June 22/05 10:38 am - BMX Nationals: Team Ontario Report

Posted by Editoress on 06/22/05
 

BMX National Championships June 19th, Airdrie, Alberta
Nicky Pearson, BMX Growth and Development, Ontario Cycling Association

The 2005 Ontario BMX HP Team can honestly say they survived to '200 year flood'. The area surrounding Calgary and Airdrie, Alberta was under a state of emergency due to the levels of the water, dams being breached and rainfalls of over 80mm in 40 minutes.

Kudos to the volunteers and crew of Airdrie BMX Race Track – they worked tirelessly in order to have a raceable track for the National Championships. Thanks to the Ontario parents and riders who helped tarp the Airdrie track on the Thursday night.

The race and practises were cancelled on Friday and Saturday and practise was finally scheduled for 11 am Sunday. Most riders were lucky to get 2 laps prior to the National Championships starting. The track was very soft and muddy in some spots and there was a distinct home track advantage. But our Ontario riders went out there and raced their butts off and represented well!

The one thing that this whole project certainly defined was our need for an indoor facility. The Western riders race year round and for our riders to compete as well as they did was a great indication of their talents – imagine where we would be if we had more time on the tracks. Keep in mind, we have only been on our tracks for 3 weeks and the majority of our riders ended up top 10 in Canada.

2005 National Results

Ontario HP Team

Chance Herrington, N4, 12 Boys
Jesse Del Grosse, N7, 16 Boys
Jordan Hulme, N6, 16 Boys
Glen Cressman, N8 (crash in main), 17+ Expert
Jamie Brierley, N3, Sr. Elite Cruiser
Lee Ryckman, N2, Sr. Elite Female

Ontario Riders

Andrew Harper, N4, 15 Boys
Joe Goulart, N3, 35-39 Cruiser

Other Results (Rankings). These rankings are still to be confirmed

HP, Caleb Sharpe, 14th, 12 Boys
HP, David Hounsome, 14th, 14 Boys, 6th in semi
HP, Kyle Pearson, 9th, 14 Boys, 5th in semi
HP, Chris Hounsome, 12th, 16 Boys
Austin Harper, 16th, 12 Boys, 5th in semi
Bradie Johnston, 8th, Sr. Elite Male, 5th in semi

Team Ontario

Back Row (l to r): Bradie Johnston, Jamie Brierley, David Hounsome, Joe Goulart, Chance Herrington, Nicky Pearson, Lee Ryckman, Brendan Arnold, Andrew Harper, Chris Hounsome, Jordan Hulme

Front Row: Jesse Del Grosse, Austin Harper (seated), Glen Cressman, Caleb Sharpe, Kyle Pearson, Sue Morrow