09.01.09 - CCA BMX ID camp at the Chula Vista OTC on the BMX Supercross track

The Camp was a continuation of the ID camps held in the spring. This was the first camp to be held on a Supercross (SX) track. For many of the athletes involved in the camp it was their first time on the Olympic style of track.

The track in Chula Vista was originally made as a replica to the Olympic track in Beijing. The track has since been altered slightly and increased in difficulty. The track has the traditional SX start hill, which is higher and more steeply angled (8 metres and 28 degrees). At the bottom of the hill is a 39ft double, followed by another 38ft double into a 42ft triple step up. Up until this point the male and female athlete used the same track, out of the first turn the track splits in two. The male side takes a traditional pro-section with berm gap and the female side looks similar to a local track, just bigger. The third straight is similar to the second with the sections coming back together in the final turn. The track finishes with a deep rhythm section and a sprint to the line. Everything about SX tracks is bigger and faster. If an athlete’s has a minor flaw in their abilities it is exaggerated with the extra speed and size of jumps.

The camp kicked off on Tuesday August 25th and ran until Saturday August 29th. Through-out the camp the athletes worked on the different areas of the track. For the most part after 5 days the male athletes were able to not only complete the track but do it cleanly and consistently. The female athletes found the track more of a challenge; with the exception of the first jump they were able to make it around the track. Every single athlete that attended the camp was challenged by the track and every athlete has grown from the experience. Over the course of the camp the athletes were tested for selection for the upcoming SX events to be held in Chula Vista September 18-19th and Frejus, France October 9-10th.

The camp was a great opportunity for the athletes that were invited to attend and the first step to developing athletes on SX tracks. The CCA is already planning to have more camps on the SX tracks. It is the intentions of the CCA to bring a group of younger athletes, with their respected provincial programs, for development as well as National team athletes to these future camps. We need to help improve our high performance athletes as well as start to develop the next group of athletes, with this style of track being used at the World Championships and Olympic games our success depends on it.

This is just the beginning.