1. A Proposal for a Unified
Canadian BMX Program

2. Letter to the BMX community of
Canada
Here is the proposed plan for the development of our sport in Canada. Please
take the time to read through and see what we believe to be a good solution to our
fractured community. It's time to put behind us all the bad blood and move forward
for the growth of the sport and our racers.
The plan is open to new ideas and perspectives. If you have ideas that could
improve upon it, please feel free to talk to your fellow riders and parents. The more
we discuss these issues, the better we all will be.
The central goal of the Plan is to unite our BMX community in Canada, to help it
grow, to foster cooperation and to help it achieve success it has never seen before.
Just like the community you live in, all the members must have the same goals and
work together to achieve those goals.
After you have read the Plan, if you feel that this is a framework that you would
like to support, please sign the petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cbu/ If
the majority of the BMX community in Canada feels strongly that unity is the best
option and would like to see the Plan implemented, then we can take steps to make
that happen. Cycling in Canada needs to get behind what the majority in our sport
want.

3. Pieces of the Proposal
A BMX Plan for Canada
1 Where It All Starts- The Tracks (slide 4)
2 When Talent Emerges (slide 7)
3 Junior Development Ideas (slide 9)
4 Elite Development Ideas (slide 11)
5 The New Race Series Explained (slide 12)
6 Training, Coaching, Training Facilities (slide 15)
7 How and Why All The Pieces Work Together (slide 17)
8 Addressing Opposition to The Plan (slide 23)

4. Where It All Starts : The Tracks
BMX begins at the local track. We discover
a track, do a few laps and then decide to
start racing. The parents, riders and
volunteers at these local tracks are the
bloodline in our sport. They keep the riders
coming back again and again by creating a
fun and safe environment for the kids to
learn and ride at their own pace.
•Keeping it fun for the kids (prizes and games) and you want your racers to go tell their friends
how much fun it is at the track
•Ensuring that the local track focuses on all levels of participants, not any one particular group
and that programs are in place to meet the needs of all levels. It allows the novice rider to
come and race and have fun with their friends. As the intermediate rider is starting to get more
focussed and more competitive, having programs available to help he/she excel. As well, the
expert racer is being challenged and engaged and valued in the local track program
•Ensuring that everyone feels included- parents and racers alike (get parents involved in helping
out, make it fun for them with social events or activities after racing, organizing group travel to
bigger events such as Provincial race weekends)

5. Things that help make a local track successful
are:
• Encouraging higher level athletes to keep racing at the local level to help support the club
and also to provide an example of high level racing for the novice and intermediate riders to
strive for. Also to encourage those experienced racers to interact with young/new riders-
chat with them, give them pointers, recognize how they did in their race
• Offer open class or ProAms for the teenage riders, they can earn their race fees back in
prize money or find sponsors for the series to increase the prizes
• A support system that provides effective administration and assists the track in its efforts to
recruit new members and run solid programs for existing members
• A local track team program that all racers have the option to join to help everyone feel that
they belong to a group, including track team jerseys and extra practice nights- because in
BMX no one sits on the bench!
• Special attention to brand new riders- first race trophies, move up certificates or mementos
and time spent educating them on basic rules and racing information
• A consistent and constant education process as BMX is often foreign to new people (talking
about rules, providing clinics and instruction, mentoring, sharing information about
development opportunities)
• Having a good solid membership of a variety of ages which provides for motos of similar age
and ability (new riders get discouraged when they have to race up in age too far or in a
higher proficiency)
• A good flow of riders between tracks that are in close proximity to each other (this also
helps provide the more full classes of riders and can be enhanced with a local track race
series/track team championship or educating about and providing incentives for district
rankings)

6. For the true and absolute success of the BMX Plan all the tracks need to be operating under the
same rules, points and membership system.
This keeps costs for the family reasonable as there is only one type of membership to buy. It allows for the
local inter track races series to be easily coordinated and for the flow of riders between tracks on regular race
nights as everyone is racing under the same system.
Additionally, It takes away the element of negativity that exists with two different sanctions which most
families get exposed to at some point in their first or second season. The energy that is put into the sanction
"war" will be eliminated and efforts put into doing things twice or two different ways can be funneled into
improvement of a single program.
The main advantage to all tracks working together is that efforts to improve the success of BMX are combined
and can reach a broader number of new and old riders.

7. When Talent Emerges
The potential of a racer seems to emerge at different times for different kids.
Some racers are strong right from the get go. This may be because they have a size/strength advantage or it
may be because they have focus that other kids their age don't yet have.
For some racers BMX is more about fun than serious winning until they hit adolescence and then they start to
get down to business, set a goal and work at it. The point is that winning when you are six doesn’t mean you
will be a world champion when you are twenty one. Talent is going to emerge at varying ages and the BMX
Plan has to have a program for each group.
When that talent is identified it needs to have a program to go to so it may be nurtured for its full potential
while the racer is still interested. Often we see kids come out to the local track who have a natural ability,
they race for a year or so and then they disappear. BMX in Canada needs a formal program that can recognize
the potential in a racer who participates at the local track and gives he/she the tools they need (and want) to
take it to the next level.

8. There are a variety of different ways that this could be set up:
A designated track volunteer who sees a rider with potential and then passes him/her off to a series of
local clinics that are designed to help them improve their skills. These clinics could be run at the Provincial
Cycling Association level. It might be that this program is for racers that are being prepared for the formal
Junior Development Program.
It could also be a Provincial Cycling Association coach who coordinates the monthly (or bi monthly clinics)
and it would be up to them to spend time at each track on a regular basis looking for these racers.
It could also be that each track has their own coach and that coach is watching for emerging talent on a
regular basis and then working with those groups of kids at their home track.
Somehow, when a rider shows promise at the local level we need to notice that rider and give them an
opportunity to explore their potential. The developmental program need to be explained and that rider
needs to be recognized for their abilities or improvements. A coach that identifies an emerging talent could
give that rider a “Coach’s Pass” for free racing at the next race. The development program at this level
needs to absolutely maintain a fun atmosphere to keep it light but let them find out what their possibilities
are in the sport.
There are so many directions that this can be offered and working together we can discover new and
innovative ways of enlarging our local pool of talent and keeping it fun at the same time.
At this level of development it would be ideal to offer this program at no cost to the racer.

9. Junior Development Ideas
Junior Development needs to be the next step for any racer that
shows full interest and complete commitment at any age, but
restricted to expert level riders. Junior Development should offer
consistent interactive coaching. It should offer personalized basic
training plans for the racers and a relationship between coach and
racer should be developed that provides ongoing motivation, support
For the younger racers, 5-9 yearsand advice.
old, Junior Development needs to be tailored
to that age group to make sure it doesn't overwork them but assists in
maintaining their interest in the sport and emphasizes fun. It should include the
absolute basics of training plans and should be centered around a positive
atmosphere and encouragement.
Junior Development could also be offered in two tiers- one program for all
engaged athletes who have been accepted and then another program for
athletes that have been identified for potential at a high level and are being
prepared for Elite Development. The second tier should have an age limit,
perhaps accepting racers at 11-12 years of age and older. The first tier should
have a focus of preparing for the second tier, formalizing their training, getting
race experience at easily accessible Canadian and US National events, working
to be the top of their age group in Canada. But always keeping it fun and
interesting to the athletes.

10. The second tier should have an elevated focus of gaining as much race
experience as possible against the best riders- typically this will be at US
Nationals where the classes are large and the talent is deep. The second tier
will learn about focus on their sport and hone their training processes for
maximum benefit. Things like sport psychology and nutrition should be
included in this phase.
When younger racers travel to the UCI Worlds they also need a coach to
support them at these large events. Often it is their first experience and it is
rather different than what they experience at home. The Plan suggests that
each year one coach is selected from amongst the Provincial Cycling
Associations to travel to the UCI Worlds to assist, guide and coach the
Canadian Challenge class entrants.
It is acceptable at this level that a fee be associated with the Junior
Development coaching services.

11. Elite Development
Ideas
At this level the athletes should be assisted financially while securing the best coaching fit possible.
Getting those riders to the required events is imperative and the only way to gain experience at the
highest calibre. This can be Tier Two of the Junior Development, including racers of a certain age
(suggesting 14+) right up to current elite racers.
Elite development should be coordinated and executed by the National BMX Coach employed by
CCC. This should be a person devoted solely for the ultimate success of our elite athletes. The
National Coach won't necessarily directly coach the elite athletes, he/she will ensure they have a
coach that complements the athlete, work with them to secure funding for this high level training,
work with Junior Development riders to prepare for their elite path and ensure that all information
regarding funding, coaching and training is readily available. The National Coach’s should be accessible
to the BMX public and easy to understand. The National Coach should also have a system in place to
monitor the effectiveness of each athlete’s coaching program and the progress they are making.
Elite and Junior riders need as much financial support as possible to get to International UCI races and
to fund their training and coaching programs. There is currently support through Sport Canada but
the ideal would be to create a National Charity that seeks corporate sponsorship so we can provide
the best in coaching and travel for our top athletes.

12. The New Race Series Explained
This would look very similar to what the series across Canada currently looks like. The difference would be
that under the BMX Plan, all racers would be able to race all series with only one license.
There would be a new Regional (West and East) competition and title which is something that USABMX
introduced in 2011 with the merger of ABA and NBL. Series would start at the local levels and move up to
Provincial, East/West and National with additional series for fund-raising or specialty awards.Most importantly
it would eliminate the double scheduling issues and the difficulty some families have when trying to race as
much in both of the current programs as possible - financially and time wise.
In 2012, two prime examples of scheduling conflict are:
•The Canada Cup #1 and #2 races in Quebec being held the same weekend as the Great Salt Lake Nationals
•The Canadian Championship and Canada Cup final being held the same weekend as the Black Jack Nationals
in Reno.
These two examples of schedule conflicts are a solid testament as to why we need to
unify and work together.

13. District Point Racing This where it all starts, every race has points awarded and the
rider can track their progress without having to race anywhere else.
Intertrack Local Series- racers earn points between local tracks and earn champion
titles based on these points, possibly coordinate Pro Am series races between tracks
that are in close proximity, can also run track team competitions
Provincial Race Series Provincial bodies with existing successful Provincial series are
encouraged to maintain the framework that is currently working for them.
Recommended that there be only one Provincial series within each Province.
Regional Race Series (West and East) -based on the new series run in the USA with
USABMX, points from the current National series are used to determine West and
East Champions
National Race Series- embrace the current BMXCanada model and try to develop it
further with more excitement built around the Pro series. More advertising, bigger
sponsors and create an event where spectators want to come out and watch the
best that Canada has to offer.
Possibly the Grand Nationals finale would be hosted in a Province that is more central so it is
more accessible to both sides of the country. A facility such as Evraz Place at the Brandt Centre
in Regina, Saskatchewan could be considered to host the event annually.

14. Provincial Summer Games- all Provinces should make it a priority to have BMX entered as a
sport in their Summer Games. This is an excellent event that encourages the development of
track officials and volunteers as well as racers.
UCI races- BMXCanada has a complete staff of trained UCI commissaires so it would be an
option to have them assist in these events until there are enough qualified and experienced
officials in Canada to do this when required. In the USA they host UCI events in conjunction with
USABMX National series events and the same can happen in Canada. The Provincial Cycling
Association would assist in the process of application through the CCC to secure these events.
Existing Canadian Championship races could be run the same as US National Championship races
with a National weekend and open only to Canadian racers. This could be a weekend that runs a
National on Friday, a National on Saturday and the Canadian Championship on Sunday (the appeal
of two National events for American racers would still be available).

15. Training, Coaching & Facilities
Different levels of coaching are starting to appear within the local tracks and in BMX
in general. These coaches are what every tack and rider needs to improve the talent
pool. In years past, riders have had to look for coaching on an individual basis but
having a coach that is available to all riders is a necessity. Traditional sports such as
hockey and soccer offer coaching on a regular basis and this has always been lacking in
Canadian BMX.
The process as it stands is fractured and the goals and visions are varied. We need to
formalize the coaching process on all of the levels.
One philosophy is that there should be less racing and more coaching at the local
track level. The suggestion of the Plan is that the amount of available racing stays the
same but the coaching increases. Racing is the sport and the experience of it is vital to
the athlete, especially racing on different tracks, against different racers and challenging
yourself against the best competition you can find.
The program could hire, train and mentor coaches from each Province. It could be set
up under the current Cycling Canada National Coach. There would be one National
Coach Program coordinator under the CCC National Coach, and then one Provincial
Coach Coordinator with each Provincial Body. Each Provincial coordinator would
ensure there are coaches, coordinate their efforts for the tracks and also oversee and

16. BMX in Canada currently has one Supercross hill in Abbotsford and two more in
development stages, one in Alberta and one in Ontario. It is fantastic that Canadian
BMX understands the importance of having these easily accessible to our higher level
riders. All three can be designated training facilities. The ideal is that each Province
would have its own centre but if that is not the case the closest centre must be
readily available to nearby Provinces.
Billeting programs could be created with families in the area to assist in getting racers
to the training facilities and help keep costs reasonable.

17. How and Why All the Pieces
Work Together
In The BMX Plan the goal is to create cohesive community working toward a common
goal.
•Canadian Cycling recommends that everyone which it currently is. Basically the role of CCC
The Plan Cyclisme is the National body, comes together in this framework:
stays the same with the exception of it now encompasses ALL BMX tracks in Canada as
members under this proposed framework.
•A Canadian BMX Committee is created. The role of this committee is to oversee the constant
implementation of The BMX Plan. They would ensure the plan is in place, take ideas for
enhancement of the plan, report to CCC on the effectiveness of the plan. The Committee would
be made up of one elected member representative from each Province. That member would
monitor the Plan’s success in their Province.
•A Canadian BMX Non Profit is created with the sole focus of securing funding for programs
and working with the Canadian BMX Committee and the Provincial Cycling Associations to
determine how funds raised will be disbursed.
•The Provincial Cycling Associations oversee BMX coaching, rider development and training
facilities in each Province. Each track is affiliated with the Provincial Cycling Association. Track
Operators work with the Provincial Cycling Association to generate ideas and plans to constantly
improve the development program. At least an annual Track Operator meeting is hosted by the
Provincial Association to keep this process moving forward.

18. •One BMXCanada employee. The role of this Canadian employee might be to
assist at the National series events, to be a Track Director to Canadian tracks, to
assist with membership marketing (as an additional resource to help the local
tracks with increasing their membership bases, possibly working in partnership
with the Provincial Cycling Association)
•The Local Tracks are non profit incorporated societies, all affiliated with their
Provincial Cycling Association but their programs are sanctioned by BMXCanada.
The BMXCanada system is used for membership, moto building, races series
coordination, racing rules, points tracking, insurance. The tracks have a
partnership with the Provincial Cycling Association.
•The National Coach- one goal of the National coach would be to make sure that
Canada is producing top level coaches, even to the point that they are sought after
outside of Canada. Works with Elite and Junior level riders as this role currently
does (discussed in slide 14).

19. The Provincial Cycling Association maintains the current Board of Director
position that is specific to BMX but the role is more centered around
development and making sure that the BMX Plan is being implemented
effectively in their Province. The BMX Plan recommends at least one staff
member dedicated to BMX who works under the Board of Directors
executing development.
Coaches would be hired, certified and scheduled through the Provincial
Cycling Association. Additionally, there could be one or two coaches whose
job description is to circulate among local tracks looking for emerging talent
(as described above). Possibly their role would be to increase membership
and interest to BMX for all of the tracks that are their responsibility as well.
This would take the pressure off of the existing Track Operators who have
enough on their plates keeping their own kids interested in races, getting
them to races, running the operation of their track as well as working and
maintaining their own families. This might look like one coach per region (ie;
In BC- Lower Mainland, Okanagan+ PG and Kootenay, Vancouver Island)
With insurance, membership, race organization marketing and awards being
taken care of under BMXCanada, this frees up funds that the Provincial
Cycling Association previously spent to help toward development programs
or employing more coaches/staff for BMX.

20. Yes, the recommendation is that an American company runs the racing program.
They have an incredible product developed and fine tuned over the last three
decades that we would be foolish not to take advantage of. BMXCanada is
operated by and employs staff with extensive BMX experience who have been
actual racers, track operators and/or BMX parents. Any association that is
considering spending time and money reinventing grassroots programs, especially
the administrative process, is doing an injustice to the Canadian BMX community.
We need to move forward and stop wasting energy and resources on areas that
already have highly effective processes in place that are being readily offered for us
to use to our advantage.
The program needs to support Canada in as many ways as possible.. Things like
using Canadian manufacturers for awards such as plates, jerseys, tshirts, etc.
Securing Canadian companies for sponsorship and actively promoting those
companies (including finding companies that are promotable to our community).
Training our own coaches to an international level so that at some point our
athletes may choose them over coaches from other countries. Using local talent
as much as possible for things like announcing large races and track building. The
Provincial Cycling Associations would end up employing more BMX specific staff,
in particular coaches. And BMXCanada would be asked to also employ a Canadian
staff member who would assist in all aspects of their program operating in Canada.

21. The other vital piece to BMXCanada being the race program sanctioning
body in The BMX Plan is that having their services allows for the flow of
American riders into Canada to happen. And for Canadian riders to easily
participate in their races south of the border.
It doesn't take long for a BMX family to see the benefits of racing riders that
are better than you and challenging yourself to try and beat those riders. US
riders take their BMX very seriously and they set the bar high for
performance. If Canadian riders did not have access to this program (and US
riders were not interested in participating in our National series races) it
would be highly detrimental to the development of our racers.
We have racers in Canada that can go and compete in the USABMX
National races, some that make mains, some can make the top three and
some can even win. This would not happen if we lock ourselves into
Canadian only racing and not expose our athletes to the fierce competition
our southern neighbors provide.
In turn, when those riders return from the USABMX races they bring back
their experience and set that bar within their race community. Having the

22. These are the pieces. This is the way they work together and why it
will help our program in Canada meet its full potential.
If we have a proper structure and plan as laid out above we will be able
to effectively increase membership and interest in our awesome sport.
We will be able to provide professional and highly respectable services
from the local track racing program, to multi level development
opportunities to identifying our best racers and supporting them in
their ultimate goals of competing internationally for Canada.
By working together and supporting each other and the different levels
within the plan we will be better able to make improvements to what
we currently have and to set goals and achieve them as a cohesive
community.

23. Addressing Opposition
to the Plan
to the Plan
"All Canadian tracks operating under one sanction"
This will be the largest point of opposition to the Plan as it has been a constant issue for
almost as long as BMX has been alive in Canada. When you read the Plan you need to
take away all of your biases and your past experiences and instead keep in your mind the
ultimate goal of a successful, growing BMX program in Canada which provides the
opportunity for development of all BMX athletes to the level that they wish to attain.
If you keep that at the forefront and expel any tunnel vision (regardless of which sanction
you support) you will see that with our relatively small community of approximately
3000-4000 racers across Canada it does not make sense to have two separate systems. It
does makes sense to pool our resources and drive our efforts together. Some will say it
is healthy to have competition, maybe like McDonalds versus Burger King, but the reality
is we are a very small market. We simply do not have the numbers to support two
separate ways of doing things.
With any sport in Canada, government funding is a necessity to build facilities, train
coaches and athletes. Our tracks, programs and riders should all feel the benefit of this
resource, it should not be limited to those that are part of a certain group. It needs to be
inclusive of every racer in Canada. That is part of what makes us Canadian.

24. "BMXCanada is an American company"
Yes it is. Consider a few things:
•BMXCanada is a customer service oriented company whose success comes from offering a
superior program and continually striving to improve it
•BMXCanada has spent the last 9 years improving the quality of the product that they offer in
Canada and will continue to do so. The bigger our program is the more money they will invest.
•Having an American based company sanction our racing programs and members allows for their
US riders to participate in our races and visa versa which only assists in the improvement of
Canadian racers
•Having BMXCanada take care of the administration of race schedules, memberships, insurance
and track support allows our program and our money to focus on development of racers.
•BMX Canada is a company that is here to help our program. It is not planning a takeover that
eats up small operations. The tracks in Canada are all non profit incorporated societies. This
means that the majority of their income stays in their own programs and supports the growth of
BMX in Canada. BMX Canada wants to support the tracks and help them and the membership
grow. This produces more income, some of which goes to their company but most of which
stays at the track and within Canada and gives us the resources to improve. Ultimately, you can
think of it as contracting a portion of the program to an American company.
To find more information about what BMXCanada currently offers to their tracks and racers please have a
look at: www.whybmxcanada.org

25. There are many other aspects to our sport (and any sport) that happen outside of Canada.
•Abbotsford BMX just employed Tom Ritzenhaler to rebuild their track, he is American.
•Tory Nyhaug uses a French coach and has for years.
•Canadian BMX coach, Ken Cools, lives in New Zealand and trains their riders.
•Most of the bikes, parts and gear for racing comes from American companies.
•The company that is putting on the first Supercross event in Abbotsford, BC this
September is an American for profit company called Global SX Events
Canada cannot simply sit inside our country using our own products, our own people and
our own racers and create our program within our country only and then expect our racers
to be able to compete internationally. When BMXCanada hosts a National event at a
Canadian track the local tourism economy gets a boost in that location from all of the
racers that come from out of town.

26. "But it’s fine the way it is"
Actually no it is not.
There are currently numerous different things going on in Canada which are interrupting the flow of
progress that we could be making in a National effort to move forward.
•BC has 12 tracks operating under BMXCanada and 4 under CCC*
•Alberta has all of their tracks operating under CCC*
•Ontario has all of their tracks sanctioned by BMXCanada and are partnered with CCC*
•Quebec has all of their tracks sanctioned by CCC*
•There has not been a National series in the last 10+ years that is inclusive of all tracks/racers in
Canada
This situation between Alberta and BC is not currently effective as BC riders do not typically go to
Alberta for very many races. Although an increased number of Alberta riders have been attending
BMXCanada races in BC. Under one sanction, the racers would see benefit from racing in each other’s
Province and would be able to easily support one another’s programs. With the current separate point
structures there is little interest in traveling out of Province. The best thing we currently see is the
increase of Alberta racers in the BMX Canada National series but the ideal would be that BMXCanada
hosts Nationals in Alberta that would draw racers from BC, the US and possibly the east side of
Canada. Alberta racers are increasingly attending USABMX Nationals but USA racers are not attending
Alberta races.

27. "What is in it for my Provincial Cycling Association if we implement the Plan?"
The biggest win for the Provincial Cycling Associations is the formalization of
their development programs. Layers to the programs will be defined and steps
to accessing those programs will be clear and will be available to all racers
equally regardless of where they live.
Each Provincial Cycling Association will be able to run their programs
individually with their own ideas and initiatives for success but the basic
structure will be similar from Province to Province.
If all the tracks are working together to grow their programs and are receiving
support from their Provincial Cycling Associations AND from BMXCanada
then the membership will grow. With a larger membership, the opportunity to
secure funding and grants at the Provincial level will improve. If we have
professional and respectable development programs that are actually seeing
results for their racers, then racers will be more likely to stay committed to
the sport in general.

28. Yes, part of this proposed Plan for BMX in Canada is to expand the amount of tracks that
are sanctioned under BMXCanada. This is for the good of the sport in our country. This is
so that we can take advantage of a superior track/grassroots racing system that is already in
place and allow our community to spend more time and money on increasing membership
and on racer development. This is so that we can finally end the “Sanction Wars’ that have
gone on since the beginning of BMX in Canada and we can lay it to rest and move forward.
We hope that you will support this goal for the good of our sport and our racers.
Canadians racing BMX are ALL proud of our Canadian heritage and are ALL patriotic
people, but we recognize that it is impossible to not engage American products and services
in our sport. Let’s use what they offer to our advantage and expand what we do in Canada
and make this all happen together.
Sports are community, BMX is community, communities need to work together to reap
progress. The sport of cycling in Canada needs to get behind a master plan for BMX and
ensure that it is inclusive, fair and effective. Our community needs to lay down the weapons
that create destruction and engage in cohesive efforts to see success from the local track
and novice rider right on up to Tory Nyhaug and the other elite racers such as Connor
McCormack, Jimmy Brown, Amelia Walsh and Mischa Partridge.