Erick, you’ve got some great ideas with this. With the hatred between the ABA and NBL in full swing out here, I’d love to be the stick in the spokes and start talking BMX blasphemy to both camps. My two cents, if it’s worth even that:
TV coverage is tough. First off, other than Louisville, Pittsburg, Woodward, Orlando, are there really any tracks that are worthy of filming? And how many of these big, fast tracks can be covered with a small camera crew? John, chime in on this. You know much more about this than I do.
The 2 man/4 man gate thing sounds a lot like mountaincross/dual slalom. I like the 8 man system,mostly because I’m used to it and it’s more fun having eight of your friends smack into you in the first turn than four, but also because it does differentiate us from the MTB scene.
While I ldo ike the tracks of today, mainly because they’ve forced me to be a better rider, I do miss the sprinting aspect of the final straight from the old school days. And BAN those f**king clips! The MTBers are pretty clear that a mountain bike has gears (unless your into 24 hr. MTB rides) and front and rear brakes. Track bikes have definitive rules about their bikes being fixed gear. These rules define both the bike and the historical aspect of the sport. I think that we should make clear that a BMX bike is completely rigid, has only a rear brake, and NO CLIPS!
If you can devise a points and transfer system that works and makes most happy, consider running for President.
As far as the pro thing goes, pros need an incentive to show up to a local race. Enter the almighty dollar. Let’s face it, 100% payback with four or five riders, just sucks! If I was a local businesses and knew that I could get some mileage out of a modest investment, ie, banners, ad space in a BMX newesletter/website, etc., then donating a few hundred bucks into a purse would do wonders to get local pros off their butts and ride. Construction companies, for one reason or another, also tend to be good sources of pro donations. In Colorado, the pros here kept themselves busy by running their own 50/50 for the purse, and also held $5 clinics in order to help the youngsters and put some gas in the tank for the drive home, and relied on the sporadic generosity of a local business owner who wanted to see a few testosterone-laden kids tear each other apart for a few bucks. Maybe a local-oriented pro series, sponsored by a real estate agency, or something of the sort?
The ABA has always outdone the NBL with regards to national events. The difference is that the NBL is bound to non-excitement (non-profit) status, and the ABA relies on capitalism. Compare the lower end of your FM radio dial to the upper end. Which do you listen to more often? What happened to the real War of the Stars series?
I wore holes in the national event shirts I owned.