Somewhere in southern California during the early 70's, a bunch of kids
on modified 20" Schwinn Stingray bicycles went out to a vacant lot and
created a brand new sport of their very own... Those kids were probably
not even the first. The same scene of youthful energy and American
resourcefulness was quite probably going on in Nebraska and/or New
Jersey. But it was the California gathering of nameless pioneers who
were recorded on film by Bruce Brown's cameras. The resulting
motorcycle film, ON ANY SUNDAY, would spread the word like a wildfire.
There
was no stopping it now. A new sport created by kids for kids was born.
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 seen
jamming through the dirt emulating their motorcycle motocross heroes.
Imitation
lead to innovation and quickly the kids were performing tricks and
"getting air" that made their motorcycle heroes green with envy. 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, the AMERICAN
BICYCLE ASSOCIATION was created. The AMERICAN BICYCLE ASSOCIATION not
only filled that need, it completely changed and continues to shape the
future of the sport it serves. The first step was to create a system of
qualifying participants that was not only fair, but one which enhanced
the competitive nature of the very sport itself and still afforded each
and every rider the chance to be a winner. This need for fairness and
allowing for the fortunes of luck led the way to the transfer system,
in which the winner of each moto advances to the next round - be it
quarter, semi or main event.
That first step led to a long and
continuing list of firsts that spell out the very success of the ABA.
From supplying the first and world's largest national sanctioning body,
first national tour, first Pro purse, first Cruiser class competition,
first sanction to call fouls as they occur, first starting light
system, first automatic gate system, first voice command, first duel
announcing, first computerized membership and points system, first
computerized sign-ups, first computerized system for local tracks,
first interactive website to service it's members, first and most
prestigious National Amateur Championship to cover all ages and the
list goes on.
ABA BMX racing is a sport of youthful achievement
and the American family. While the young boy or girl BMX racer develops
skills at an individual pace, they are learning about winning, losing
and trying again. The racer's family learns that time spent together is
support of the racer and the individual achievements is quality time.
It
is the duty of the ABA to establish the rules of racing that provide
fair competition and fun family entertainment for all of it's 60,000
plus members. This is a job to which the AMERICAN BICYCLE ASSOCIATION
and all of it's employees are 100% dedicated.
