BMX is back

Following a week-long summer holiday road safety and cycling training at the track near St Maurice’s High School, 15 young racers divided into two groups did battle. Some 24 children took part in the training course, from Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and other nearby towns including Stepps. The prizewinners on the day in the Under 10 race were 1st – Andrew Herron; 2nd – Cameron Reid; 3rd – Thomas Boyle.

In the 10+ race, the medals went to Carla Herron (1st), Mark Louden (2nd) and Megan Burns (3rd).

Raymond Reid, who runs Cumbernauld BMX Club, said: “It was a good start after about twenty years wihout BMX racing in the town, with a good turnout and the races were enjoyed by all the kids. The two third placed riders were new to BMX and managed to place ahead of club regulars – a fantastic result and testimony to the practical success of the event.”

Raymond also thanked the North Lanarkshire Road Safety Team, who have worked closely with the club throughout their summer holiday training progamme.

“Now we’re up and running we want to take the club to another level. The course is not yet in a suitable condition or layout so we hope to raise the funds to transform it into a truly top-class venue for national BMX competitions.

“Our research of this project shows that we’ll need to raise around £120,000 to reach that standard. This is especially important to us as we have the Olympics coming up in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in 2014, so we can see a lot more people becoming interested in BMX. Champions like Sir Chris Hoy started out as BMX riders and we see no reason why we shouldn’t be able to train a future champion at Cumbernuald. Many of the top tracks in England are in industrialised areas while the Cumbernauld one is surrounded by outstanding natural beauty, so if we can bring it up to standard we will have one of the most attractive BMX racing venues in Britain.”

Cumbernauld BMX Club was also recently awarded £1650 by the Big Lottery Fund for four new BMX bikes plus equipment. This funding success saw Jamie Hepburn MSP congratulate them in the Scottish Parliament, while Cumbernauld’s MP Gregg McClymont also passed on his congratulations.