wade Bootes, Dale Holmes, Christophe Leveque, Brandon Meadows, John Parker,
Jamie Staff, and Randy Stumpfhauser. For more information on any of the
riders listed, please visit BMXPros.com or for information on sponsorship
or the services of Double A Marketing, please e-mail Pete Dylewski @ PeteD@BMXpros.com
23/04 Kamakazi rumours
After cleaning up at the Australian BMX Championships in his
new Intense BMX colours we hear that Kamakazi is heading back to the US
for a full season of racing. Thing is the deal is with a MTB company racing
as their 4X rider, we're sure that Kamakazi will appear on the US BMX
scene from time to time.
23/04 Mt Gambier Vic V SA
There are some entry forms going around (we'll try to chase on
up and put it on our calendar) for this years Vic V SA meeting at Mt Gambier,
South Australia. Rumour has it the club isn't getting the support they
used to from the SA or Victorian associations, but they seem to have done
a fine job of chasing up prize money. There's $700 for bruiser cruiser,
$2000 for Pro open (14& Over) on Saturday and we believe $1500 for
Sunday and Monday. There's also been some track changes, a huge set of
doubles in the first straight.
Vic V SA is on the Queen's Birthday long weekend 12-14 June.
22/04 NIKE supports ONE Bicycles and Zitoun
riders
Here is some historical news for the sport of BMX!
NIKE, the biggest sport company in the world and their divisions NIKE
All Conditions Gear (ACG) and NIKE Timing, will take part in BMX by sponsoring
11 of the best European Athletes in different categories. A couple of
years ago, two teams already got support from Nike but this was because
of the companies Mountain Bike Team. Now BMX gets acknowledged! The contract
is for one year, of course keeping the next Olympic Games in mind.
The following European athletes being supported by NIKE ACG/Timing in
2004 are:
Magalie Pottier, (France), Team One Bicycles.
Dagmara Polakova, (Slovakia), Team One Bicycles.
Vilma Rimsaite, (Lithuania), Team One Bicycles.
Jana Horakova, (Czech Republic), Team One Bicycles.
Maris Strombergs, (Latvia), Team One Bicycles.
Kelvin Batey, (England), Team One Bicycles.
Joost Wichman, (Netherlands), Team One Bicycles.
Arturs Matisons, (Latvia), Team One Bicycles.
Arnaud Dubois, (Belgium), Team Zitoun.nl
This winter, Jana Horakova (World Champion Cruiser class Women 2003) and
Arturs Matisons (World Champion Junior Men 2003), have already helped
NIKE in the development of the NIKE Skateboarding shoes here in the USA!!!
They will be fully helped by NIKE ACG/Timing with sport shoes, SPD shoes,
clothes and MP3. Of course you will have the opportunity to see these
athletes during every European round, some USA venues, and the World Championships
which will take place in the Netherlands this July.
22/04 Racegirl BMX comes to an end
Dear Team Members, Parents, Sponsors, and Friends of Racegirl BMX League:
We regret to inform you that we have decided, due to personal and financial reasons, to dissolve Racegirl. BMX League. As of May 1, 2004, we will be shutting down the website, www.racegirlbmx.com and there will no longer be an active BMX League.
We appreciate your support in the League and hope that you will continue to be successful, on an off the BMX track.
The girls on the teams are encouraged to continue to wear their jerseys, support our sponsors and race as a team. Parents are welcome to run team sheets at events, send in race reports to www.bmxmania.com (a longtime supporter of the League) and we hope that you will continue to rally together to support girls who race BMX. We are very proud of the Racegirl athletes.
For now, the main impact on the League will be to shut down the website. We will keep the rights to the domain name and the League since we have established it as a non-profit organization. However, the Board of Directors has made the decision to close the League and it is not open for discussion. Thank you for respecting our decision and supporting us through this trying time.
Sincerely,
Kim Fisher
President of Racegirl. BMX League Inc.
"we are all connected"
22/04 Avent Cycles / Bombshell racing factory
riders kill it at Sea Otter
Monterey, California - A small contingent of Avent Cycles /
Bombshell Racing Factory BMX Team riders made their way to the Northern
California coast to the Sea Otter Hyundai Classic held at the infamous
Laguna Seca Raceway. Team racers Donny Robinson, an Elite BMX Pro, Kris
Mulhause, a 17 year old Expert BMX racer, and Joey Bradford, the reigning
UCI World BMX champion in the 14 year old Expert and Cruiser categories,
made their marks on the Sea Otter Mountain Cross and Dual Slalom tracks.
In his first-ever MTB race, "DR" Donny Robinson, 20, overcame
a host of MTB superstars to take the victory in Elite Pro Mountain Cross.
On Friday afternoon, just 24 hours after his first time riding a mountain
bike on a track, Robinson qualified his Avent Jibster hard-tail bike 15th
out of nearly a hundred pros in the stacked Elite Pro time trials, just
.8 seconds off the leader, Michael Robinson. Donny was quick to point
out, "Time trials are great, but all that goes out the window when
you get four guys on the track at the same time." How right he was.
The tight first corner was the scene for carnage in nearly every round,
with some of the world's best Elite Pros slipping and sliding their way
through the turn - or over it. With some skill, determination, and a lot
of luck, DR managed to pick his way through each round, up against the
likes of Jared Rando, Eric Carter, Jared Graves, Brian Schmith, and fellow
BMX'er Mike Day, to find himself in the Elite Pro Mountain Cross main
event. That put him on the gate alongside reigning Sea Otter Champ Mick
Hannah, number one qualifier Michael Robinson, and BMX / MTB legend Mike
King.
After getting the pop out of the gate and leading down the first straight,
Donny was on the outside of Michael Robinson who dove to the inside of
turn one and slid out, balling up the rest of the pack. DR slipped through,
pedaled furiously and boosted the first two doubles while Mick Hannah
and Mike King rolled them. Donny led it out of the second turn, but bonked
on the step down out of the corner. This gave Hannah a chance to get by
Donny and take the lead. DR got himself together, chased down Hannah,
pulled within a bike length going into the last 90 degree corner. They
both hucked off the water jump out of the last turn and DR was right on
Hannahs back tire in mid-air. Donny landed first, dropped into a low gear,
and spun his way to victory, passing Hannah halfway down the last straight.
At the finishline, Donny was immediately swarmed by fans and media. When
asked how long he had been racing mountain bikes, DR's response was, "About
four days."
On the podium, the diminutive Robinson stood head and shoulders above
King and Hannah, although he needed their help negotiating the champagne
bottle. While at first skeptical about his future racing mountain bikes,
Robinson is now excited about continuing racing Mountain Cross. "My
heart is still in BMX, but racing this could grow on me," stated
Robinson as he was surrounded by hundreds of fans and media. Expect to
see Donny at the Sonoma NORBA national racing Mountain Cross and Dual
Slalom on the new Avent "Arson" Mountain Cross bike featuring
Bombshell "FatDaddy" wheels.
Also turning heads at Sea Otter were the Factory Avent / Bombshell amateurs.
Joey Bradford, UCI World Champion in BMX, raced the 18-and-under Junior
Olympic class in both Dual Slalom and Mountain Cross on his Avent Jibster
Dual Slalom bike. Bradford was the Sea Otter Mountain Cross Junior Olympic
champ and finished second in both Dual Slalom and Short Track in 2003.
In this year's Dual Slalom, Bradford qualified number one but had to settle
for third on the podium after a crash in his second run while leading
his semi. In Mountain Cross, Bradford was the man to beat from the beginning.
After succesfully winning each of the qualifier rounds, Joey went on to
win the main event easily. In Junior Ex Mountain Cross action, Kris Mulhause,
in his first ever MTB race, rode his Avent Jibster to victory over fellow
Bombshell-sponsored rider Garrick Anderson. Mulhause overcame a pretty
hard crash in Friday's practice to caome back and claim victory. Bombshell
rider Garrick Anderson won the Junior Ex Dual Slalom and also won the
Junior Ex Downhill event in 2:49.
Expect to see more of the Factory Avent / Bombshell team at MTB nationals
in 2004.
For the latest and greatest in cycling technology check out www.bombshellparts.com
and www.aventcycles.com!
Factory Avent / Bombshell is supported by the best sponsors in racing: Fly Racing (www.flyracing.com); FSA (www.fullspeedahead.com); Shimano (www.shimano.com); Six Six One (www.sixsixone.com); Maxxis Tires (www.maxxis.com); Tangent BMX (www.tangentproducts.com); Thomson Seatposts (www.lhthomson.com); Hot Shoppe Designs (www.hotshoppedesigns.com); Red Baron Racing (www.redbaronracing.net); Moto Mag BMX Magazine (www.motomagbmx.com); IDC BMX (www.idcbmx.com).
21/04 One Bicycles USA news
As
many of you already know, One Bicycles ambition in 2004 is to create awareness
of One in the United States.
To that end result One has been lucky enough to have Vinny Mannino come on board as One's NE Distributor and NE Team Manager. In his free time he is also his home track's Director and is instrumental in the Food Business in the N.E. Vinny single handily assembled the NE Team and their début was this past weekend at the NE Regional in Central Jersey BMX.
We are very proud of Vinny, the team he has assembled, and the devotion he has to our great support. We want to thank him, and all the people who are not directly associated with our company for the warm welcome and constant support they have shown us. None of what we have accomplished would have been possible with out all this help and support. Last but not least we want to thank our fan base, customers, and sponsors. THANK YOU!
21/04 MTX Mototrax Preview
Those
kind people at Activision have sent us a copy of MTX Mototrax for review,
which you should find here in about a week. MTX is the latest motocross
game for Playstation2 and it has a lot to offer with 4 main game play
modes; motocross racing, supercross racing, freeride (which includes foam
pits!) and freestyle.
As you progress through the levels, in career mode, winning races and
achieving goals you unlock further freeride areas, race tracks and arenas.
You also unlock new bikes, sponsor offers (from names not new to BMX,
including Answer, TLD, Vans and others) and video clips.
Mototrax is a single or multiplayer game, but it's also networkable.
Activision thinks this is motocross done right and so do we.
We should complete our review in about a week, for now check www.activision.com
for further information.
20/04 Mike Fenwick desktop image
Things
are a bit quiet today on the news front, so we've taken the time to create
a new desktop image for you to download. This time it Junior Elite/AA
Pro superstar Mike Fenwick. It's his last year as a Junior Elite and after
the way he dominated at the Australian Championships over easter, the
Senior Elite riders are going to have a hard time with him next year.
Click on the small image, right, to see the larger image.
Click here to check out
our other download images.
20/04 BMXUltra.com t-shirts
We
still have about 10 of the new BMXUltra.com t-shirts left, they have been
selling better than we expected, but these last 10 won't last long. (Click
the image to the right and to have a closer look.)
Email us (at webmaster@bmxultra.com) if you'd like us to arrange to mail it out to you.
19/04 Australian titles photos
Our photos from the Australian titles are now available, click
here to check them out.
19/04 One Bicycles signs Jason Bennett
One Bicycles, and their sponsors, are happy to announce that A Pro Jason
Bennett will fly the One colors for the last two Florida State races.
Congratulating and supporting Bennett's move to A Pro at the Gator National,
GM Ken Goodrich expressed One's interest in discussing the 2005 season
with Bennett later this year. At the Easter National Ken caught Jason
looking for a new frame to replace his tired one. Ken asked him to try
the One frame and as the saying goes the rest was history. One and Bennett
will also discuss finishing the 2004 National season together but that's
future news. :)
One also wants to recognize Brent and the staff at Red Hot Racing for
helping Bennett during this transitional period. The crew at Red Hot have
always been friends, very competitive, and in it for the fun too. Thank
you so much for your support on so many levels and it's folks like you
that keep this sport alive.
19/04 Damien Rosenthal - #1 Aus Back
to Back
Congratulations to DAMIEN ROSENTHAL "DAMO", for his recent back-to-back
VICTORY (15 Boys 20") at the Australian National Championships in
Adelaide. Damien won ALL of his heats Very Convincingly to achieve his
finals victory. He also scored the most points of ALL entered riders (for
his RL Aust. camp) in the National Corporate Team Trophy. A Sponsor can't
ask for better than that...!!!!!
As a consolation Damo also picked up 8A for Cruiser Class.
Hhhhmmm !!! "and he was overlooked for QLD selection......??????? ...Go Figure !!!" .....it was a Hot topic for discussion at the Nationals.....
One of the most Prolific & Exciting riders you would ever hope to see race. Damien excels in his age class, and of recent times has given a very big "wake-up-call" to his senior peers in A-Pro.
Contrary to the news article, we somehow don't think you will have to wait until your 21 to conquer the USA Damien. Needless to say, if "DAMO" was listed on the A.S.X., I think his stock has just "Gone Through The Roof", and those who failed to realise this rising star in their portfolio, will now be drowning in their own tears of embarrassment !!!...., OK.. enough about the knockers.
How ? (the BIG secret): Damien achieved this back to back success because..., 1] HE WORKED HARD FOR IT.... 2] He has good support from family, friends, & Club 3] Has as much Heart, Ambition, & Fortitude, since a guy called Wade Bootes started off as a member of Toowoomba Club many years ago.
Hope Damien gets a good Management Service, because we have a feeling you are going to be fighting off many endorsement offers. In Fact... the 'Rumour Mill' is saying the Rosenthal camp has already been approached from 2 Major Bike Comp's... this would be a massive body blow (...more like a head shot) to RL. Aaaahh !!...the choices of being Number-1...!!! (Back-to-Back)
The sky is the limit for this guy...., we just hope the sky is big enough to handle it...!!!!!.
Check out the Toowoomba Cronicle article at www.thecronicle.com.au.
by Kent Elliot
19/04 2004 Australian titles videos
Shawn Denison has uploaded a few Australian BMX racing video's to www.bmxdu.cjb.net
The videos include the elite men final at the Australian titles, as well as the Pro open final at Liverpool DK masters and AA pro final from the ACT Titles. Apparently there is more to come too. He will shortly be uploading a few more videos from the Aussies and Liverpool masters.
So if your interested head on over and check it out. All videos are FREE.
Keep in mind the site is currently running on free hosting, but you shouldn't have any problems downloading the files. If this generates a lot of interest Shawn will be getting some video dedicated hosting and a domain.
Check it out at www.bmxdu.cjb.net
16/04 BMXUltra.com team at the Australian Titles
The two man BMXUltra.com team of young AA Pro Jonathan "Jon-Jon"
Hoare and veteran 30-34 class rider Shane "King Pin" Jenkins
hit up Adelaide on the weekend for the Australian Championships.
Jon-Jon was in the start studded Senior Elite field (including the likes
of Kamakazi, Scott Taylor, Michael Robinson, Luke Madill, Jon Johnston,
Khalen Young, Jamie Gray and many others) for the first time. A crash
on the first day eliminated him early, but on day two, even with a fall
while coming second, Jon-Jon progressed to the semi final. A little beat
up from his falls he managed to hold his own but couldn't progress to
the main. He'll be back next year for another crack at the Australian
Championships.
The King Pin qualified comfortably in both 30-34 class and 30-34 cruiser,
but had a hard slog ahead of him with AA Pros Danny Galea, Simon Anderson
and former multi Australian Champion Karl Mustchin in both classes, don't
get me wrong the rest of the field weren't slouches either. After an altercation
in the first corner in cruiser Jenkins finished 4th. In 20 inch he was
shut down and had to settle for 8th.
The BMXUltra.com team would like to thank it sponsors: Answer BMX, One
Bicycles, Supercross BMX, BMXBits.com.au, Dirt Designs, ATi Grips, Pazzaz,
Control Tech, ECI/Profile and Tektro brakes.
16/04 Reader writes: Kamakazi at the Aussies
Some
times all you hear about Pro riders are their results and who they are
sponsored by. There's a lot more to the Pros than meets the eye. Here's
a story that one of our readers wanted us to tell about his experiences
with Kamakazi at the coaching clinic at the Australian Championships.
"G'day, I have just been reading your stories on the Aussies. Can
I add my two bobs worth? My 2 boys, Hayden 5 and Lachlan 8, were in the
sprocket clinic Saturday morning, because their dad forgot to pre enter
them for the clinic, I took them down early to hopefully get them in.
The kids were put into age groups and sent off with their heros. There
was about 15 riders left, officals started to send each of these riders
to their groups, one by one. Then Sean Dwight says to a BMXA official
"is this all that's left? About 12 kids?" she says "yes"
he says "cool, I will take them all". Now we head inside, I
must say how impressed this dad was with the way Sean and Kama spoke to
our group, fantastic! The kids loved it and learnt heeps.
Now when it was all over all the kids received a watch, nice touch, some
how my 5 year old missed out. So off I go in seach of the person handing
out the watches, when I did find her she treated me with comtemp, so rude,
wanted his purple band or no watch, when I tried to explain that at 5
years old their hearing can be a bit selective, I was told she would have
to check with the coaches to make sure Hayden was at the clinic! "Come
back in 2 hours" she said. So off I go in seach of Sean and Kama.
I find them at ECI tent (Hayden was with me). I ask the guys if they can
spare a minute to come with me, explaining the reason, Kama says to Hayden
"YOU WANT MY WATCH?" Kama had scored one and gave it to Hayden
on the spot! HOW COOL! Hayden went running back telling all the kids Kama
gave him his watch. Kama you are a legend!"
15/04 Australian Titles Results
One of our readers slipped us the 2004 Australian Championships
results, the UCI results and elite 20 inch classes weren't attached, but
the rest is there.
Click
here to check out the results.
15/04 Thank you from Sean Dwight
I am writing this message in appreciation to all the guys that
assisted in the building of this years nationals track in Adelaide.
Without the support of these hard workers my design ideas would not have come together, there were some 20 or so track workers that were constantly on hand to carry out whatever needed to be done from raking, through to compacting the track. The same team of guys then managed to maintain a perfect racing surface with countless hours of sweeping and manicuring.
At the end of a great weekend of racing (for the most part) the 1am finish Thursday morning was totally worth it and is proof that if we all pull together in the same direction that we can provide great tracks for all the riders.
As we all know, the track is what brings the riders to the sport in the first place, and a challenging, skill-demanding and well maintained track will keep the riders in the sport longer and improve the standards of racing.
A big thank you to all you guys you have earned a long hard “de-briefing” (this is an in house joke).
Sean Dwight
14/04 Australian Championships Part 2
Friday
Pretty much everyone had arrived in Adelaide by now and was either
at the track for a morning practice session or for the cruiser classes
run later in the afternoon. It was the first time I had realised that
unless you were one of the lucky people in the grandstands you weren't
going to be able to see the whole track. The spectator area was only along
1/4 of the track the other 3/4 were surrounded by walls. Most people were
at ground level on chairs. What made it difficult to come to terms with
was the dirt jumping in the same pavilion had two grandstands that were
hardly used (they were faced away from the track). The whole "BMX
Games" idea came across as a bit of a flop, the only people who seemed
to be watching the dirt jumping were racers and the same with the flat
land comp.
Cruiser racing seemed to run fairly smoothly, but for some reason the
armature classes had 5 qualifying motos then finals. (Elite classes had
only 3). I would have thought that people would rather get the racing
over and done with and spend more time looking around Adelaide rather
that spending all day and night inside the track area.
In the Senior Elite Mens cruiser Luke Madill came out of lane 8 and a
Kamakazi from further on the inside. Kama had a slight lead on Madill
when Madill went down on the first corner Julian Lim slipped into second
and Cale McCulloch finished third. Also in the main was Brett Scruse,
Luke Pretlove, Jamie Gray and I think Richard Barker.
Junior Elite Cruiser was all Mike Fenwick, he looked like he was in a
class of his own.
Saturday
I spoke to Luke Madill in the morning about his cruiser crash, he's messed
up his thumb pretty badly. He said it only hurt pumping down the back
sides of jumps.
For the amateurs it was 3 motos and for Elite classes it was Day 1 of
the UCI points system.
BMX Australia were running to a different format than what they have used
in the past. The amateur classes were split into 3 brackets. Each bracket
would run their three motos then the riders could pack up for the day
and the next bracket would start. This would have worked fine only the
riders had no idea when they were supposed to be ready for warm-up laps
and racing.
This was the first year that BMX Australia was using a new scoring system
and it seemed to lead to some "procedural errors" which delayed
things a little.
In the Junior Elite Women Krystal Cranfield beat the favourites Chloe
Macpherson and Emma Franklin.
In Junior Elite Men Once again Mike Fenwick proved too strong Brian Kirkham
and Leigh Darrell had to settle for minor positions.
Senior Elite Women was a little difficult to work out they only had three
motos and the winner was determined by points. I couldn't tell if it was
Natarsha Williams or Malene Madsen who took the win.
In the Senior Elite Men Kamakazi had lane 8 but it looked like he was
looking for lane 9 when the gate dropped. Michael Robinson jumped to the
lead, Khalen Young and the rest of the Elite crew followed closely. When
it looked like Robinson had it all wrapped up he washed out on the second
last corner which gave Khalen Young the win.
Sunday
This is where the wheels seemed to fall off. There was tension between
riders and officials in an all out war. Riders had been banned from wearing
FTO t-shirts (FTO basically means that the riders aren't happy with the
officials...you work it out), but officials were able to wear FTR on their
official t-shirts and paint it on the track. I have been in the sport
since 1981 and the tension between riders and officials has never been
like it is today. Rather than make the situation worse it would have made
sense for the officials to talk to the riders and ask them what their
problems are and work together towards making the sport better for everyone.
Too many times officials choose to ignore it.
Everything seemed to run smoothly enough for the amateurs, with their
last two motos and finals. Again they were run in 3 brackets...the schedule
was thrown a little out of whack with a couple of heavy falls. Up until
Sunday the event was pretty much injury free, well nothing serious anyway.
But with titles on the line frames and bones were breaking and people
were being rushed off to hospital. I can't even remember what happened
in the UCI races for day 2 all that was clouded by what happened with
the Junior Elite classes.
This is where the real fun began...more "procedural errors".
BMX Australia determine the Australian Champion by taking the moto points
from the 2 UCI rounds putting the top 16 riders in "dead man"
semi finals (numbers permitting) then a single "dead man" final.
There was a run off for places in the Junior Elite and Senior Elite national
championships semi finals. After they were run it was determined the points
weren't correct, so the riders wasted their time. A little while later
there was another run off for the Elite Mens semi final.
The semis were run and won before some one had realised that the Junior
Elite and Senior Elite were run using different systems, one using UCI
lane draw and the other using BMX Aus "Olympic" lane draw. Spectators
were told the Junior Elite men would have to be rerun. There seemed to
be a lot of discussions going on between officials and eventually they
took it to the riders, but apparently couldn't agree on it. The riders
wanted to just run the final and go home. BMX Australia wanted to rerun
the race.
In the meantime the other elite classes were run. The main event, Elite
Men, was first, I think Kamakazi had a flight to catch and it was getting
late. When the gate dropped it was Kama, Madill, Robinson and the rest
of the crew. Kama came out of the first corner with Scott Taylor and Khalen
Young close behind. Madill and Robinson had gone down. Kama took it all
the way to the line and Young passed Taylor on the line. Richard Barker
finished forth, Jamie Gray fifth.
In Senior Elite Women Malene Madsen got the snap and Natarsha Williams
had to make up some ground down the second straight which she nearly did
but jumped a little short on the double washing off speed. Madsen took
the win Williams second and Bailey third with Caroline Sobotka finishing
fourth.
In Junior Elite women Chloe Macpherson took it all the way to the line
with Renee Junga taking second.
More confrontation about the Junior Elite men until someone turned out
half the lights and people started to bring out machinery to bulldoze
the track. The lights came back on and the machinery was put away until
finally Graeme Arnold, BMX Australia's president said there will be no
rerun of the semi finals, you could tell by the sarcastic tone in his
voice there was more to the announcement. A minute later he got on the
PA system again and said there will be no rerun of the semi finals and
no Junior elite final. As you can imagine the riders and spectators were
devastated. There is a whole class where there is no Australian Champion,
and from what I hear there will be no funding for that class to get the
riders to the World Championships.
14/04 Natarsha Williams update
Natarsha Williams is in Australia for a while and for the first
time in 6 years she raced at the Australian BMX Championships.
Check out www.tarshasbmxworld.com
for her thoughts on the titles.
14/04 Intense's "Kamakazi"
doubles at the Australian National Championships in Adelaide
Intense BMX and Elite Cycle Imports (ECI) would like to congratulate Kamakazi
on his victorious performance over the Easter weekend in Adelaide that
saw him reclaim the National Championship Elite Class Titles in both 20"
and 24".
Kamakazi led both finals from start to finish with a flawless race that
was acknowledged by the roar of the crowd of thousands in attendance.
Congratulations must also go out to Avent/Bombshell rider Scott Taylor
and Khalen Young who slotted in behind Kamakazi in second and third in
20" Elite Class until Young passed Taylor on the line.
Kamakazi is proudly sponsored and supported by; Intense BMX Bicycles,
Intense Tyre Systems, T.H.E. Products, Bombshell racing Forks, Profile
Cranks and Hubs, Sun Rims , S&M Handlbars and Stems.
14/04 Bombshell Racing Forks Dominate
Australian National Championship Elite Final
Kamakazi (Intense), Scott Taylor (Avent / Bombshell), Jamie Gray (Haro)
and Luke Madill (GT) all successfully steered their Bombshell Forks through
to the National Championship Final of the Elite 20" Class. This was
topped with Kamakazi taking the Gold and Scott Taylor taking the Bronze.
Bomshell Forks continue to prove why they are the number one choice by
today's top BMX Pro Riders.
Bomshell Products and Elite Cycle Imports (ECI) would like to congratulate
all four of these amazing riders on their success over the Easter weekend
in Adelaide, South Australia.
14/04 ONE Spring Break to remember...
Coming off their success at the Gator National, with 4th place finishes
and landing them 4th overall nationally, the one bicycles team got...not
so good results at the Easter Classic.
Don't get us wrong there were many individual successes for the team and
for the company as a whole. We wanted to bring our world team together
for two weeks and to further represent our product line and that of our
sponsors. We also wanted to have a blast doing it. Mission accomplished.
What we didn't expect was two weeks of really cool cultural exchange.
The US riders housed the riders that came from abroad. For two weeks they
trained, raced, and lived together. It was a great time for getting to
know a lot about each other and more about the international sport of
BMX. It was truly one of those memorable experiences and we are all looking
forward to seeing each other again at the Worlds.
It was also an astonishing milestone for us as an organization. Two years
ago we had set our sites on the future and it has been coming at an accelerated
rate thanks to everyone involved. What was just a dream has come to fruition
for us. We still have many goals and a long future ahead of us but it's
times like these that make it that much more memorable.
A special thanks to our sponsors for making it all possible, Troy Lee
Design, Bombshell, FSA, Tektro, Maxxis, Thomson, Bolle, EVS, Zitoun, Bomba,
ODI, Fizik, and everyone in the sport of BMX.
14/04 ABA factory team report volume 2
All the Factory big guns steamrolled into Harry Leary's Cutting Edge BMX
for the seventh stop on the ABA National tour, the So Cal Nationals. The
Phantom / On Trac effort came into Ontario with the points lead by virtue
of a couple of good finishes in Washington and Florida. Factory Avent
/ Bombshell was in second place with Factory Sharp in tow for third. 2003
Champs Redman / Yamaha Waverunner brought up fourth and Answer Factory
rounded out the top five.
The threat of rain for the weekend came to fruition during Thursday's
set-up, along with thunder and lightning, and thoroughly drenched the
race facility. The rain let up on Friday however and, surprisingly, the
track was in great shape for the first round of practice. All the major
teams were out in full force. Redman had the best Factory pit set-up with
the Yamaha Waverunner semi complementing their already huge pit area.
Factory Sharp showed up with their new trailer and was looking good in
the pits. Factory Avent / Bombshell had their newly stickered 25'-foot
trailer out with their new 20-foot circus tent. Answer / Staats had a
great setup combining the Answer trailer and the Staats rig.
All the Factory kids were flying in practice and the weekend was shaping
up to be one of the best team showdowns in recent history. Answer would
take advantage of their hometrack advantage as guys like Mike Brabant
and Jared Garcia were flying in practice. They took an immediate hit on
Friday, however, when local boy Kris Fox took a bad spill in practice
and didn't look good for Saturday's motos. Avent / Bombshell's and Mike
Lundy had the second straight wired, pulling riders into the second turn.
The Bomb Squad's Joey Bradford had the tight and technical rhythm section
down and was ready for battle. Redman / Yamaha Waverunner's Jeff Pease
had some difficulties getting down the first straight in practice but,
knowing Jeff, that wouldn't hold him back.
The sun rose Saturday morning to cold and overcast conditions and, once
again, the threat of rain. The weather held out until after the second
round of motos then the rain let loose. For the second "A" schedule
national in a row, rain was going to hamper the competition. Several big
names were out of the main events, including Answer's Jared Garcia, Factory
Challenge's Josh Oie and Avent / Bombshell's Mike Lundy and Chad Kerley.
The rain let up for the mains, however, and On Trac grabbed a victory
from Billy Russell and Avent / Bombshell pulled in wins from Alise Post
and Joey Bradford. Behind firsts from locals Mike Brabant and Travis Ohrazda
and BoBo Lechner and David Herman, Answer (232) took the victory. Sharp
(216) grabbed second with firsts from Jarred Reuter and Blake Paulson.
Redman (202) pulled in for third with a victory from Corben Sharrah.
Sunday's weather was much better with no rain in sight. Factory Sharp
pulled in a win from Jarred Reuter in 8 Expert. Avent / Bombshell nabbed
victories from Mike Lundy, National #1 Alise Post, TJ Johnson and Chad
Kerley. Redman (225) went back on top with wins from Jeff Pease, Rell
Proctor, and Corben Sharrah. Answer (216) lost Mikey Brabant to a hard
spill in Semi's but pulled in firsts from BoBo Lechner and Joshua Perez
and had to settle for second overall. Challenge (214) stepped it up with
a win from Josh Oie which was good enough for third on the podium.
So, after Ontario, the Factory standings shake down like this:
1 PHANTOM-ON TRAC 2333
2 FACTORY AVENT-BOMBSHELL 2016
3 SHARP BMX.COM 1888
4 REDMAN-YAMAHA WAVERUNNER 1763
5 ANSWER FACTORY 1709
Since not all teams have attended the same amount of nationals, the following
are team sheet averages from the first six "A" schedule nationals.
1 REDMAN-YAMAHA WAVERUNNER 228
2 ANSWER FACTORY 219
3 FACTORY AVENT-BOMBSHELL 203
4 PHANTOM-ON TRAC 197
5 REDLINE (only 4 scores) 204
Look for news from the next ABA "A" schedule national the US
Nationals in Roseville, California. Can Redman continue their consistent
domination? Can Answer finally pull ahead of the Tribe? Can Avent / Bombshell
pull through the "new team blues"? Will Sharp be able to take
advantage of their home track advantage? Stay tuned!
13/04 Australian Championships Part 1
Wednesday
Most people arrived at the Adelaide Show Grounds to check in on Wednesday.
We got there at about 2pm and the track builders, who started late Tuesday
night, were still going hard at it shaping the first two straights. There
were still another three straights and a whole lot of work to go. Under
considerable time restrictions and with a bunch of people running the
machinery it looked like the track would be ready for the practice sessions
and pre-titles the following day.
Thursday
We arrived early to find the track was finished, and the builders did
it with time to spare. It's funny how much work was put in by the guys
building the track and the only person we heard who was thanked for his
contributions was Sean Dwight who over looked the whole design and building
process. It may have been that the PA system that was used for the first
few days was so muffled that you couldn't hear a thing. We think anyone
who lent a hand in putting the track together did a fantastic job and
deserves equal praise. To build a track at such a high standard in less
than 36 hours is really something.
It was considered every bits as much fun and technical as the 2003 Perth
Worlds track only the jumps were a bit smaller. The starting hill was
a small and made of dirt, once you got up to speed there was a roller
followed by a big step up, then a long double into a huge left hander.
The second straight had a small roller then another step up to large double
to tripple step up, then a sharp right hand 90 degree corner, a small
tight rhythm section with step up to tripple, then tight right hand 180
degree corner then a roller and step down to a tight left hand 90 degree
corner to a table top with a roller on top then to two rollers which some
riders were jumping.
The pre-titles ran pretty smoothly, but seemed to take forever. It was
a bit steep that riders payed $25 to race the meeting and all they got
was 3 motos, no finals, because finals pressure on a championship track
means more than riding motos. Given that racing took so long the fields
were thinning as the motos progressed.
More tomorrow.
13/04 2004 Planet X Games BMX event set to
hit Melbourne
Graphite Dirty Deeds
May 8 and 9 - The Oval, Swan St, Melbourne Park
A hot crew of Freestyle BMX riders from around the world are
set to descend on Melbourne for the ‘GRAPHITE DIRTY DEEDS’
event – The BMX Dirt Jump competition as part the 2004 Planet X
Games.
The assault will be led by 2002 Planet X Games Gold Medalist Cory ‘Nasty’ Nastazio from the USA. ‘Nasty’ is one of the icons of Freestyle BMX Dirt Jumping who is renowned for his extreme tricks and riding skills along with a full-on extroverted personality.
‘Nasty’ will be pushed all the way by to Australian riders Luke Parslow, Kym Grosser and Luke Weatherill. In the battle for the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals and a share of the $15,000 in prize money.
BMX Dirt Jumping is one of the most popular and spectacular of all the Planet X Games events. Riders descend a steep launch ramp to gather speed to hit a series of dirt jumps which propel them into the air to complete a series of radical stunts and tricks. Judging is based on the difficulty, execution and originality of the tricks performed.
The GRAPHITE DIRTY DEEDS event will be staged over 2 days on Saturday May 8 and Sunday May 9 at THE OVAL which is located between Rod Laver Arena and Vodafone Arena on Swan St Melbourne Park – right next door to the MCG. The event will run from 1pm to 5pm on both days.
This is a FREE event.
The event will include extreme street performers, hip hop DJ’s and an Xpo area.
For more information go to www.planetx.net.au
13/04 Factory Avent / Bombshell adds Six Six
One to its sponsor line up
Lakeside, California - Top ABA and NBL national team, Factory
Avent / Bombshell, inked a deal with Valencia, California equipment manufacturer
Six Six One to run their new "Attack" SPD-compatible race shoes.
"We are super stoked to be working with Six Six One. They have a
great looking product and an impeccable reputation," stated Will
Rells, Avent / Bombshell's Team Manager. "Eddie Cole and Debbie Martin
have been great to work with." The deal coincides perfectly with
Western Power Sports (WPS)picking up Six Six One's shoe line for distribution.
"We have a tight-knit group of sponsors and we work closely together,"
added Rells. "We keep it in the family as much as possible."
WPS distributes Fly Racing, Tangent Products, FSA, and now Six Six One,
all team sponsors. Check out Six Six One's entire product line at www.sixsixone.com.
Look for the entire Avent / Bombshell Factory Team to be decked out in
the new Six Six One gear at the ABA's Super Nationals in Desoto, Texas
April 17-18.
For the latest and greatest in BMX technology check out www.bombshellparts.com
and www.aventcycles.com!
Factory Avent / Bombshell is supported by the best sponsors in BMX: Fly
Racing (www.flyracing.com); FSA (www.fullspeedahead.com); Shimano (www.shimano.com);
Maxxis Tires (www.maxxis.com); Tangent BMX (www.tangentproducts.com);
Thomson Seatposts (www.lhthomson.com); Hot Shoppe Designs (www.hotshoppedesigns.com);
Red Baron Racing (www.redbaronracing.net); Moto Mag BMX Magazine (www.motomagbmx.com);
IDC BMX (www.idcbmx.com). Support the companies that support BMX!
12/04 New Australian Champions
The Australia Championships were held over the Easter Weekend
at the Adelaide show grounds, South Australia. There's a lot to report,
but for now here are the 2004 Australian Champions.
Junior Elite Cruiser
Michael Fenwick (Specialized/Fox)
Senior Elite Cruiser
Kamakazi (Intense)
Junior Elite Women
Chloe Macpherson (GT Aus)
Senior Elite Women
Maline Madsen (BMXMania.com)
Junior Elite Men
Not run (wait until you hear what happened)
Elite Men
Kamakazi (Intense)
06/04 Happy Easter
The BMXUltra.com crew are heading off to the Australian Championships,
leaving tonight for Adelaide, so the regular updates might be a little
disrupted over the next few days. We'll do what we can to keep you up
to date with the goings on in Adelaide and news from around the world.
In Adelaide there's the Pre-titles on Thursday, Cruiser classes will be
run on Friday and the rest of the classes over Saturday and Sunday.
For those of you travelling to Adelaide, or elsewhere, have a safe trip.
To the rest of you have a great Easter.
06/04 Level 1 BMX Coaching Course in Adelaide
A Level 1 BMX Coaching Accreditation Course will be held in Adelaide directly
after the Nationals - between the Nationals and Happy Valley race on the
Wednesday.
The course will be held on Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th April at the Happy
Valley BMX track & club rooms. This course will be conducted by Grant
White from BMXTrainer.com.
Come along and learn from one of the best in the business, then pass this
knowledge on to your club's riders...or improve yourself as a rider! (Note:
Minimum age for course attendants is 15 years)
Details on the Level 1 Coaching Accreditation Course can be found at http://www.bmxtrainer.com/services.htm
To register contact Grant at gwhite@bmxtrainer.com
or on 0402 047 377.
05/04 New ATi pads/plates preview
Here's
a photo of the newest pads and plates in the ATi product line, the Vader/DS
range.
The number plates are available in mini and pro sizes. (These plates are
only available with a white panel, which shouldn't be a problem for most
of you. To be on the safe side check your local rules to make sure they
comply).
The pad sets are available in wrap around and monocoque style.
Both the plates and the pads are available in 3 colours; red, blue or
black.
For more information, check out www.rideATi.com.
05/04 BMXUltra.com t-shirts selling fast
The
new BMXUltra.com t-shirts have been selling like hot cakes and this limited
run won't last long. (Click the image to the right and to have a closer
look.)
We will be at the Australian titles in Adelaide over Easter, email us (at webmaster@bmxultra.com) if you'd like us to hold one for you. For our international visitors and those not going to Adelaide, we can arrange to mail it out to you.
02/04 Combined classes at the Australian Titles
It's starting to get a little old and the titles are only a week
away now but we have received another email, that a reader has put a lot
of time into, so we thought we'd make it available for you all to check
out.
Also it was brought to our attention that while some classes at the Australian
Championships are combined, the same classes are seperated at the Pre-titles
event. Go figure!! So those riders looking to square up their competition
have to wait until they meet them at their main event. Nearly seems pointless
worrying about paying the entry fee for the Pre-titles doesn't it?
Oh and one more thing, when classes are combined at the nationals why
aren't the classes combined on the class name. Eg. 30-34 men class may
contain traces of nuts, sorry had to be said, no seriously. The 30-34
class may well be combined with 35-39 men but the class will be 30-34
how hard is it to change the name to 30-39 men and change the engraving
on the trophies?
For information about combined classes contact BMXAustralia in Melbourne
on 03 9654 2790.
Here's the letter from Lisa Moon and click here to download the statistics that goes along with it (Excel spreadsheet).
To BMXA Board, Staff and National Race Officials,
I am writing in relation to the girls’ classes for 2004 National championships. I have seen that several classes have been combined this year and in passed years so I decided to take a better look at the classes concerned utilizing the national membership figures.
I have taken a look at some statistics on BMX membership in Australia to see if that can offer any insight into the sport and its events, specifically the girls’ classes. I have drawn a number of points from these stats and feel they should be examined and used when administering girls’ classes for at least National events. States could even apply the same using their state membership details.
The statistics on membership I used were obtained from BMXA and the current class list as displayed on the BMXA website for 2004 National Championship entries and classes as printed morning of Tuesday 23rd March. Should those entries change then naturally this will not be 100% correct but as its intended it will still relay the points I want to make here and perhaps show the girls memberships in a different light.
For this study I have concentrated on the age classes from 8 – 16 years M and F. I wanted to include up to 18 yrs but as 17g, 18g 19+ girls and a few other 20 F classes had already been combined I could not break down the entries per class here at present. I would need further statistics to deal with classes such as Jnr and Snr Elite and not having those stats it was not possible to include at this stage.
Looking at the spread sheet the first point that struck me was that a much higher % of the girls in each age bracket actually compete up to a National level in comparison to the boys, thus the girls actually support the sport more than their male counterparts even though in numbers they are many times less. Boys’ memberships have between 5 and 11 times that of the girls but only enter the event at an average rate of roughly 4 to 1.
The girls’ aged 8 - 16years have an entry rate of 11.43% to an amazing 60.87 % of their membership base prior to any classes being combined. The boys’ classes have an entry rate from 7.06% to 24.59% of their current National membership base. If boys entered at the rate the girls do then classes would be huge. If boys had to meet same % criteria the girls do to form a class then they would have far more combined classes than the girls’. In fact there would be no boys classes without combining 2 if they had to meet the same % that the girls do to form a class. EVERY single girls class out numbers the equivalent boys class in this respect, even those classes that have been combined for not having 9 entries.
Taking the first challenge girls class to be combined 8 and 9 years. 8 Girls have 11.43% members entered compared to 8 boys with 7.06%. The boys get a class and the girls get combined with 9 girls who HAD a class with a whopping 26.42% entries of national members already. What do they get for supporting their sport so well….combined with another class of course, and again with one that is out performing the boys on same stats.
Given 9 entries make a class the boys need a very small % of their membership base with an average of 1-87% to 4.81% to form a class, whereas the girls classes need a much higher number entered 11.25% - 39.13% to create a class. Given this does using a set number of entries (currently 9) seem a fair, reasonable and unprejudised target for all classes?
Other girls’ class to be combined are the 15 and 16 yr olds. Again the 15 yr girls have a greater % of members entering than the 15 boys. The 16 girls already had a class in their own right and with an amazing 60.87% entry rate from their membership base. This class represents the best supported class on a per capita basis of memberships for this years National Championships and they don’t get a class of their own! If the 16b entered at the same rate their class would have 113 riders in it. Come on install some fairness here.
There has to be a better and fairer way to determine numbers for the girls’ classes. Some points I think that need to be considered before any class is combined are:
· The % rate of membership in the age group that entered the event.
· The % rate of membership entered in the class they would combine
with.
· If the class they would combine with already has a ‘legal’
class or not. If so then they should not be combined.
· The impact on all riders in both classes not only for this event
but for possible future events. Would this impact on a riders decision
to continue to compete at this level?
· What % level did the equivalent boys’ class(s) have in
entries compared to membership base? Did the relevant girls’ class(s)
meet or better that figure (gender equity)? Is so don’t combine
the classes.
· Perhaps even consideration should be given to dropping 1 or 2
places in the final where less than 9 entries have been taken? Personally
I feel this is fairer than combining classes.
In the ‘Pro’ classes ‘Gender Equity” was established to fairly distribute prize money amongst male and female equivalent classes so the group with the greater % of entries are competing for greater % of the purse. It was seen that if 10 ladies racing AA pro compared to 30 men in AA that the amount being raced for should also reflect this difference with the males getting 3-1 payout. This seems to be a fair and common sense approach so why is this ‘gender equity idea’ not carried a step further to fairly administer the girls in challenge classes also? If they don’t have the 9 in a class then their entry rate compared to the number of members in their age class registered nationally is taken, if it is higher % than the boys % entry rate they have a class. Seems a very simple, FAIR and unbiased option and all are meeting the same criteria unlike currently.
Surely for the sake of a few trophies are the girls not more important? This I know impacts on the girls’ entries numbers, some wait to see if they will get a class before entering themselves as feel intimidated if they have to ride with a older group as well. All riders enter with the ‘hope’ they can make it to the semis or the finals or perhaps do better than they have in the passed many know that they maybe an outside chance but just to have a small hope is enough to drive them and along with their love of the sport it’s reason for them to enter the event. If they have to race against older riders it may detract from their enjoyment and self image. This will impact on their decision to enter next years event. So how about showing some consideration for these girls and leave them to have their own classes or change the criteria for forming classes to something fair, you maybe surprised over following years events to see more riders enter knowing they won’t have to compete with older age groups. Lets try to keep and encourage the girls in the sport not give them reason to quit.
I also have some questions relating to the female elite classes. I am under the belief that Australia runs Jnr and Snr Elite classes at the Nationals to allow our riders points within the UCI ranking system and for it to be recognised by the UCI. Do the UCI acknowledge an ‘Elite’ class that is one where both Jnr and Snr have been combined as is the case for the Females at this years Nationals? If not are Australian riders being disadvantaged here and why would you allow this, would it not be better to run as 2 classes regardless of entry numbers? Also given it’s a combined class for the females would it not be fairer to simply return to A and AA and thus allow other top Australian females to compete in the pro classes especially if the UCI will not recognise the combined “elite ‘ class anyway? How will combining Elite classes affect our female riders for Olympic selection in the years ahead?
Thanks for your time and consideration to these points. I sincerely hope you consider reverting the classes that have been combined for this years Nationals..
Regards
Lisa Moon
01/04 Results from Telstra Toowoomba Open Day
– 20th March 2004
Thank you to all competitors, families, Officials & Volunteers
who traveled to Toowoomba for the first Telstra Open-Day at our new track.
We hope you enjoyed the layout, and your feedback on any issue is more
than welcome. We hope to Budget $10000.oo for next years event (A-Pro
$1500 ?? & AA-Pro $3000 ?? to be confirmed) with riders being paid
down to 8th. We PROMISE not to clash with any other majors in future,
so all can benefit from this great event.
Thanks for your continued support.
Sprockets:
Congratulations to all competing Sprockets.
We hope you all enjoyed Wades Bootes’s Presentations & all the
Goodies.
Keep up the great work guys…. Come back and see us again soon.
Results
01/04 Review: Trans Am Liberation
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