Diemazz

The National Bicycle League (NBL) is an United States based Bicycle Motocross (BMX) sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida but after several moves is now based in Hilliard, Ohio. It was created by George Edward Esser (September 17, 1925-August 31, 2006) in 1974 as first the bicycle auxiliary of the National Motorcycle League (NML) then set up as an independent non-profit organization unlike the earlier National Bicycle Association (NBA) and the later American Bicycle Association (ABA). George Esser played a major part in establishing Bicycle Motocross racing in Florida and shortly after the East Coast of the United States as Ernie Alexander did in California and the West Coast.

Logo of the National Bicycle League (adapted in 1990) and slogan.

History

George Esser, unlike the creators of the earlier NBA and later ABA, set up a non-profit organization with a very inclusive government including a Competition Congress meetings in which opinions of how the body was being administered would be heard. It is perhaps this input and exercise of corporate democracy kept it in touch with the grass roots and from suffering periodical lost of member track operators and internal rebellions, like what happened to the ABA and NBA, in the NBA's case, fatally. Mr. Esser didn't start the NBL for its own sake, but for the sake of his sons Bryan and Greg Esser who were competing in local races at the time before their father knew what BMX was. The elder Esser, being a motorcycle motocross race promoter like Ernie Alexander was on the United States's west coast before him, was dissatisfied with how the sanctionless independent tracks were run and created a bicycle motocross division of his thirty-three year old National Motorcycle League (NML).^[1]

The NML's Bicycle Division's first race at Miami Hollywood Speedway Park on January 26, 1974. One of George Esser's sons,the aforementioned Greg Esser, won the 14 & over class (there was no proficiency classes as we know them now, just age divisions). Greg Esser would later become the first official NBL pro Number One racer in 1979.^[2] In February 1976 Mr. Esser broke the NBL off from the NML to become its own entity.^[3] Starting in Florida in these early days its track affiliations were overwhelmingly concentrated east of the Mississippi River with only a few west of that boundary. However, after the 1981 racing season it commenced joint operations with the troubled National Bicycle Association (NBA) that was shrinking both terms of ridership and track operations. From that point on, the NBA handled race promotions, sponsor relations and marketing of NBL races but ceased sanctioning races in its own right. In return, the NBL absorbed the remaining NBA membership and tracks, particularly those west of the Mississippi, making it a truly nation spanning sanctioning body like the rival ABA.

It is associated now with Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) through USA Cycling which it joined in 1997. USA Cycling is the sanctioning body that represents virtually all aspects of Cycling in the United States. It is in turn associated with the UCI which is the sanctioning body that governs international Cycling. The UCI in turn is the governing body that deals with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that holds the Olympic Games. The UCI did have previous affiliations with the NBL through the now defunct NBL sister international organization the International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF) which the UCI absorbed in 1993 through its amateur Cycling governing body FIAC. In both cases NBL members were able participate in the UCI BMX World Championship that the UCI inherited from the IBMXF. However, it was the NBL joining USA Cycling that was the key to BMX being accepted by the IOC as part of the Olympic Summer games. It was not necessary for the NBL to join USA Cycling for BMX to be part of the Olympic Games, but since it was in the United States that BMX started and most of the best racers are American, it was critical for the USA to have a representative body involved. The NBL was chosen by USA Cycling in part because of its history of being involved with BMX at the international level and it is being a non-profit organization, unlike the ABA. BMX had trouble becoming an Olympic sport in the past, particularly before the 1990s was in part because of the then in place rules against professionals in the Games. However, the professionals (especially the Americans), were the best in the sport and to leave them out of the competition would not be showcasing the best. Much more importantly, this was the realization in other sports which has led to the elimination of the bar against professionals in the Olympic Games in all sports in the 1990s.

BMX is now part of the Olympic Summer Games and the first Olympiad for BMX will be the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

The NBL has a fierce independent streak. In 2002 members of the NBL apparently foiled an attempt by USA Cycling Chief Executive Officer Gerard Bisceglia to sell the NBL to the ABA.^{[4] [5] [6]} There has always been a fierce rivalry between the two sanctioning bodies even after USA Cycling acquired the NBL in 1997.

Vital statistics

*In an interview conducted by former BMX racer Greg Hill at the online BMX discussion website bmxactiononline.com Bob Tedesco revealed his intention of stepping down as Managing Director of the National Bicycle League at the end of 2008 after 33 years involvement with BMX and the NBL, beginning as a track operator and then Northern Regional Commissioner in 1977, his first national post with the NBL. ^[11]

Proficiency and division class labels and advancement method

Note: The following is for the 2009 racing season:

Operations

NBL Rule book

National series classifications and age divisions for 2007. PDF file. Need Adobe Acrobat to read

National Bicycle League Rule Book (2006). PDF file.

Link to download the free Adobe Acrobat reader.

NBL National number ones by year

Special Race Series

• Invitational President's Cup.

This is a championship race that was inaugurated in December 1985 in which NBL racers who qualified for their state championships were invited to race this special event held just before the NBL Christmas National. It has been traditionally run during the last week of the year in December in Columbus, Ohio. Unlike the American Bicycle Association (ABA)'s Redline Cup (formerly known as the Gold Cup) which was a championship series for individual glory of the local non sponsored racer, the NBL's President's Cup is geared that the racers from each state is encouraged to represent their state in the form of teams. The state with the greatest representation in the main events win and that state would get the bulk of prize money put up by the national governing body of the NBL. It would doled out to the winning states NBL governing commission. For instance if Ohio happens to have the larges numbers of members in the mains, 12 racers as opposed to Alabama's nine or New York's 10, then Ohio would win and its state NBL's commission would get the prize money. In addition to the competition between the states, there are team competitions between bicycle shops and factories in their own divisions.

Also unlike the ABA's Gold Cup no professionals are allowed to compete, only amateurs in the Expert, Girls, and Cruiser classes participating.^[12]

Website

• National Bicycle League

See also

American Bicycle Association
National Bicycle Association
National Pedal Sport Association
United Bicycle Racers Association
United States Bicycle Motocross Association

End Notes

External links

• www.ababmx.com - The website of the NBL's chief competitor, the American Bicycle League.

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