Cranbrook BMX had more than 130 riders come out for their season opener, plus many more spectators who showed their support.
On May 4-5, riders from all over came to participate in the event, coming from Alberta, British Columbia and the United States.
“It was great,” said Laura Niehaus, Cranbrook BMX. “We had such a great turnout, we had over 40 new riders just from Cranbrook, and we had over 83 riders from all different areas (Kelowna, Spokane, Edmonton, Calgary), we had a really good turnout.”
Niehaus says the purpose of the season opener was to show the community what BMX is all about.
With all of the new riders who came out to try the track, Niehaus says she hopes they saw how fun of a sport it can be.
“It’s a sport you can get what you put into it,” she said. “You can show up for a local race and have a good time. Or you can go onto to be an Olympian, some of the kids that were there at our track this week are number one in Canada and going to the worlds next year.”
The weekend started out with strider riders and new riders, all of which were from Cranbrook, to give everyone a feel of what the race was like on the BMX track.
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Next up was regular racing with men and women competing. Lots of clubs from all over came out to race in Cranbrook including the Salmo BMX club, Spokane BMX, Okotoks BMX, Cochrane BMX and Kelowna BMX.
“Really we had a good showing from all of the close BMX tracks, so it was great,” said Niehaus.
The weekend also included special guest Ken Cools, who is BMX trainer with the Canadian national team and has also competed in the Olympics.
“He came out to support Cranbrook BMX, and it was really special and unique because it’s not very often you get an Olympic trainer to your track,” said Niehaus.
All ages took part in the racing event, with as young as one-and-a-half years old to 65 years old taking part.
“BMX is such an inclusive sport and it’s something different and very unique that you can just show up and do it and have fun,” said Niehaus.
The support of the community, sponsors and the multiple volunteers helped to great a successful event.
“We want to say thank you to the city councillors that choose to come out to see what we can do for the community, and a big thank you to the Mayor for coming out and Mike Peabody for racing me. We hope they see the value of BMX in the community … and how it’s a whole family sport.”
For the season Cranbrook BMX will be having Wednesday night races for the local riders. More information can be found on their Facebook page.
“If you loved it, come on out,” said Niehaus.
jessica.dempsey@cranbrooktownsman.com
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