Thursday, June 14, 2007

We're helping sponsor BMX racer Tommy Board in the UCI World Championship. And you?

Tommy Board, who lives right here in New Albany, is a professional BMX racer. For the uninitiated, Wikipedia helpfully explains BMX racing:

BMX (Bicycle Moto-cross(X)) is a form of cycling on specially designed bicycles which usually have 20-inch wheels. The sport includes races on earthen tracks—BMX racing—as well as the performances of tricks —BMX freestyle. Recently, BMX racing's international governing body—Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)—began sponsoring the UCI BMX World Championships.

In a posting at our New Albany Bicycle Coalition blog, Tommy recently recounted his recent participation in USA Cycling’s (USAC) first BMX Championship in Waterford, Michigan on June 9th.

I participated in the 30 and over men and 35-39 cruiser classes and I had a shot at both titles, but fell a little short.

I slipped the gate in my 30 and over men's semi race and couldn't make the moves to get into the main event; however, I was able to make the main in the 35-39 cruiser class!!! I drew the perfect lane position and I felt that I was just 30 seconds away from becoming the first ever USAC Champion for our class. When the gate fell, I guess I was a little too excited and spun-out on the pad below, all the while the rest of class was boogie-ing down the first straight. I was able to make it back to 4th or 5th position on the second straight, but people were all over the place and I was pretty much pushed off the track. I finished 6th overall and I'm now qualified to represent Team USA at the UCI World BMX Championships in Victoria, Canada!

Based on his strong performance in Michigan, Tommy feels like he has a strong chance at becoming world champion for his class, but his existing sponsorships are good only for National Bicycle League (NBL) sanctioned events.

The reality is this: Tommy needs financial help to get to the UCI World Championships in Victoria (BC), Canada. He tells NAC that the dates are July 26-29 (actually beginning on the 23rd for three practice days before the championships begin, with total costs for licensing, entry fees, plane tickets, hotel room and food to be in the range of $2,000. Tommy can handle some of it, but not all.

In his original posting at the NABC bicycling blog, Tommy noted that he’d be willing to work in exchange for assistance:

I'm willing to cut your grass, wash your car, walk your dog ... pretty much whatever.

Our aim today isn’t the hard sell; we all get enough of that on an everyday basis. I’ll simply note that in some combination of monies from the New Albanian Brewing Company and my own checkbook, there’s an opening pledge of $200 – and Tommy can work it off after he wins the championship. We’ll need a photo of the awards presentation for the pub, too.

If you’d like to pitch in, please send an e-mail to the senior editor. It will be forwarded to Tommy, and you can discuss the matter directly with him.

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