| Somewhere
in Southern California during the early 70's is
a bunch of kids on home modified 20"
Schwinn Stingray bicycles went out to a vacant
lot and created a brand new sport of their very
own. The same scene of youthful energy and
American resourcefulness was quite
probably going on nationwide, possibly at the
same time. It was the California gathering of
nameless pioneers who were recorded on the film
by Bruce Brown's cameras. Resulting in a
motorcycle film, ON ANY SUNDAY, that would
spread the word of this new sport like a
wildfire.
There
was no stopping it now. A new sport was created
by kids for kids. Bicycle Motocross was the name
it was given. That name was quickly shortened to
BMX.
It
grabbed the attention of thousands of kids in
one short summer. Boys and girls on their
modified bicycles were jamming through the dirt
emulating their motorcycle motocross heroes.
Imitation
lead to innovation and quickly kids were
performing tricks and "getting air".
The next step was organized racing. By 1977,
pockets of loosely organized BMX races dotted
the nation from coast to coast. It was time for
a national sanctioning body and from out of this
need was created the AMERICAN BICYCLE
ASSOCIATION.
ABA BMX
is a sport of youth achievement and the American
family. While the young boy or girl racer
develops skills at an individual pace, they
learn about winning, losing and trying again.
The racers' family learns that time spent
together in support of the racer and the
individual achievements is quality time. BMX is
a sport catering to the individual. Every rider
gets to participate and compete. No one sits on
the bench and no one gets cut from the team in
BMX.
It is
the duty of the ABA to establish the rules of
racing that provide fair competition and fun
family entertainment for all of its 60,000 plus
members. This is a job to which the American
Bicycle Association is 100% dedicated.
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