songo.info Race Report: SA BMX Champs

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SA BMX Champs

From the 27th to the 29th of September, the songo.info team attended the final two rounds of the 2024 SA BMX Cup series as well as SA BMX Champs. The event took place at the Zone 7 BMX Club on the outskirts of Durbanville. We have been preparing for this event for several months and our goal was to make it a weekend to remember for the kids, writes Bradley Stow. This is only the second time in over 20 years that the Western Cape has hosted SA BMX Champs so it was important that we gave as many kids as possible the opportunity to compete and experience a big event such as this.

songo.info entered ten riders for the event which is more than we normally select for Nationals but still only 10% of the eligible kids we have in the program. The criteria we used to decide who would compete was a combination of their general behavior at the clubhouse, how they are doing at school and their commitment and dedication on the bike. The team chosen consisted of three girls and seven boys aged between 10 and 18 years old.

SA BMX Champs

Ready to race!

The event started on Friday afternoon with official practice which we attended. Unfortunately the kids didn’t get a chance to ride the newly built track at Zone 7 beforehand so it was important for them to get comfortable on the track as quickly as possible. Racing began the following morning and the team was very nervous. Quite a few of the Songo.info kids chosen for the event had not raced a National before so it took some time to adjust to the higher intensity. The weather also made things tough for everyone with strong winds and low temperature on the Saturday and rain on the Sunday. It was however great for me to see how the teams results improved over the course of the weekend with all the kids performing extremely well at SA Champs on the Sunday. It was also good to see how the songo team supported one another as well as the support we received from the BMX community.

The level of racing was very high with all the best BMX racers in the country giving their all to win. BMX might not get the same number of entries that a MTB or Road cycling race would but the people who compete are very committed and highly skilled. 

SA BMX Champs

The newly built Zone 7 BMX Track is great fun to ride and race.

It was a great event and I am extremely proud of the team. We came home with multiple medals and SA numbers including two songo girls getting SA2 and one very happy boy getting SA1 in their respective age groups. Results aside, I think it was a great experience for the kids and a weekend they will hopefully all remember for years to come. 

I would like to extend a big thank you to Zone 7 BMX club for hosting us as well as BMX South Africa for their help and support at the event. And finally, a massive thank you to Ninety One and Specialized Bicycles for their continued support. Without them none of this would have been possible. 

SA BMX Champs

Friends of songo also competed in songo.info colours at the 2024 SA BMX Champs.