June 10, 2015 at 3:23 p.m.
Big weekend for Hodag BMX
600-point weekend kicks off Friday
Big weekend for Hodag BMX
The event, dubbed as the "600-point weekend," begins with the Olympic Day Race Friday night. Registration starts at 6 p.m. Racing begins at 7 p.m.
Saturday is Race for life, a donation event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Scotney. Registration starts at 4:30 p.m. Racing begins at 6 p.m.
Sunday is Hodag BMX's state qualifier. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. Racing starts at noon.
The Olympic Day Race, as the name implies, is a night of racing to celebrate BMX being recognized as an Olympic sport.
Hodag BMX track operator Robbie Deede said the race Friday night is also to celebrate where BMX started, in small towns with local kids.
"Olympic Day celebrates BMX racing being in the Olympics ... this is really though, the grassroots of where it all started," Deede explained. "Local, focusing on the kids. The Olympic tracks are significantly different than the local tracks, it's really geared for kids here."
Saturday is sure to bring even more excitement with the Race for Life event. Deede said racers have been taking pledges for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and all entry fees go to the organization.
"It's a donation race (Saturday). Both the Olympic Day Race and the Race for Life, do not require membership. Basically you show up, you pay your entry fee and then you can race the track without having a membership," Deede explained.
Sunday is the biggest day of the weekend as Hodag BMX hosts its state qualifier race. The state championship race is in Oshkosh at the end of the season and racers need to compete in at least four of eight state qualifier races in order to make the cut. Deede said last year their state qualifier race brought in a strong field of riders.
"Last year we had approximately 150 riders. It's all skill levels. From striders, kids that are actually on push bikes, all the way up through the 19-27 expert class, which is basically about as professional as it gets," Deede explained.
The events are free to spectators. Concessions are available on-site with proceeds from the stand going back to the Hodag BMX club to help keep racing possible.
Deede said Hodag BMX has something for everyone and hosts races for nearly every age and skill level.
"(We have) kids of all ages. Our youngest is two and our oldest, I believe right now is 45," Deede said.
Some of the racers have been riding for years, while others just started. 8-year-old David Houg said he has been racing for about four years and has a big goal he would like to reach at the end of the race season, making it to the state championship and beating a fellow rider.
"(My goal is) to beat Ashton (Swaney) in the state championship," Houg said.
9-year-old Owen Ives is fairly new to the sport. He has been racing for two years and loves the sport so much that he raced last weekend with a broken hand. Ives said he also has a big goal for the season.
"(My goal is) to get 20 wins," he said, adding he is very confident he will be able to meet that goal before the seasons end. Twenty wins would move Ives up from the intermediate class to the expert class.
Raven Sturtevant, 13, experienced one of her biggest accomplishments last weekend.
"This past Saturday and Sunday I went to Milwaukee for a state (qualifier) race and I got first in my class and first in my cruiser Saturday and then first in my class and first in my cruiser on Sunday," Sturtevant said.
Sturtevant still has big goals for the rest of the season and is hoping to qualify for Grand Nationals.
"Were going to grands this year, which is kind of like the national (championship) and so (I hope to) qualify there," she said.
Deede is in his second year as track operator but has been part of the organization since its inception 16 years ago. He said he was happy to take the track operator role because the organization was invaluable to him growing up.
"From being a kid that just rode and helped to work on the track, to now actually running the show and making sure everything is staying together and making sure that it's here for the kids now, because it was important to me as a kid. I want to make sure it's here for the kids in the future too," Deede said.
Deede said the club plans to host a few other large events this summer.
"We do a scholarship race, where we actually raise funds for a scholarship program through USA BMX," Deede said. "That will be coming up later this summer, that's to be announced."
Deede also said Hodag BMX would like to host a day to celebrate biking at some point during the summer.
"We have been talking with Mel's (Sporting Goods) and Bikes and Boards about doing a celebration of biking day, where we invite all different fields and aspects ... families of biking to come down and check it out and kind of hang out," Deede said of the plan, still a work in progress. "They can see who is riding what and let everyone check out the track too."
Hodag BMX is a non-profit club and is all volunteer and donation-based. The organization is always looking for volunteers and sponsors. Deede said he is thankful the Rhinelander community cares about the track and organization.
"It's absolutely invaluable. The people here that work on the track are absolutely phenomenal. We're 100 percent donation-based. We're 100 percent volunteer-based and it really shows how much the community really cares about the kids here (by) putting investments like this into the community," Deede said. "Whenever its open, weather-permitting, open to the public, you're hard pressed to not find a handful of kids down here enjoying it."
The program offers one free trial race to kids who are thinking about joining Hodag BMX and they also have loaner bikes available to kids to use if need be. More information about Hodag BMX can be found, along with the weekly race schedule, at www.hodagbmx.com.
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