Nanaimo BMX Track Brings In The Big Stars
The 2007 UCI World BMX Championships are being held in Victoria next week and the Nanaimo BMX Association is doing what it can to help. The event will run from the 26th of July to the 29th. Many of the riders in the competition will hold a pre-event practice session at the Nanaimo BMX track at Beban Park on the 22nd and the 23rd.
“We’ve been absolutely swamped with e-mails,” said Nanaimo BMX Association vice-president Randy Little. “It’s been crazy. We’ve got 68 riders coming from Australia. It’s been a matter of trying to figure out who to get on the track and when.” Riders from Germany, New Zealand and the Netherlands will also use Nanaimo’s facilities for training, Little said.
Nanaimo BMX Association has hosted the ABA World Cup twice in the last 10 years, but the UCI Worlds is a much bigger event. Thousands of riders from all over the world will race. BMX racing will be introduced as a sport in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China so there is plenty of excitement within the sport these days. The training sessions here in Nanaimo will be an event on its own.
“We have to have first aid people here, people to keep the track groomed and water it so everything is just right,” said Little. Prior to the teams arriving for training, Nanaimo BMX Association is hosting its annual Pro BMX Supercamp training clinic at the Beban track. The four-day camp, which starts Wednesday and wraps up Saturday, features several top pro riders, including world champion Bubba Harris, a regular at the camp.
Other top riders such as Mike Day and Anthony Derosa will be on hand to instruct at the camp. Several from New Zealand, parents and children, are in the clinic. “We’ve done the camp for 10 years now,” said Little, who estimates between 70 and 110 riders have already signed up for the clinic. “Bubba raced here in the ABA Worlds in 1997, He was 11. He’s 21 now and world champion and he loves coming here.”
To participate in the clinic, you must hold a membership in a BMX-sanctioned club. Registration information can be obtained by visiting the Nanaimo BMX Association website. Membership is $55. The camp (four days) is $300 U.S. which includes meals (three a day) and sleeping arrangements. Food Country and Pacific Produce are major contributors to the Supercamp clinic.