Skip to content

BMX club welcomes riding season

The first races of the season were on Wednesday night.
11549211_web1__DSC4083-fixed
Riders took a spin on the track Monday night. (Kathleen Saylors/Grand Forks Gazette)

The sun is out, the snow has melted, and with that comes the start of the season for the Grand Forks BMX Club.

Grant Hill is this year’s BMX president. The club has about 80 members, ranging in age from 2 to 50. While the majority of riders are between 4 and 12, Hill said that like him, many parents get involved through their kids and even join the racing.

“Friends of my son invited him out and both kids took to it, and so I started volunteering,” Hill said. “I race as well.”

The society is entirely volunteer-run, and is affiliated with BMX Canada. Parents and other volunteers run everything from the races every Wednesday night, to the concession and track maintenance. While the track is on city property, the club is responsible for track maintenance and equipment.

The season runs from the end of April to the end of October.

Hill said Grand Forks boasts the longest BMX track in B.C.; this gives riders here an advantage over others when they compete on shorter tracks and have tons of energy to power through the whole race.

BMX has been in Grand Forks for about 20 years, and especially took off when it became an Olympic sport 12 years ago. The club’s membership has been steady and slowly growing over time, and Hill said there’s a strong member base in the Boundary – families come from Christina Lake and even as far as Midway.

This year the club will be on the receiving end of the Grand Forks Rotary annual project, a new race gate that will greatly improve safety, Hill said.

“The old gate, as outdated as it is, is dangerous. We are teaming up with Rotary to install a … state-of-the-art, top of the line gate, and we will be one of three tracks in B.C. to have one,” Hill said. “The thing we love is the safety and… the people running the gate are very cautious and every track has the same problem, so it is exciting to be ahead of the game.”

The club structure includes weekly races on Wednesday nights, as well as Monday night practices. Families can attend as many or as few races per season they want; Hill said it works well for many families with busy schedules.

“They are tied but separate. They can show up to all or a few, you don’t have to be there every week which is good for schedules,” Hill said. Over the season riders earn total points for each race they participate in.

One of the main attractions of the sport is that not only is it a lot of fun, but the whole family can participate, Hill said.

“It is a family sport. Parents may not be riding but they are involved, it’s not just dropping the kids off,” he said. “The parents are part of the action. It’s a lot of fun, to be out and with other families, watching the kids have fun.”

The registration fee is $25 per child, and an additional $65 to register with BMX Canada. Riders need their own bikes, as well as long sleeves and pants and a full face helmet in order to participate.

Anyone looking to get involved can email grandforksbmx@gmail.com or find more information on Facebook at Grand Forks BMX.