USA Cycling BMX Development Series Continues

Filed under General on December 30, 2012 | Comment(s)

The USA Cycling BMX Development Series (Devo) is designed to take our next generation of young talented amateur BMX athletes to the highest level of BMX racing. The goal of this program is to prepare this group by allowing unprecedented access to the U.S. Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Chula Vista, California. The program is targeting all 15 and 16-year-olds using the 2013 UCI BMX calendar season (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) and the birth year of 1997-1998.

These young athletes will compete for the opportunity to receive specific high performance training for BMX, access to the Supercross World Cup BMX track(s), and to experience a day in the life of a U.S. Olympic athlete. Furthermore, by providing these opportunities, we hope to progress the skill level needed to be competitive at the highest level of international BMX competition. This will help familiarize them with the bigger, faster, and more demanding style of BMX racing, which is contested at the UCI Supercross World Cup series, the World Championships, and the Olympic Games.

All BMX Development camps will take place at the U.S. Olympic Training Center while utilizing the Supercross World Cup BMX tracks, the Chula Vista BMX track, the Skills Development Grounds (pump track, UCI rhythm sections, dirt trials), and access to the USOC Sports Performance team. USA Cycling will run four (4) Junior Development camps each year and the series will include four qualification periods to determine which riders receive automatic invitations. The Devo Series will facilitate competition starting at the national level and will run as follows:

Eligible Participants

All athletes participating in the USA Cycling BMX Development race series must be U.S. citizens. All athletes must have an active USA Cycling BMX License to register for BMX Development camps.

All participants must provide proof of health insurance upon athlete check-in at the Chula Vista OTC.

Rules

All qualifying events will use the current year USA BMX rule book and will utilize the UCI random gate cadence.

Qualifying Races

All USA BMX National events will host USA Cycling Development Series events. The Development series will be run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at all USA BMX National events and will be run at the start of each National event in conjunction with all Pro classes. It will also be run under the same format as all other Elite and Junior classes, which is a three-moto, scrambled total point system and one (1) main event. The USA Cycling Development class is in addition to a rider's normal age class.

A rider may choose to participate only in the USA Cycling Development class and will not be required to have a USA BMX membership but will need to sign a USA BMX liability waiver. Riders will count their best four (4) scores from these events.

• Friday National Prerace
• USA BMX Nationals
• Race of Champions
• Redline Cup Finals (all three days)

Points Structure

A rider's best four (4) National scores will be combined to determine final standings.

All National races will be scored within the qualifying period for each specific qualifying camp segment.

Bonus Points

In addition to the national points table listed above, each rider will receive bonus points based on how many groups are entered. For example, 1 group = 2 points, 2 groups = 4 points, and 3 groups = 6 points, etc.

Tie-Breakers

All tie-breakers will be decided on the following criteria:

1. Total wins best 4 scores
2. Total wins all races
3. Total 2nd place finishes all races
4. Total 3rd place finishes all races
5. Total 4th place finishes all races

New for the 2013 Development Series

The top two (2) boys and the top two (2) girls from each of the qualifying segments will be awarded a free camp and USA Cycling will pay for airfares. These riders will be given enhanced rider coaching opportunities from one of our current elite athletes to insure the very best is teaching skill development on these Supercross tracks and learning from the very best athletes and coaches.

BMX Development Program Camp # 1
Qualifying period: August 31, 2012 to March 3, 2013
Camp date: April 21-28, 2013 (7 weeks between last qualifying race and start of camp)

QUALIFYING EVENTS
DATE	EVENT	LOCATION
Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2012	Bluegrass Nationals	Louisville, KY
Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2012	Blackjack Nationals	Reno, NV
Sept. 7-9, 2012	Badger State Nationals	Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Sept. 14-16, 2012	New England Nationals	Trumbull, CT
Sept. 21-23, 2012	East Coast Nationals	Greenville, SC
Oct. 26-28, 2012	Disney Cup Nationals	Orlando, FL
Nov. 30, 2012	Race of Champions	Tulsa, OK
Jan. 11-13, 2013	Silver Dollar Nationals	Reno, NV
Jan. 25-27, 2013	Sooner Nationals	Tulsa, OK
Feb. 8-10, 2013	Bluegrass Nationals	Louisville, KY
Mar. 1-3, 2013	Winter Nationals	Phoenix, AZ

BMX Development Program Camp # 2
Qualifying period: March 8 to May 12, 2013
Camp date: June 30 to July 7, 2013 (7 weeks between last qualifying race and start of camp)

QUALIFYING EVENTS
DATE	EVENT	LOCATION
Mar. 8-10	Gator Nationals	Oldsmar, FL
Mar. 22-24	Super Nationals	Desoto, TX
Apr. 5-7	Dixieland Nationals	Powder Springs, GA
Apr. 12-14	Great Northwest Nationals	Redmond, OR
Apr. 26-28	Cajun Nationals	Monroe, LA
May 3-5	U.S. Nationals	Bakersfield, CA
May 10-12	Tar Heel Nationals	Charlotte, NC

Junior Development Program Camp # 3
Qualifying period: May 24 to July 7, 2013
Camp date: August 11-18, 2013 (5 weeks between last qualifying race and start of camp)

QUALIFYING EVENTS
DATE	EVENT	LOCATION
May 24-26	Spring Nationals	Albuquerque, NM
May 31 & Jun. 2	Music City Nationals	Nashville, TN
June 7-9	Great Lakes Nationals	South Jordan, UT
June 14-16	East Coast Nationals	Severn, MD
June 21-23	Midwest Nationals	Rockford, IL
July 5-7	Stars N' Stripes Nationals	South Park, PA

Junior Development Program Camp # 4
Qualifying period: July 12 to September 1, 2013
Camp date: September 29 to October 6, 2013 (4 weeks between last qualifying race and start of camp)

QUALIFYING EVENTS
DATE	EVENT	LOCATION
July 12-14	Las Vegas Nationals	Las Vegas, NV
July 19-21	Quad City Nationals	East Moline, MO
July 26-28	Empire State Nationals	Kingston, NY
Aug. 9-11	Southwest Nationals	Tucson, AZ
Aug. 9-11	Buckeye Nationals	Toledo, OH
Aug. 30 - Sept. 1	Blackjack Nationals	Reno, NV
Aug. 30 - Sept. 1	Derby City Nationals	Louisville, NV

Eligible Participants

Male: The top eight (8) male riders, as determined by participation in the USA Cycling BMX Development Series hosted by USA BMX, will receive an automatic invite to the camp. If a rider in the top eight does not accept the automatic invitation, that slot will be filled with the remaining camp slots at the sole discretion of USA Cycling coaches and staff. The points will be totaled four times per year preceding each of the four USA Cycling BMX Development Series camps. USA Cycling reserves the right to not make any coaching selections based on bed availability. Only male riders born in 1997-1998 are eligible to qualify through the USA Cycling Devo series.

Female: The top four (4) female riders, as determined by participation in the USA Cycling BMX Development Series hosted by USA BMX, will receive an automatic invite to the camp. If a rider in the top four does not accept the automatic invitation, that slot will be filled with the remaining camp slots at the sole discretion of USA Cycling coaches and staff. The points will be totaled four times per year preceding each of the four USA Cycling BMX Development Series camps. USA Cycling reserves the right to not make any coaching selections based on bed availability. Only female riders born in 1997-1998 are eligible to qualify through the USA Cycling Devo series.

Camp Fees

Each invited development camp participant is required to pay the $700 camp fee unless you are one of the top two (2) riders in the qualifying segment. All participants must have a valid USA Cycling BMX license to participate in the camp. You must have a valid USA Cycling license within seven days of final results being posted on the USA BMX website to be considered eligible for each camp. All travel expenses to and from the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista are the sole responsibility of each invited rider.

For more information please contact BMX Program Director Jamie Staff at jstaff@usacycling.org.