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Taking your kid(s) to a USA BMX National ~ A parents experience

By White Lotus Media on January 22, 2023 • ( 1 )

The Great Northwest Nationals will be coming to Redmond, OR March 24th -26th. For many Oregon and Washington riders this will be their first experience at a USA BMX national. We have decided to re-post an article from December 2016. In the article Brian and Heidi Bowers go over what their experiences were bringing their son to a National for the first time.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Great Northwest and Lumberjack Nationals.

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With the season opener coming up in Las Vegas (January 13th – 15th, 2017). We thought this would be a time to repost of one of our past interviews.

Parents: Brian & Heidi Bowers

Number of kid (s) – 1
Age(s) – 13
Class(es) – 13x
Years Racing – 3

BMXOR – Did you have any anxiety the first time your kid(s) raced a national.

Parent – Yes, it was a coaster ride for three days, up and down, up and down! As a matter of fact, that hasn’t changed!

BMXOR – Even though staging, registration, etc. is the same. Does the magnitude of the event change how this process feels/works.

Parent – For sign ups, that’s pretty much the same but for staging, it’s a big difference because of the amount of kids and the intensity they bring to the Nationals, it is way different than a single point race.

BMXOR – Once your kid(s) are registered. What is the next step? Such as practice, etc.

Parent – We stratigize about the weekend, he warms up, has a good practice, carbs up, and gets lots of sleep!

BMXOR – What is a good way to approach the previous question?

Parent – We make a plan for the weekend on the trip there.

BMXOR – I know it is different for each kid(s), but what do you find keeps it a lower stress weekend?

Parent – For us, we know that Gavin rides better when he’s happy and having fun, sometimes that means reminding Dad of that!

BMXOR – What kind of things make it a high stress weekend?

Parent – There are many things that can contribute to the stress level, rider count, who’s there, do you have your six wins, am I going to like this track, etc…….For Gavin, being on a team going for Factory #1 put a little extra stress on him this year.

BMXOR – How important is it to prep your kids bike/gear before the race? Why?

Parent – It’s very important, your bike and gear should always be at 100% so that way, when the rider hits the track, they only have to worry about performance.

BMXOR – How much different does a national compared to the feel of a local race?

Parent – There’s no comparison, the intensity level is so much different.

BMXOR– There are three days to a national weekend. One local race & two national races. How does this change the intensity of a weekend? Is it about the same or harder than a big SCR weekend in your home state?

Parent – The intensity is much greater when comparing. For us, after coming home from Nationals with hundreds of motos, to an SCR that might have a third of that makes for less stress.

BMXOR – If you were to give a parent some advice & it could be only one sentence long. What would it be?

Parent – Remember to have fun and enjoy these moments with your kid(s)!

Ps…….Keep lots of cash in your pocket! 😉