This sport originated in the 60s when kids from California wanted to mimic their motocross heros. Many kids were too young to handle motorcycles since all of the motorcycles were very large and heavy then. Some parents thought that motocross was to dangerous for their children, and those who didn`t have a problem with it couldn`t afford a motorcycle.
These kids started building hills in vacant lots to jump with their regular bicycles. They soon developed courses, or tracks, with hills, turns, and other obstacles to have unorganized races on. The kids didn't know it then, but they were forming a new sport that would become one of the most popoular extreme sports ever.
Since the sport was like motocross, but on a bicycle, they called it Bicycle Motocross, or BMX, with the "B" standing for bicycle, the "M" standing for moto, and the "X" standing for cross.
BMX Bicycling is for people of all ages. Starting about 3 to 4 y/o all the way up to 75 y/o If one can pedal a bike, one can ride/race/freestyle. BMX is a fun family sport for anyone...
BMX In Depth, THE DISCIPLINE'S ORIGIN
Bicycle moto cross (BMX) started in the late 1960s in California, around the time that motocross became a popular sport in the USA. The motorised version of the sport was the inspiration for the human-powered competition. Children and teenagers with the desire but not the means to participate in motocross sated their appetite by racing bicycles on self-built tracks.
BMX racing offered exciting action at a low cost, close to home. It is easy to see why the sport was an instant hit. In California the sport was more popular than anywhere else.
During the early 1970s a sanctioning body for BMX was founded in the USA. This is considered as the official start of BMX racing. As that decade progressed, the sport was introduced on other continents too, among them Europe in 1978.
In April 1981, the International BMX Federation was founded, and the first world championships were held in 1982. BMX rapidly developed as a unique sporting entity, and after several years clearly had more in common with cycling than motorcycling codes. Thus, since January 1993 BMX has been fully integrated into the International Cycling Union.
On the 29th of June 2003, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to include BMX in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. See: www.genesbmx.com/2008-bmx-olympics.html
BMX races are held on circuits of around 350 metres, including jumps, banked corners and other obstacles. Eight riders compete in each heat (qualifying rounds, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals), with the top four qualifying for the next round. Individual Men | individual Women.
