BMX started in the early 70s in southern California by kids too young
to ride motorcycles. They modifyed their Schwinn Stingrays to look like
motocross bikes. These kids would then gather in corner lots to ride
and check out each others bikes. The corner lots quickly turned into
dirt tracks and developed into the organized BMX tracks of today. These
dirt tracks are typically 300 to 400 metres with a series of jumps banked
corners and other obstacles. Up to eight cyclists compete in each qualifying
race to determine eight finalists who meet for the championship. Races
are approximately 30-40 seconds in length and riders race three heats
or motos heats per event (qualifying rounds, quarter finals, semi-finals)
to qualify for the main event (finals)
In 2003, the International Olympic Committee made BMX a full medal
Olympic sport for 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Canada hosted twice the BMX World Championships. In 1997, the event
was held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and more recently in 2007, when
Victoria, British-Columbia hosted the prestigious BMX event at the Juan
de Fuca Recreation Centre.
