As Beth Shriever and Kye Whyte made Team GB history winning a gold and silver medal in the BMX racing finals at the Tokyo Olympics, we take a look at one of the best BMX clubs in London to see where you can try out the breakout sport locally.
The Hayes Hawks BMX Club was started in 1981 and remains a family affair located by Lake Farm Country Park whose track was used for the London Youth BMX games.
Hayes Hawks BMX Club Chairman Scott Dick told The Hillingdon Times: “We’ve definitely been watching all the BMX at the Olympics and are still getting over the shock.
“They are all young kids, and personally, I've been around a long time and Beth used to come and train down with us occasionally and help out.
"They’re kids that have just grown up with all the other kids, and they just have exceptional talent which has been identified. They've been sort of taken under the wing and made into the athletes they are.
“The attraction of BMX is it's obviously exciting. It's an exciting thing to do as opposed to, you know a lot of other forms of cycling, and it's more child and teenager friendly.
“And the fact that it's not a team sport, it's an individual sport so everyone can come and take part and everyone can race so it's quite inclusive; boys, girls, ages.”
Its Play Open Day today sold out its 60 places and there are Summer Camp Sessions which are free for local people in Hayes and West Drayton on Thursday and Friday this week and every weekday next week.
There will be three sessions a day for each age and experience group with around 20-25 children per session and you do not need to have tried out BMX before to attend.
Children aged four and above are welcome to come along as long as they can ride a bike.
You can find Eventbrite ticket links below for Summer Camp 2021 below:
On top of that there are Saturday Club coaching sessions every week which are paid and have coaching for every level of experience throughout the day.
The club can provide all of the helmets, gloves and equipment needed.
For more information about the sessions and what is required, you can visit the Hawks BMX website, ticket portal or Facebook page.
If you want to try out other types of cycling you or your family can visit the Hillingdon Council website or British Cycling.
Featured image credit: Secretaría de Deportes via Wikimedia Commons
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