KZN BMX

Menu
Trakevent V2

Getting Started

Why choose BMX as a sport for myself or my children?

BMX, is one of the best sports you’ll ever come across. It has something for everyone and is entirely family orientated, from Toddlers to Grandparents, you can all participate. We have children as young as 4 years old racing, and even folks in their 70’s. The entire family can race, mom, dad and all the children, or if racing is not for you,  Join the social side and watch as a supporter & spectator. You’re never too old to start. And it’s it is the lowest cost cycling discipline you can get into.

If you or your children enjoy riding your bikes, this is for you. If your children like to ride their bikes in the streets, get them to the track, they’ll be hooked.  

Tracks are user and spectator friendly. Unlike most other forms of cycling, you are able to watch your children the entire time. Most tracks are in secure gated or fenced off areas, which is extremely important today. The skills learned in BMX will serve you well in all other cycling disciplines.

Is my child ready to do BMX?

BMX, is one of the best sports you’ll ever come across. It has something for everyone and is entirely family orientated, from Toddlers to Grandparents, you can all participate. We have children as young as 4 years old racing, and even folks in their 70’s. The entire family can race, mom, dad and all the children, or if racing is not for you,  Join the social side and watch as a supporter & spectator. You’re never too old to start. And it’s it is the lowest cost cycling discipline you can get into.

To start off, what you have. The most important item you need is a helmet. Use a motocross helmet if you have one laying around. Some tracks will allow you to ride with a normal mountain bike helmet, but you usually won’t be allowed to race with one of those, it’ll need to be a Full Face helmet with a peak/visor. Go to your local BMX track and ask if they have a loan helmet and what they recommend you to buy.

You can start off with a helmet, long pants, long sleeve shirt/jersey, gloves and you’re ready to go. If you just starting out, try asking around for 2nd hand clothing that may be for sale, or ask to be added to the local BMX social media groups. There are great deals on 2nd hand BMX clothing, as the children grow so fast. I always say, start off without spending unnecessarily, as you’ll soon find which brand of clothing fits and feels better.

If you would like to buy new, locally we have these retailers who can supply most kit and helmets.

RACE APPAREL

 

BMX BIKES & ACCESSORIES ETC.

Essential Kit is, Full Face helmet, Long Sleeve jersey, Long MX pants, gloves and flat soled shoes (VANS normally the best)

There are boys and Girls classes, but girls can usually ask permission to race in the boys classes, should the wish to do so. 

The balance bikes have their own class, and usually only race the last 2 straights of the BMX track (this varies from track to track), which is usually the first race of the day. 

Classes are separated by age and Beginners Novice or Expert. If you are new to racing, you’ll start off in the Novice class. So you’ll be happy to know that when you start off racing BMX, you will be racing against other beginner riders. There are also Cruiser classes for the 24 inch bikes, as well as

Pro/Elite classes for the Professional riders.

Flat Pedals vs Clip Shoes/pedals: 

Once you’re at the track you’ll notice that some riders race with flat pedals and flat soles shoes/sneakers, and others are racing with shoes that are clipped into the pedal. As a beginner/ novice racer, you may only use the flat pedals. Don’t get caught 

up in the hype about Flat pedals vs clip shoes. Stay on flat pedals for as long as you can, it helps build your BMX skills.

The UCI international ruling  is “No clip shoes for riders 12 and under” even for the Expert classes.

Use the Bike sizing chart to get an idea of the correct bike size ​

Explanation of a typical Race Day Procedure:

Once you’ve joined your local BMX club/track, ask to be added to their email or social media groups, this way you’ll be informed of practice days/evenings, coaching clinics, as well as race days. The full race calendar is also published on www.kznbmx.co.za/events

Clubs send out a link for online race registrations to be completed online. Clubs also allow “on the day” registrations however you will be charged additional late entry fee.  

Even if you have entered Online, you should still go to the registration table and confirm that you have arrived and are ready to race.  

Once all the entries have been received, the race classes are verified and worked out. If there are not enough entries in a particular class or age group, the class may be combined with another age group to makeup a race class. (it’s no fun having just 1 or 2 riders in a race). 

30 –60 minutes before racing starts, the Moto sheets will be posted digitally on https://our.sqorz.com/org/kznbmx 

A moto sheet (Race Sheet) lets you know which Moto/Race you will be racing in on the day. 

There are a maximum of 8 riders in a moto/race. Check which Moto you are racing in and make your way to the staging area. The stager will call out the moto, along with the names of the competitors in that moto. You then move up the back of the start hill and wait to be loaded into the start gate.  

The starter controls the gate mechanism and safety of the start hill. Once satisfied that the start hill and gate are safe to start loading riders, he/she will allow the riders to start loading into their lanes.  Always pay attention to the starter as he/she will let you know when it is safe to load into the gate.  

If the tracks 1st turn is to the left, gate no 1 will be on the far left side of the gate, and gate 8 on the far right hand side of the gate. If the 1st turn is to the right, gate 1 will be on the right and gate 8 on the left. Gate 1 is classed as the inside gate and gate 8 the outside gate. 

Usually the starter and staging officials will be wearing a bright colored BIB.

Once everyone has settled in the gate, the starter will notify the riders that the start gate procedure or gate call is about to start. If you are not ready, let him/her know that you are not ready and he/she will usually give you a moment to get yourself ready.  Once the riders are ready the starter will press the start button. The call will start: Riders ready, Watch the gate, then the light  and beep sequence will start. You will notice that there are 4 lights on each side of the start hill. The beeps and lights are  synchronized (flash and light up at the same time). So the 1st beep sounds at the same time as the top light flashes, 2nd  beep, 2nd light, 3rd beep , 3rd light. On the fourth beep, the  bottom light (green) will flash as well as having the gate drop all at the same time.

Some people watch the gate for the movement before they start racing, others watch the lights, some listen for the beeps. Your local track coach will work this all out with you to improve your gate starts.

The most important thing to remember about BMX Racing is: 

The sport is run by Volunteers, and clubs are always in search of more volunteers to help out. I urge each and everyone reading  this to please get involved in the sport somehow, some help at race events, some help behind the scenes with the administration, track maintenance etc..

The various levels of BMX Racing:
  • Club Races: Most riders only train and race at their local tracks. You could compete and become Club Champion in your age group or class.
  • Provincial Races: The guys who take racing a little more seriously will compete in the provincial championship. Winning this is a great achievement and is one of the criteria to earn provincial colours.
  • National Races: Depending on your home track, you may be lucky enough to have a home National race. National racing has the best of the best racers from all over the country competing to become the best in the nation. Many of the racers who compete in the National races will travel all across the country racing the various National events. National races are currently held in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape town.
  • The World Championships: This is where the top racers from each country compete against each other. This happens once a year and usually in a different country every year. Each country has a specific qualifying system, to see who will represent their country at the World Championships that year. BMX is one of very few sports in the world in which you can become a World Champion at the tender age of only 6years old.
  • Olympic Games: Yes , BMX is an Olympic sport. The Olympics happens every 4 years, and the Top Elite/Pro athletes compete against each other to become the Olympic Champion. These are the very best BMX riders on the planet competing for the Ultimate Gold medal in sports.