The motocross season is all revved up in New Brunswick as more families turn to the individual sport amid COVID-19.
“I can see a lot of young kids, they are all five and six and seven now and they are all coming out of the woodwork,” said motocross instructor Lee Steeves, a former pro racer who has been teaching the sport in New Brunswick for 20 years.
As co-owner of Riverglade Motocross, Steeves says the number of kids showing up to practise at the track has doubled in the last few weeks and many are newcomers to the sport.
“This year it is on an upswing. There are lots of new families coming into the sport that haven’t been involved with it before and I think it is more because it is an individual sport,” he said.
On Monday evenings, Steeves said kids 12 and under can come out to the track to practise as part of a fundraiser for the Salisbury Lions Club.
Jason Wilson of Salisbury, N.B., chose not to put his six-year-old son, Brett, in a team sport this summer. Instead, he got him a mini bike and feels that his boy is safer taking part in a sport where it is easier to practise physical distancing.
“Our son is a Type 1 diabetic so we try and shield him a little bit more,” said Wilson.
Dealers that sell offroad motorcycles and ATVs are also seeing a surge in sales. The owner of Toys for Big Boys in Moncton, Larry Northrup, who also co-owns Riverglade Motocross, said he is having a hard time finding stock to sell.
“It’s been really strong this year for anything off-road,” said Northrup, who also attributes the increase in sales to more families looking for individual sports.
Instead of being inside on the computer, kids are outside getting dirty while feeling the wind in their faces and sometimes even getting air.
“I got air on some of the jumps, which I like,” said Brett Wilson.
While Steeves said he is eager for the pandemic to end, he said he doesn’t think the growth of the sport will run out of gas any time soon.
“As they turn into teenagers they may take up racing, they may just go trail riding, but I think it is definitely going to show growth for years to come”.
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