BMX Racing - General Rules of Advancement in Organized BMX Racing - Skill Levels, Race Structure, Qualifying Methods, Awards

Skill Levels, Race Structure, Qualifying Methods, Awards

Racers in the 20" class are grouped with others of the same relative age and experience levels; Novice, Intermediate, Expert, Veteran, "A" Pro, "AA" Pro in the ABA; Rookie, Novice, Expert, Elite Masters, "B" Pro (Superclass) and "A" Pro (Elite) in the NBL. They range from 5 & under Novice to 28 & over Expert in the ABA and from 5 & under Rookie to 35 & over Expert in the NBL. Cruiser Class (bicycles with 24" or greater diameter wheels) and the girl classes are not divided up into skill classes, only age classes in both the NBL and the ABA. The Cruiser class age brackets for example range from 9 & under to 51 & over for males, 10 & under to 41 & over for females in the ABA; and 9 & under to 55 & over males, 10 & under to 40 & over females in the NBL.

In a typical day a racer will race several times with their group to determine the day's finishing order and awards. The qualifying rounds, called Motos (called heats in other types of racing) determines the number of racers in the finals which are called Mains, up to eight racers. The sizes and number of motos at a skill level and age group is determined by the number of racers who register for that race and in that skill level and age group. Usually a racer gets three chances to qualify. As stated in the previous section, the two sanctioning bodies generally use two different methods of moving racers from the qualifying rounds to the Main (although there is some overlap), the Transfer System, the method generally used by the ABA; and the Moto System, the NBL's choice. In the transfer system usually one to three people are transferred to the main depending on the size of the class.

For instance, in the ABA transfer system a group of say eight racers sign up for the 17-18 Intermediate class. That is more than enough to have three motos (four is the minimum). Moto #1 will have all eight racers. The first two finishers qualify for and do not race again until the Main. Moto #2 will be a second heat for the remaining six racers; again, the first two across the finish line from that group will go the Main. Finally, a third moto of the remaining four riders is run, from which the first two racers across the finish line will be taken to the Main, forming a six man Main. The last two racers do not qualify (DNQ) and therefore do not race in the Main, do not collect any points, trophies, a chance to take a step in advancement to a higher amateur level or if they are professionals, prize money.

The NBL and the international UCI uses the "Olympic" or Moto System of advancing to the Main. In the Moto System, you must race all three times to make the main or if the race is a large one semi finals. It is a formula combining how well you do with all the registered participant riders in your class racing all three times. It cumulatively determines who will race in the finals. The higher your points total, the more likely you will advance. For instance if you come in 1st, 1st and 1st, 40+50+60, which is 160 points, you are a virtual certainty to race in the Main (or in large races you are merely transferred to the quarter/semi-finals) barring disqualification for some reason. If you come in Last, Last, First, which in a race with eight men in your class translates to 0+0+60 or 60 points, you MIGHT race in the main (or in larger races the 1/8/quarter/semi finals) determining how well the others did. The person who came in 3rd place in all three motos or 30+40+50=120p would have a much better shot at making the Main than you. Even the person who came in 2nd+6th+6th or 35+25+35=95 would have a better shot even if you won the final moto.

In larger races in both the ABA and NBL, then a 2nd moto of the same class but different racers is run right behind the first group. They also race three times but instead of the winners going to the Main they face their first group counterparts (who also went through the three-moto shake out) in the semi finals called the Semi-Main. Then the qualifiers face off in the Main. The same for races large enough for quarterfinals or Quarter-Mains, 1/8s and even 1/16s.

The Amateurs, once they get to the mains usually only race once for the top points and the trophy. The Professionals on the other hand run multiple cumulative Mains just like in the qualifying motos for the points, trophy and most important, prize money. This is both NBL and ABA practice. Like during the qualifying motos the points you earn in each running of the Pro Main are tied into the position you finish in each of the three motos.

Cumulative scoring rewards consistency. The better the racer you are, the more consistent you will be. The transfer system lets you capitalize on the mistakes of others. The better the racer you are, the fewer the mistakes you make.

One major drawback in cumulative scoring is that it is more complicated task in keeping track than in the transfer system. In the 1980s at least two national level scoring scandals (one in 1985) in which the national professional number one was decided after the Grand nationals underlined this. There was also a scoring mix up during the 1983 NBL Grand National in which it was thought Brian Patterson was the winner for two weeks but after a recount initiated after Eric Rupe protested gave Eric Rupe the number one for 1983. An even larger scoring scandal occurred in 1985 in which pro racer Peter Loncarevich apparently beat Greg Hill for the number one pro racer by a mere 3 points. Greg Hill's wife Nancy (who was the bookkeeper for Greg Hill's BMX bicycle company Greg Hill Products) kept an independent accounting of the season points of Mr. Hill's closest competitors and detected an error. At his wife's urging Mr. Hill ask for and received an audit of the points and the NBL confirmed the error had taken place and awarded Mr. Hill the pro title for 1985.

The Transfer System on the other hand, was never popular with the racers. While very efficient and less error prone than the cumulative method (and allowing the ABA to run much quicker events with fewer finish line scores), the good racers generally did not like it since they would only get to race once, win their transfer moto and wait for hours if the races are big enough to race the mains (on the other hand you get to relax a little without the anxiety of doing poorly in the next two qualifying motos). This means the racers race less often in the ABA and the fun of BMX is in the racing, even if you are losing. Even racers who do not do well did not like the transfer system because the fewer actual races you are in, the less chance you will have to improve your skills in actual race conditions You also race two times less for your money paid for in entrance fees in the ABA in the Transfer system if you win your first moto.

Among the Pros the Cumulative method is preferred. Not only because they get to race more, it lessens the chance of luck playing as a factor in any given race event. In 1985 Greg Hill staged a personal boycott of ABA nationals in part of his dislike of the transfer system. Cumulative scoring is not only used in the ABA and NBL pro qualifying motos but in the mains, in which the pros are required to race the mains three times to win points and prize money. Cumulative scoring, also known as Olympic scoring, is used by the UCI in their international BMX program and was used in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China for both amateurs and professionals. The ABA continues to use the Transfer System for its amateur classes.