PISCATAWAY — While many people have never heard of BMX racing, five-year-old Cassidy Hall is so skilled at the bicycle sport that she’s ranked fourth in the country in her age group.
And her ranking is rising.
Cassidy, who lives here with her family in Piscataway, notched a standout performance at the Empire State Nationals in Kingston, N.Y., last weekend. Cassidy won five of nine races she entered and placed second in four. This could propel her national ranking in “Girls / Age 5 & under” as high as No. 2 when the listings officially are updated.
BMX, or Bicycle Motocross, took off in the late 1970s, and became an Olympic event in 2008. Cassidy got the bug when she was only 3 years old after watching her older brother, Johnny, practice on their backyard dirt track.
“I saw him riding his bike and it looked like fun,” said Cassidy, who also is the state champion in her age group. “I wanted to try it, and I love to ride fast.”
John Hall recounted how BMX racing became a family affair.
“My son was on his bike every day; after trying football and hockey, he really loved bike racing,” Hall said. “We bought Johnny a new racing bike for Christmas when he turned 8. We had built a practice track for him and Cassidy started racing on it and beating kids in the neighborhood her age and older.
“When Cassidy was 3, she was riding a department store bike — she actually started on a strider, which has no pedals. On her fourth birthday, we gave her a customized bike, along with a helmet and other protective gear.”
Cassidy soon began competing against other girls her age in local events — racing, jumping and maneuvering her custom bike around a dirt track consisting of jumps, rhythm sections and tall asphalt turns.
“She’s won more than 25 races locally and nationally, with competition ranging from Florida to California,” Hall continued. “Initially it was her brother who gave her the drive — she idolizes her big brother. Now she’s very competitive, and that motivates her. She wants to get better.”
“I love to go fast and beat other girls,” Cassidy chimed in, “and I love to win the trophy.”
Cassidy sits atop all age-group rivals in the Redline Cup Qualifiers, a regional race. In October, she plans to compete in the Redline Cup Finals (East) in North Carolina.
Five-year-old BMX racer Cassidy Hall holding her trophy after finishing first in her age group at the East Coast BMX Nationals in Maryland in June. / Photo courtesy of John Hall
Competing in big events can be grueling, especially for young children. Take the Empire State Nationals this past weekend, for example. To prepare, Cassidy practiced sprints — the initial burst of speed at the start of a race — for almost two hours on the Monday before the event, then went with her dad to Hunterdon County BMX Track for a three-hour practice session the next day. On the next two days she spent six hours competing in local races to warm up for the big event.
On Friday the family, including mom, Christine, and middle sister, Sydney, drove to Kingston, N.Y., where Cassidy competed in three events a day. Johnny competed in BMX races and also on a larger bike called a cruiser.
“It works as a transfer system,” said Hall about the BMX races. “You have to qualify to advance to the next round. Sometimes you have a moto (qualifying race) that starts off with 50 kids, and only eight of them make it to the main event.”
The sport can get expensive, so sponsors help. Almost all BMX racers are on a team, Hall said. “Both of my kids are sponsored by a team,” he noted, adding that teams consist of from five to about 40 riders who wear the same uniform.
The two top sponsors for Cassidy and Johnny’s team are Hyper, a manufacturer of bike frames, and Body Armor, a sports drink — hence the team name, Hyper BodyArmor.
“There are eight or nine other sponsors that give the teams a discount,” Hall said. “In exchange, we run their logos on our shirts and our bikes, and they get the exposure.”
The sport’s governing body, Arizona-based USA BMX, was formed when two competing groups joined forces in 2011. USA BMX oversees more than 375 sanctioned tracks around the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, and serves as the sole sanctioning body for its 70,000 members. The organization coordinates national, regional, state and local scheduling for all tracks, and also manages the 2016 U.S. Olympic BMX Trials, in conjunction with the United States Olympic Committee and USA Cycling.
Cassidy and Johnny train with a professional BMX racer, Danny Smith, who has full jumps and a starting gate in his Chatham backyard.
“He’s been practicing gate-starts with them,” Christine Hall said. “Cassidy can’t do some of the strength-training exercises that her brother does because she’s too small.”
Like all parents, John Hall wants to support his children and help them grow as athletes and as people.
“I’ve always been around bikes my entire life but I just didn’t race competitively,” Hall said. “I’m happy to see my kids develop socially and athletically, and I’m proud of their achievements.”