According to Bob Osborn's "History of BMX" (and others who were around at the time), today marks the 39th anniversary of the opening of Palms Park BMX, the first organized BMX track.
Interested to hear what you guys think of that, and if you recognize July 10, 1969 as the official date.
You can be sure that we will have a Motomag birthday cake at next year's Rockford...celebrating the 10th Anniversary of our favorite event, and also the big 4 - 0 for our sport.
Best,
M
Full Version: History of BMX Timeline - Please Read & Comment
Also, on this same topic, I would love your comments and additions to the History of BMX timeline I am finishing up for beijingbmx.com It is not done yet, still need more content to fill in 79-83 and 89-present (including the exact date it was announced that BMX was to be an Olympic sport).
I am mostly looking for "firsts" or pivotal moments in the sport. Thus, the founding of Hutch, while an important moment in BMX history, is not as appropriate to this timeline as, say the founding of BMX Products or SE (first company founded by a rider).
This timeline is being written to give someone just coming in to the sport (as a result of the coverage surrounding the olympics, for example) a "30,000 foot" view of the important moments that made the sport what it is today.
It should be noted that the timeline has much more ABA information than NBL...this is NOT because of any kind of bias on my part. I submitted a request for NBL to provide the same details ABA was asked to provide, and have not received a response from them (yet?).
I do have more to add, but am waiting on fact checking to come back on these points.
Looking forward to your additions and feedback.
Best,
M
1816 Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun invents the “Draisienne” a forerunner to the bicycle (though it had two same-sized wheels and a seat, it had no cranks or drive mechanism and was foot-powered. Anyone who ever tacoed a chainring on a neighborhood ride knows how this guy rolled).
1836 Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan invents the first bicycle with foot pedals. Locals disrespect his idea as “frivolous” and he does not patent the invention (it is not known whether MacMillan’s pedals were clips or flats, or if that gave rise to local debate and conflict).
1839 Charles Goodyear invents, then perfects, the process for vulcanizing rubber after a stretch in debtor’s prison (without which we would have no knobbies or microknobbies under us).
1895 Ignaz Schwinn and Adolph Arnold found Arnold, Schwinn & Company (later Schwinn Bicycle Company) in Chicago, IL, with the corporate purpose of building bicycles.
1933 Arnold, Schwinn & Company introduces the “balloon tire” (“tube-in-tire technology”).
April 30, 1956 As part of a “Queensday” celebration in St. Anthonis, Holland, local youth take part in a “fietscross” (bicycle cross), held on dirt, with primitive berms and pie plates with numbers scrawled on them to ID the riders. Many europeans contend this was the true founding event of the sport of Bicycle Motocross Racing, though critics in the US point to the fact that it did not give rise to an organized sport and, as such, could only be described as an anomoly--removed from the California BMX of the late 1960s, from which the sport as we know it took root.
1963 Arnold, Schwinn & Company introduces the “Sting-Ray,” featuring high-rise handlebars, a banana seat and the seed of a new industry and way of life in it’s DNA.
July 10, 1969 A group of Los Angeles kids coerce Palms Park caretaker Ron Mackler into building a track reminiscent of Motorcycle Motocross tracks. The first organized race (of a new sport sometimes called “pedal cross,” sometimes called “BX,” and sometimes called “Pedal Power”) is held on this date.
November 1970 13-year old Yamaha Motocross Racer and über-promoter Scot Breithaupt gathers his MX trophies and stages BMX races on trails he used for MX practice. B.U.M.S. (named for the homeless who squatted on the land, but later tagged “Bicycle United Motocross Society” to present a more palatable image to the community) park was born.
July 28, 1971 The film “On Any Sunday” is released in theaters in the US. Director Bruce Brown starts off the film with a sequence depicting a pack of kids riding their Sting Rays and mimicking the sounds, and movements of their older MX breathren. The film, featuring Steve McQueen, was nominated for a 1971 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and captured the enthusiasm of a generation of groms who wanted to do it in the dirt, sans motor.
1972 Rick Twomey modifies a Sting-Ray and adds a higher bottom bracket, longer cranks and other enhancements to create a more “BMX-friendly” bike.
1972 Scot Breithaupt and his B.U.M.S. organization hold the first BMX state championship race in Long Beach, CA.
January 26, 1974 George Esser holds his first BMX race as an affiliate of the National Motorcycle League (NML) at Miami Hollywood Speedway Park in Florida. In February, 1976, Mr. Esser would break from the NML to form the National Bicycle League (NBL) as an independent organization.
1974 Motocross promoter Ernie Alexander starts the National Bicycle Association (NBA), the sport’s first official Sanctioning Body.
1974 Motorcycle component fabricator Linn Kastan, develops the first “unbreakable” tubular chromoly fork for BMX bikes and markets them under the name of his Motorcycle Parts company: Red Line (later, and currently, Redline).
1974 Webco introduces the first production “straight tube” BMX frame, departing from the modified Sting-Rays, and garage-built rides of the day.
June 1974 Elaine Holt publishes the first issue of “Bicycle Motocross News,” the first exclusively-BMX publication. BMX dad Bob Osborn is a contributor of stories and photos.
July 20, 1974 17-year old B.U.M.S. track operator Scot Breaithaupt, convinces his former sponsor, Yamaha, to invest $100,000 in a four-race BMX series (three qualifiers and a final) to promote their new line of bicycles. The Yahama Gold Cup is born. This first race of the series, in Van Nuys, CA happens on this date. The finals, attended by over 5,000 spectators in the Los Angeles Coliseum (later home to the 1984 Olympics) is a major moment in BMX history, with soon-to-be BMX legends Stu Thomsen and David Clinton winning the Expert and Junior classes, respectively, and Bob Osborn (who, four years later, would start Bicycle Motocross Action magazine) as the flag-waving starter.
September 1974 Automotive engineer Skip Hess designs and develops the “Motomag” after seeing neighborhood kids in Simi Valley, CA race and jump their bikes. His company, BMX Products, would successfully market the Motomag for more than a decade, and his Mongoose line of bicycles survives to this day, though under different ownership.
1975 Merle Menniga starts the “Chandler Jaycees” BMX Track in Chandler, AZ. The track is still operating, in the same location, to this day and holds the distinction of “longest continuously running BMX track.” Two years later, Menniga would form the American Bicycle Association (ABA) with the Chandler track as ABA Track 001.
April 1976 At the urging of BMX pioneer Rick Twomey, who was a contributor of motorcycle content, Minicycle Magazine changes its name to Minicycle/BMX Action (later, “Super BMX”). It is the first “slick” publication to regularly feature BMX.
December 1976 After discussions on purchasing an interest in Elaine Holt’s Bicycle Motocross News, BMX dad/photographer/writer and fireman Bob Osborn starts Bicycle Motocross Action (later BMX Action) magazine with $30,000 in startup capital. Brian Lewis graces the first cover on the fabled Corona downhill track. Bicycle Motocross Action was the first exclusively-BMX “slick” magazine. The magazine would run for nearly 13 years before its final issue in September 1989.
Summer 1977 While on Scot Breithaupt’s “Team Terrible” national tour (the sport’s first), Bob Haro develops a new product to raise spending money on the tour. The “factory plate” replaces pie plates and plastic squares and ovals with form-fitting design and tricked out graphics. This product, first produced in limited runs on Bob’s mother’s stove, was the foundation for Haro’s BMX empire which ultimately included Haro Bikes and a multimillion dollar sale of the company in 1988 .
October 13, 1977 Merle Menniga forms the American Bicycle Association. With its unique “transfer system,” ABA remains the Coke to NBLs Pepsi to this day.
February, 1978 ABA holds it’s first National race in Azuza, CA
November 1978 Jim Stevens and Scot Breithaupt break from their positions at Bicycle Motocross Action magazine to form BMX Plus! magazine. Greg Hill is on the first cover, riding for Redline. BMX Plus! remains in print to this day, having never missed an issue in 30 years of publication (though there was no May 1983 issue, June 1983 was released at the same time the May issue was expected by subscribers, and on newsstands to synch up with new owner Hi-Torque Publications’ production and cover date format).
December 1978 Rock concert promoter and “Jag BMX” owner Renny Roker promotes the first BMX World Championships in Indianapolis, IN. Unlike traditional BMX racing (held outdoors on dirt), the Jag World Championships were run in a convention center, on a cement track with wooden jumps (not seen in a major event since the Yamaha Gold Cup series in the 1974-75). A whole new riding technique and specialized parts would be developed to race “indoor-on-cement.”
December 22, 1983 The film “BMX Bandits” is released in time for the Christmas film rush. The first feature-length film using BMX as a main plotline, “Bandits” also marks the first major film appearance for a then-unknown Australian actress named Nicole Kidman. Though initially scorned by the BMX community as corny, the film is now a cult classic among the BMXers of the day.
Spring 1985 American Recreation Group acquires BMX Products and the “Mongoose” brand name from Skip Hess. This marks the first acquisition of an original BMX-related company by a public company. ARG is controlled by Meshulam Ricklis, husband of actress Pia Zadora, who also owns the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas (where the stage show “Splash” features the first on-strip BMX freestyle demonstration, with Gary Laurent).
March 21, 1986 Director Hal Needham (Smokey and the Bandit, Cannonball Run) releases the feature-length “RAD,” in theaters. This film, the first major feature to include actual BMX personalities mixed in with the Hollywood types (Talia Shire of Godfather and Rocky fame played the mom of lead character Cru Jones (played by Bill Allen)). 1984 Olympic Gold Medal gymnast Bart Connor starred as the hip-and-fast villian Bart Taylor. Leading up to the release, the BMX community was abuzz with stories of riders being paid $3,000 to cut their hair (Martin Aparijo) and perks befitting the H’wood elite at the film location in Canada. The massive starting hill of the Beijing track is reminiscent of the then-outrageous features of fictional “Hell Track” in the film. As with BMX Bandits before it, RAD has become a cult classic among old-time BMXers.
October 21, 1995 Mike King and Brian Lopes are the first to use clipless pedals in a BMX national race at the ABA Fall Nationals in Burbank, California. The “clips vs. flat (pedals)” choice is the subject of vigorous debate among racers to this day. King would go on to become USAC BMX director, overseeing the Team USA's BMX Olympic efforts.
November 22, 1997 ABA holds its largest race ever. The ABA Grand Nationals in Oklahoma City, OK counts over 4,000 entries making up a total of 601 motos.
...with more to come
M
I am mostly looking for "firsts" or pivotal moments in the sport. Thus, the founding of Hutch, while an important moment in BMX history, is not as appropriate to this timeline as, say the founding of BMX Products or SE (first company founded by a rider).
This timeline is being written to give someone just coming in to the sport (as a result of the coverage surrounding the olympics, for example) a "30,000 foot" view of the important moments that made the sport what it is today.
It should be noted that the timeline has much more ABA information than NBL...this is NOT because of any kind of bias on my part. I submitted a request for NBL to provide the same details ABA was asked to provide, and have not received a response from them (yet?).
I do have more to add, but am waiting on fact checking to come back on these points.
Looking forward to your additions and feedback.
Best,
M
1816 Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun invents the “Draisienne” a forerunner to the bicycle (though it had two same-sized wheels and a seat, it had no cranks or drive mechanism and was foot-powered. Anyone who ever tacoed a chainring on a neighborhood ride knows how this guy rolled).
1836 Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan invents the first bicycle with foot pedals. Locals disrespect his idea as “frivolous” and he does not patent the invention (it is not known whether MacMillan’s pedals were clips or flats, or if that gave rise to local debate and conflict).
1839 Charles Goodyear invents, then perfects, the process for vulcanizing rubber after a stretch in debtor’s prison (without which we would have no knobbies or microknobbies under us).
1895 Ignaz Schwinn and Adolph Arnold found Arnold, Schwinn & Company (later Schwinn Bicycle Company) in Chicago, IL, with the corporate purpose of building bicycles.
1933 Arnold, Schwinn & Company introduces the “balloon tire” (“tube-in-tire technology”).
April 30, 1956 As part of a “Queensday” celebration in St. Anthonis, Holland, local youth take part in a “fietscross” (bicycle cross), held on dirt, with primitive berms and pie plates with numbers scrawled on them to ID the riders. Many europeans contend this was the true founding event of the sport of Bicycle Motocross Racing, though critics in the US point to the fact that it did not give rise to an organized sport and, as such, could only be described as an anomoly--removed from the California BMX of the late 1960s, from which the sport as we know it took root.
1963 Arnold, Schwinn & Company introduces the “Sting-Ray,” featuring high-rise handlebars, a banana seat and the seed of a new industry and way of life in it’s DNA.
July 10, 1969 A group of Los Angeles kids coerce Palms Park caretaker Ron Mackler into building a track reminiscent of Motorcycle Motocross tracks. The first organized race (of a new sport sometimes called “pedal cross,” sometimes called “BX,” and sometimes called “Pedal Power”) is held on this date.
November 1970 13-year old Yamaha Motocross Racer and über-promoter Scot Breithaupt gathers his MX trophies and stages BMX races on trails he used for MX practice. B.U.M.S. (named for the homeless who squatted on the land, but later tagged “Bicycle United Motocross Society” to present a more palatable image to the community) park was born.
July 28, 1971 The film “On Any Sunday” is released in theaters in the US. Director Bruce Brown starts off the film with a sequence depicting a pack of kids riding their Sting Rays and mimicking the sounds, and movements of their older MX breathren. The film, featuring Steve McQueen, was nominated for a 1971 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and captured the enthusiasm of a generation of groms who wanted to do it in the dirt, sans motor.
1972 Rick Twomey modifies a Sting-Ray and adds a higher bottom bracket, longer cranks and other enhancements to create a more “BMX-friendly” bike.
1972 Scot Breithaupt and his B.U.M.S. organization hold the first BMX state championship race in Long Beach, CA.
January 26, 1974 George Esser holds his first BMX race as an affiliate of the National Motorcycle League (NML) at Miami Hollywood Speedway Park in Florida. In February, 1976, Mr. Esser would break from the NML to form the National Bicycle League (NBL) as an independent organization.
1974 Motocross promoter Ernie Alexander starts the National Bicycle Association (NBA), the sport’s first official Sanctioning Body.
1974 Motorcycle component fabricator Linn Kastan, develops the first “unbreakable” tubular chromoly fork for BMX bikes and markets them under the name of his Motorcycle Parts company: Red Line (later, and currently, Redline).
1974 Webco introduces the first production “straight tube” BMX frame, departing from the modified Sting-Rays, and garage-built rides of the day.
June 1974 Elaine Holt publishes the first issue of “Bicycle Motocross News,” the first exclusively-BMX publication. BMX dad Bob Osborn is a contributor of stories and photos.
July 20, 1974 17-year old B.U.M.S. track operator Scot Breaithaupt, convinces his former sponsor, Yamaha, to invest $100,000 in a four-race BMX series (three qualifiers and a final) to promote their new line of bicycles. The Yahama Gold Cup is born. This first race of the series, in Van Nuys, CA happens on this date. The finals, attended by over 5,000 spectators in the Los Angeles Coliseum (later home to the 1984 Olympics) is a major moment in BMX history, with soon-to-be BMX legends Stu Thomsen and David Clinton winning the Expert and Junior classes, respectively, and Bob Osborn (who, four years later, would start Bicycle Motocross Action magazine) as the flag-waving starter.
September 1974 Automotive engineer Skip Hess designs and develops the “Motomag” after seeing neighborhood kids in Simi Valley, CA race and jump their bikes. His company, BMX Products, would successfully market the Motomag for more than a decade, and his Mongoose line of bicycles survives to this day, though under different ownership.
1975 Merle Menniga starts the “Chandler Jaycees” BMX Track in Chandler, AZ. The track is still operating, in the same location, to this day and holds the distinction of “longest continuously running BMX track.” Two years later, Menniga would form the American Bicycle Association (ABA) with the Chandler track as ABA Track 001.
April 1976 At the urging of BMX pioneer Rick Twomey, who was a contributor of motorcycle content, Minicycle Magazine changes its name to Minicycle/BMX Action (later, “Super BMX”). It is the first “slick” publication to regularly feature BMX.
December 1976 After discussions on purchasing an interest in Elaine Holt’s Bicycle Motocross News, BMX dad/photographer/writer and fireman Bob Osborn starts Bicycle Motocross Action (later BMX Action) magazine with $30,000 in startup capital. Brian Lewis graces the first cover on the fabled Corona downhill track. Bicycle Motocross Action was the first exclusively-BMX “slick” magazine. The magazine would run for nearly 13 years before its final issue in September 1989.
Summer 1977 While on Scot Breithaupt’s “Team Terrible” national tour (the sport’s first), Bob Haro develops a new product to raise spending money on the tour. The “factory plate” replaces pie plates and plastic squares and ovals with form-fitting design and tricked out graphics. This product, first produced in limited runs on Bob’s mother’s stove, was the foundation for Haro’s BMX empire which ultimately included Haro Bikes and a multimillion dollar sale of the company in 1988 .
October 13, 1977 Merle Menniga forms the American Bicycle Association. With its unique “transfer system,” ABA remains the Coke to NBLs Pepsi to this day.
February, 1978 ABA holds it’s first National race in Azuza, CA
November 1978 Jim Stevens and Scot Breithaupt break from their positions at Bicycle Motocross Action magazine to form BMX Plus! magazine. Greg Hill is on the first cover, riding for Redline. BMX Plus! remains in print to this day, having never missed an issue in 30 years of publication (though there was no May 1983 issue, June 1983 was released at the same time the May issue was expected by subscribers, and on newsstands to synch up with new owner Hi-Torque Publications’ production and cover date format).
December 1978 Rock concert promoter and “Jag BMX” owner Renny Roker promotes the first BMX World Championships in Indianapolis, IN. Unlike traditional BMX racing (held outdoors on dirt), the Jag World Championships were run in a convention center, on a cement track with wooden jumps (not seen in a major event since the Yamaha Gold Cup series in the 1974-75). A whole new riding technique and specialized parts would be developed to race “indoor-on-cement.”
December 22, 1983 The film “BMX Bandits” is released in time for the Christmas film rush. The first feature-length film using BMX as a main plotline, “Bandits” also marks the first major film appearance for a then-unknown Australian actress named Nicole Kidman. Though initially scorned by the BMX community as corny, the film is now a cult classic among the BMXers of the day.
Spring 1985 American Recreation Group acquires BMX Products and the “Mongoose” brand name from Skip Hess. This marks the first acquisition of an original BMX-related company by a public company. ARG is controlled by Meshulam Ricklis, husband of actress Pia Zadora, who also owns the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas (where the stage show “Splash” features the first on-strip BMX freestyle demonstration, with Gary Laurent).
March 21, 1986 Director Hal Needham (Smokey and the Bandit, Cannonball Run) releases the feature-length “RAD,” in theaters. This film, the first major feature to include actual BMX personalities mixed in with the Hollywood types (Talia Shire of Godfather and Rocky fame played the mom of lead character Cru Jones (played by Bill Allen)). 1984 Olympic Gold Medal gymnast Bart Connor starred as the hip-and-fast villian Bart Taylor. Leading up to the release, the BMX community was abuzz with stories of riders being paid $3,000 to cut their hair (Martin Aparijo) and perks befitting the H’wood elite at the film location in Canada. The massive starting hill of the Beijing track is reminiscent of the then-outrageous features of fictional “Hell Track” in the film. As with BMX Bandits before it, RAD has become a cult classic among old-time BMXers.
October 21, 1995 Mike King and Brian Lopes are the first to use clipless pedals in a BMX national race at the ABA Fall Nationals in Burbank, California. The “clips vs. flat (pedals)” choice is the subject of vigorous debate among racers to this day. King would go on to become USAC BMX director, overseeing the Team USA's BMX Olympic efforts.
November 22, 1997 ABA holds its largest race ever. The ABA Grand Nationals in Oklahoma City, OK counts over 4,000 entries making up a total of 601 motos.
...with more to come
M
Felizidades BMX
Happy B Day BMX 
Now go out there and RIDE A BIKE LIKE A BMXER SOULD!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Now go out there and RIDE A BIKE LIKE A BMXER SOULD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 29, 2003 - The day it was announced BMX would be included in the 2008 Summer Games (hoping to fill in some detail about where this announcement took place and the person that made it)
1975 Merle Menniga starts the “Chandler Jaycees” BMX Track in Chandler, AZ. The track is still operating, in the same location, to this day and holds the distinction of “longest continuously running BMX track
Are you sure about this because the arena where it was located has been gone for some time. The Parada-Del-Sol Rodeo was held there (Scottsdale Jaycees) and the Cubs old spring training ball park was close by as well.
I was a Phoenix Jaycee, and know a number of Scottsdale Jaycees. Even in the Mid 80's they were no longer running races there.
Are you sure about this because the arena where it was located has been gone for some time. The Parada-Del-Sol Rodeo was held there (Scottsdale Jaycees) and the Cubs old spring training ball park was close by as well.
I was a Phoenix Jaycee, and know a number of Scottsdale Jaycees. Even in the Mid 80's they were no longer running races there.
November 22, 1975, the NBA hosts the first ever Grand Nationals of BMX at Randall Ranch BMX Track in Newhall, California. This race marks the first time that riders from multiple states participated in a large scale event on purpose.
July 1975, Jim Emerson, Bobby Encinas, John George, Eric Richter, Anthony Galati, Byron Friday, John Palfreyman, and Eric Richter set out from SoCal on the first ever National BMX Tour. Their first stop is Shawnee, Oklahoma. This tour became the central meeting point for bmxers across the country as the summer tour had regular stops in Shawnee. Stu Thomsen and Scot Breithaupt credit big wins at the Shawnee track as pivotal in their national championship runs in the 70's. From this point, the Grand Nationals of BMX was revamped and moved to Oklahoma where it still resides today. Oklahoma, though one of the smallest states, is still one of the few states to host two big nationals each year.
1962 Mattel introduces the Mattell Bronco and Stallion bicycles. These bikes had full suspension on the rear amplified by a swing arm apparatus on the backside of the head tube. They had knobby tires and a mounting place for a "Varoom" plastic engine that was controlled by a throttle piece. These bikes looked and sounded like real motor cycles. Unfortunately, BMX has not recognized this as the first production bmx bike, but it was a straight tube bike that pre dates webco by 12 years. If we are truly documenting history here, this bike must be given its proper place.
July 1975, Jim Emerson, Bobby Encinas, John George, Eric Richter, Anthony Galati, Byron Friday, John Palfreyman, and Eric Richter set out from SoCal on the first ever National BMX Tour. Their first stop is Shawnee, Oklahoma. This tour became the central meeting point for bmxers across the country as the summer tour had regular stops in Shawnee. Stu Thomsen and Scot Breithaupt credit big wins at the Shawnee track as pivotal in their national championship runs in the 70's. From this point, the Grand Nationals of BMX was revamped and moved to Oklahoma where it still resides today. Oklahoma, though one of the smallest states, is still one of the few states to host two big nationals each year.
1962 Mattel introduces the Mattell Bronco and Stallion bicycles. These bikes had full suspension on the rear amplified by a swing arm apparatus on the backside of the head tube. They had knobby tires and a mounting place for a "Varoom" plastic engine that was controlled by a throttle piece. These bikes looked and sounded like real motor cycles. Unfortunately, BMX has not recognized this as the first production bmx bike, but it was a straight tube bike that pre dates webco by 12 years. If we are truly documenting history here, this bike must be given its proper place.
Ironically, you are forgetting HUGE milestones in the history of BMX considering what we are about to see tonight: The direct road of BMX to the Olympics:
April 3, 1981: The founding of the International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF) by Gerrit Does, the founder of BMX in Holland (and Europe as a whole) in 1978 and the NBL founder George Esser (1974). That put BMX truly on an international stage after some foreign racer participation in Renny Roker's JAG World Championships (1978-1983)
January 1, 1993: The IBMXF formally merges with the Federation Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC) (which was holding its own poorly received BMX World Championships for about eight years by that time), the world amateur cycling sanctioning body arm of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the international sanctioning body of cycling to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In 1996 (I've forgotten the exact date, presumably January 1st) IBMXF/FIAC was folded into the UCI and they started handling international BMX races directly. That put it on the road for Olympic admittance, especially after USA Cycling the US cycling sanctioning body to the UCI, acquired the NBL in 1997 representing BMX to the UCI directly through that established channel. That lead to BMX being picked up by the IOC on June 29, 2003.
Without these steps Kyle Bennett, Jill Kintner, Mike Day, Donny Robinson and Great Britain's Shanaze Reade wouldn't be were they are right now.
Oldtimer1980s
April 3, 1981: The founding of the International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF) by Gerrit Does, the founder of BMX in Holland (and Europe as a whole) in 1978 and the NBL founder George Esser (1974). That put BMX truly on an international stage after some foreign racer participation in Renny Roker's JAG World Championships (1978-1983)
January 1, 1993: The IBMXF formally merges with the Federation Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC) (which was holding its own poorly received BMX World Championships for about eight years by that time), the world amateur cycling sanctioning body arm of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the international sanctioning body of cycling to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In 1996 (I've forgotten the exact date, presumably January 1st) IBMXF/FIAC was folded into the UCI and they started handling international BMX races directly. That put it on the road for Olympic admittance, especially after USA Cycling the US cycling sanctioning body to the UCI, acquired the NBL in 1997 representing BMX to the UCI directly through that established channel. That lead to BMX being picked up by the IOC on June 29, 2003.
Without these steps Kyle Bennett, Jill Kintner, Mike Day, Donny Robinson and Great Britain's Shanaze Reade wouldn't be were they are right now.
Oldtimer1980s
I'm on my way out of town but want to comment on these dates and items of history for sure..
One thing I WILL say is that I have a newspaper clipping from 1974 which has "Results from Palms Park 2nd Season".. dated in 74 means they started in 73 to me.. I have never seen any documented proof of that July 1969 date.. I do however have several living humans who DID attend and took pictures in Nov 1970 at BUMS BMX in Long Beach...
More later.. Gotta go.. I WILL find that clipping on Palms when I get back..
C-Ya..
OM
One thing I WILL say is that I have a newspaper clipping from 1974 which has "Results from Palms Park 2nd Season".. dated in 74 means they started in 73 to me.. I have never seen any documented proof of that July 1969 date.. I do however have several living humans who DID attend and took pictures in Nov 1970 at BUMS BMX in Long Beach...
More later.. Gotta go.. I WILL find that clipping on Palms when I get back..
C-Ya..
OM
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