The Bmx Craze Still Running For Young And Old

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday July 31, 1989

HEATHER SMITH

There was a time in the middle to late 70s when there was a new fad every couple of months.

The days of hopscotch for girls and marbles for boys had well and truly gone.

If it wasn't Coke or Fanta yo-yos, it was Rubik's Cubes or Frisbees. And if you didn't have a Totem Tennis set, well, you just weren't with it.

When BMX bikes hit the Australian market many thought they, too, were just a passing phase.

Years down - or should that be "around" - the track BMXs are still going strong. Every weekend at the local track kids from as young as three-years-old to cyclists in their mid-20s race their bikes.

Parents become their child's support crew and the 400m track a grand prix circuit as riders burst out of the starting gates and hurl themselves over jumps.

Tony and Alison Dessaix , BMX clothing manufacturers and parents of BMX-mad children, are not surprised at the sport's survival.

"When our oldest boys started school we chose BMX because we could go out as a family together," Tony Dessaix said. "The whole family participates, which is one reason why I think the sport has not just died out."

His seven-year-old daughter Julie is the star of the family, winning her first State title at six. On Friday she will be representing Australia at the world BMX championships in Brisbane, where the youngest competitors will be five-years-old.

"Although there's always a bit of tension among the parents, Julie never worries about her race," her father said. "But she loves winning. In fact she told me she doesn't just want to go to the world championships just to be there, she wants to win."

Julie first rode a BMX when she was three years and nine months old. By the time she was four she was beating everyone - boys included - in the under-fives division and has gone on from there.

Currently NSW's No2 rider - she lost her No1 position when she slipped at the start of the most recent State championship semi-finals - Julie trains every day to keep her winning edge.

"She usually trains at either Blacktown or Castle Hill (BMX tracks) and up and down hilly streets," her father said. "She beat me the other day.

"We encourage her because she shows a lot of potential but she only trains because she wants to. She also swims and does gymnastics. She's pretty much an all-round athlete."