Approximately 500 riders had the chance to give the newly revamped 麻豆社国产BMX track a spin this weekend as the town played host to a national series event.
This marks the third time 麻豆社国产BMX has hosted the nationals and was the biggest in terms of numbers, said club president Vicki Schenk.
The track was first opened 10 years ago, and the club previously hosted nationals in 2011 and 2013.
This time, riders came from around B.C. as well as Alberta and U.S. states including Washington, Arizona, California and Oregon to earn national series points during the races on Saturday and Sunday. Friday鈥檚 races counted for district points.
Riders ranged in age from age two to 72 years old. Typically, they move from novice to intermediate onto expert, with riders competing in categories based on age and ability.
Several local riders have been performing well at top races like the national series.
鈥淭he kids love watching Jacob Murray race,鈥� Schenk said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 an exciting rider to watch.鈥�
Murray took second for the 16 expert category at the Sunday final.
Another top rider is Teigen Pascual, who is ranked second in Canada for girls in her age bracket. On Sunday morning, she finished first in both the 11-13 mixed open and 12 girls finals.
As a whole, local riders have been overachieving. With about 100 riders, 麻豆社国产BMX is in the mid-pack provincially but is ranked second nationally in terms of results, Schenk says.
For the finals on Sunday morning, several other local riders posted strong finishes: Miriam Bailey, second, 41-45 women鈥檚 cruiser; Finley Lloyd, third, five and under novice; Victor Miller, first, seven novice; Elijah Otis, second, eight novice; Ryan Grimm, first, 10 novice; Jakob Jewett, second, 13 expert; and Michael Bailey, third, 28-35 expert.
听
Beyond the competition, Schenk say these events bring the BMX community together from all over, making it almost a family, as parents and kids see each other at races sometimes in places as far afield as South American and Europe. She cites people like the Huvard family from Camarillo, Calif., that travels for Levi to race in the 10-year-old expert bracket. Prior to Squamish, they had most recently been in Medellin, Colombia for a race. They typically see many of the riders at events all over.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty tight group. These kids grow up together,鈥� said mom Andrea Huvard, who has spent about 25 years on the BMX circuit, taking her three older kids to events before Levi started racing.
Along with getting ready for the event, 麻豆社国产BMX has been busy in recent months finishing work on the track.听
While there are a couple of things to add, such as the new starting gate, the club was able to get the site ready in time for this weekend鈥檚 event.
Schenk credits the community for providing donations and volunteer support to complete the project. Many businesses stepped forward to provide everything from the wood for posts to paving and equipment to work on the track.
鈥淭he people who are donating in kind don鈥檛 even have kids in the sport,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got so many businesses that stepped up.鈥�
Schenk estimates the project was to cost about $100,000, but the club was able to keep the project at about $40,000 because of volunteers and donations.
鈥淭he community has been totally invaluable,鈥� she said.
A lot of the credit, she adds, goes to the club鈥檚 Scott Murray, who oversaw the work and has been training on how to design BMX tracks. 鈥淪cott鈥檚 becoming known as a track builder,鈥� Schenk said.
The club races on Mondays and practises on Thursdays. It will also be holding upcoming clinics later this month and hosting a provincial series race on Aug. 8.听
