BMX Racing - Sanctioning Bodies

Sanctioning Bodies

A sanctioning body is a private (in the United States and most Western Nations) governing body which controls a sport or specific discipline thereof. One or more sanctioning bodies may operate in a sport at any given time, often with subtle rule variations which appeal to regional tastes. They make and enforce the rules, and decide the qualifications and responsibilities of the participants, including the players, owners, and operators of facilities. In legal terms, they are an intermediary between the participants and higher governing bodies such as (in cycling) the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and National Governing Bodies such as USA Cycling. Sanctioning bodies mete out discipline and punishments, as well as bestow awards and rankings of their participants.

In the Bicycle Motocross context, sanctioning bodies are chiefly responsible for providing insurance coverage and other "back office" services to local tracks. They also keep points on riders' performance throughout the year, and undertake the production of a national racing series (which is typically 18-22 weekends per year). Riders are permitted to race at the sanctioning body's affiliated tracks and national events via the purchase of an annual membership which costs (in the US) US$45 (ABA) to US$55 (NBL). As part of their administrative "service provider" role, BMX sanctioning bodies also determine the rules of competition, such as clothing requirements, age and gender divisions (or "classes"), as well as the rules and protocol for advancement in proficiency classes (Novice, Intermediate, Expert, A Pro, AA Pro, Vet Pro in ABA, and Rookie, Novice, Expert, Super-Ex, Elite, Masters in NBL).

BMX Racing has had many sanctioning bodies over its 40-year history as an organized sport, the first being Scot Breithaupt's Bicycle United Motocross Society (BUMS), created in the early 1970s (see below). Since then, there have been dozens of regional, national, and international sanctioning bodies, some of them associated with or owned by another. Most are defunct or have been merged into larger, more successful organizations, but a handful still exist in their original forms and are prospering.

In the US, loyalty to one sanctioning body or another is a fundamental example of brand loyalty, where devotees of one, vigorously assert the superiority of their chosen body over all others.