This spring brings an awesome opportunity for some hardworking young athletes in Calgary.
About 25 BMX riders are on track to take on the world. They’ve been selected to represent Canada at the 2024 UCI BMX World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling to get to wear the maple leaf on your back,” rider Daisy Kettle, 16, said. “It’s not something a lot of people get to say they’ve done in their life.”
The Calgary riders will be competing alongside approximately 4,000 riders from nearly 50 countries.
“You’re going to have riders competing from all over the world,” Calgary BMX organizer Colin Lolacher said. “From Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Britain – you name it. They’re going to be there.”
The Calgary riders who have qualified for Team Canada at the world championships range in age from eight to their early 20s.
“This is my first year competing at worlds,” Carter Berry, 15, said. “It’s kind of crazy, because I’ve been training a lot and now I’m finally ready to go compete there, so it’s a pretty good feeling.”
Some of the riders have been training on their BMX bikes since the age of four.
“It’s cool, how fast I’m going,” eight-year-old Ryker Lolacher said. “And then getting faster and faster and faster.”
The South Carolina event runs from May 12-18.
“I think it’ll be pretty fun,” Logan Lee, 12, said. “I’ll have a lot of my friends there and it’ll be quite competitive.”
Many of the Calgary riders are training five days a week to prepare for the world championships.
“It’s definitely a male-dominated sport, so being a girl is definitely cool, and something to be proud of,” Kettle said. “I like the speed, I like the thrill of it.”