Local BMXers race to excellence at Nationals in Calgary

The Red Deer BMX Club has brought home 29 N plates from the National races in Calgary this past weekend.

A total of 516 riders were present over the weekend in Calgary during the National races. 40 of the riders were entered in two categories, bringing the total number of entries to 556.

“Most people race what’s called 20” and then there’s a separate class called cruiser. Some people actually race double including two of our riders and they actually both placed in both of their races,” said Crissie Goulding, treasurer with the Red Deer BMX Club.

BMX plates are awarded to the top 8 racers in each age category in a number of divisions including W for Worlds, N for Nationals and AB for the provincial plates. Within the province racers get a P plate based both on age and category (novice, intermediate and expert) for being the top 8.

Of the 29 Red Deer members to come home with N plates, four returned home with N1 placements, three with N2, and seven with N3 placements. The other fifteen riders came home with placements between N4 and N8.

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These riders will all automatically qualify for the World’s races held in 2018 which would give them the opportunity to race for the highest ranking plate available to them.

There are between 150 and 160 total registered riders in the Red Deer BMX club ranging in both age and experience levels.

Goulding has three children who all take part in the sport, one of whom brought home an N4 plate from this past weekends’ event in Calgary. Ryland Goulding, 8, has been racing for 5 years and couldn’t be happier to do so alongside the friends he’s made at the track.

“It’s pretty cool that they can be buddies off the track and still be competitive on the track, but they still have that camaraderie afterwards and can be high fiving,” said Crissie.

Crissie said the Red Deer BMX club has a great group of athletes including a large number of youth who work extremely hard, some training five nights a week during the summer months.

“The kids are super proud of themselves and they should be. They work really hard. It’s an Olympic sport and they have to put in the training and they have to try,” said Crissie.

She added that it’s impressive for 29 N plates to have come home to Red Deer considering how many racers there were in Calgary as well as the training time that other racers sometimes get.

“Some of these kids coming in even from B.C. train for 12 months of the year, so it’s easy to see they do have an advantage being on their bikes all the time.”

The Red Deer BMX Club is always open to new members and a number of parents have started to ride and race after spending time at the track with their children.

Goulding added that “it’s pretty exhilarating” to be down at the track watching the races and encouraging the riders to keep going and make it to the next level.

“It’s definitely an exciting sport to watch. It’s very fast-paced and there are a lot of crashes, and some people do get hurt. The level of competition that shows up at a National event is second-to-none.”

The list of Red Deer BMX members who brought home N plates is as follows:

• Charley F. N2 5-7 female
• Harriet R. N5 5-7 female
• Nia F. N1 8 female
• Amelia R. N2 8 female
• Olivia R. N5 11 female
• Macie H. N8 11 female 
• Lindsay H. N3 14 female 
• Alexia C. N5 14 female
• Jaedan D. N7 14 female 
• Molly S. N1 15 female
• Lindsay H. N3 Cruiser 16under fem
• Rachel R. N6 Cruiser 16under fem
• Christy StD. N3 Cruiser 30-39 female
• Denver L. N3 5-6 male
• Oliver N. N7 5-6 male
• Dane StD. N3 7 male
• Cameron F. N7 7 male
• Ryland G. N4 8 male
• Kanein B. N8 8 male
• Matthew M. N6 10 male
• Carson K. N1 12 male 
• Ryan R. N2 12 male
• Nick N. N3 12 male
• Lyndon R. N3 35+ male
• Nick N. N1 Cruiser 12under 
• Shayne H. N4 Cruiser 12under
• Greg N. N5 Cruiser 40-44 male
• Steven B. N6 Cruiser 40-44 male
• Daniel D. N4 Cruiser 45-49 male