American Bicycle Association

The American Bicycle Association (ABA) was a US-based BMX sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona. In 2011, the ABA merged with the former National Bicycle League and became the current USA BMX. The organization was founded by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It's the largest BMX Association in the world, with tracks in the United States (under USA BMX) and in Canada (under BMX Canada).

History

Founder and creator of the USA BMX, Merl Mennenga, realized that many promises made to BMX families were not fulfilled. His dissatisfaction and the lack of alternatives to the IBMX tracks near his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, were his primary reasons for creating the ABA. He previously worked as a track operator at the International Bicycle Motocross (IBMX) (not to be confused with the International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)).

1970s

* August 1977: Mennenga creates the ABA
* 1978: The first ABA National is held in Azusa, California, with 35 tracks and 3,000 participants
* 1979: The ABA becomes the largest governing body in BMX

1980s

* 1980: Greg Hill objects to the 1979 season points scoring
* 1982: ABA discards their points system
* 1982: The first issue of ''Bicycles and Dirt'' premiers in September
* 1983: A semi-organized pro rider boycott is formed
* 1983: An editorial boycott forms from ''BMX Action'', a major industry magazine
* 1985: Articles about ABA return to ''BMX Action''

Competing Organizations

The American Bicycle Motocross Association (ABMXA) operated briefly for approximately two years, from late 1974 to early 1976.

The American Bicycle Association was created in January 1975 by Bob Bailey but stopped working in December 1975 with only 20 paid members after going bankrupt.

In 1978, the National Bicycle Association (NBA) had 50 tracks and 5,000 racers. ''BMX Actions'' boycotted the National Bicycle Association (NBA) during the 1980 season.

Also in 1978, the National Bicycle League (NBL) had 18 tracks and approximately 4,100 riders. The NBL was the oldest and the first sanctioning body in the NBA.

* The United States Bicycle Association (USBA).

* Regional organization, the United Bicycle Racers (UBR).

* Regional organization, the National Pedal Sport Association (NPSA).

* The United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

Focus

The organization was created to unite people who would be treated honestly and with respect rather than just looking for fast and simple ways to make money.

The idea of the Direct Transfer System was established with a priority on efficiency. The new process simplified the task of graduating racers to the finals from the qualifying heats.

When criticisms were lodged, the ABA sought to serve the majority's needs and not the concerns, legitimate or otherwise, of the professional and expert racers, the BMX Press, and organizational politics.'' Super BMX & Freestyle'' September 1986 Vol.13 No.9, p. 17

Criticisms

Legitimate complaints regarding such issues as high entry fees and subpar tracks that hosted nationals have been lodged to the ABA. Mennenga designed and built special tracks to run the nationals.

Complaints of scheduling conflicts with the rival NBL and NBA were presented, along with rules discrimination and the general politics between the sanctioning bodies and promoters.

Some of the ABA governing officers and BMX press observers were involved. The racers and families were largely pleased by the growth rate and attendance levels at both the local level and at its nationals, except from the issues regarding entrance fees and the national tracks' quality.

The ''ABA Action'' (newsletter) contained current listings of points standings and race reviews.

The ''BMX Action'' Boycott

An editorial boycott was established by Robert Osborn, the managing editor, publisher, and owner of ''BMX Action'' (aka ''BMXA'') after he was denied a photographer's pass at an ABA nationals in 1980. Unfavourable editorials appeared in the magazine and ABA racing events disappeared after the June 1983 issue. The March 1985 issue covered an ABA event - the 1984 Grand National.

ABA races only warranted brief comments and listings of race results. With the drop in coverage, it was more difficult to get more and more sponsors for the ABA nationals. The sponsors would not have the benefits of indirect advertising in the magazines.

''BMX Action'' ended its editorial boycott in part due to an agreement with the ABA to stop publishing its in-house magazine ''Bicycles and Dirt''.

Issues Surrounding the 1983 Pro Boycott

* A pro-rider boycott was generated as protests continued, led unofficially by Greg Hill, and included notable racers like Stu Thomsen. The basis for the boycott was Hill's long-standing 1980 complaint over the alleged unfairness of its pro points system, since the 1979 season. The number one pro was selected to go into the ABA's Grand National in November, with most of the points.
* The points earned equaled the amount of money earned in the year. At that time, the ABA pro who won the most money was declared No. 1. The claim was that this benefited the ABA, with an exciting finish to the season, but in reality, it was detrimental to the professionals. A season of consistent and near wins could be undone by having an off day.
* Many racers preferred the NBL's Olympic or cumulative system; in which the qualifying rounds would be run three times, the average place in each round was added, and the four lowest numbers advanced to the main race.
* The pros wanted a bigger purse that would be spread out over eight places, instead of the top four at ABA Nationals. This would ensure anyone making nationals would get a share of the winnings. The claim was that while NBL, NBA, and independent promotional race purses went up over the years, the ABA purses remained relatively stagnant.
* A professional didn't have to be a professional at the start of the season. An amateur could theoretically race the required number of nationals as an amateur, turn pro before the Grand National, and have a shot at the No. 1 title.
* After the ABA abandoned its own commitment to the transfer system, the luck factor was reduced and awards were consistent, but basically, just one race decided the No. 1 for the year.
* After the 1982 Grand National, all of the pro classes would be subject to the transfer system in the 1983 season, just like the amateurs, instead of the cumulative system they used before and during 1982.
* Hill led a one-man boycott of the ABA during the 1980 season due to Mennenga's perceived lack of concern for an allegedly unsafe number of racers at the starting gate of a national. Mennenga allegedly said to Mr. Hill that the "...ABA doesn't cater to the Pros."

ABA Actions to Relieve Boycott

In 1982, the ABA discarded their system because the ABA No. 1 Pro for 1981, had a runaway season and gained the title a full month before the Grand National, rendering the event irrelevant in choosing the No. 1 pro. A low turnout of big-name pros resulted due to a foregone conclusion, which meant a lack of publicity for the ABA. Removing the pro point system would encourage pros to attend future Grand Nationals.

The new system removed the focus on money. Instead, the pros:

* were required to attend at least eight nationals with the top 28 money-winning pros (A or AA class), and;
* had to be eligible to compete in a special pro car main.

After the ABA abandoned its own commitment to the transfer system in 1982, the pros had to run the qualifying rounds in a cumulative scoring manner, racing three times in the qualifying races. The pros with the eight lowest point scores transferred to the Main, which was also cumulative out of five runs.

The ABA decided to reuse the same system it used in 1982 to decide the number one pro for 1983.

The ABA changed the way it would decide its top pro for the 1984 season. The pros were given a points system just like the amateurs. A first in the Main will earn a AA pro 240 points, second 200, 160 for third and so on until sixth place would be worth 40 points. As in the amateur divisions the pros would earn rider points. The top ten pros would be determined by this points ranking. Additionally the best ten finishes at the nationals plus the Grand Nationals (making it eleven races) would count toward the pros eligibility to contend for the Pro #1 plate. Purse money would be distributed not only among the racers who made the main, but also those who got to the semis or even didn't make it that far, so practically everyone got something for racing, even if it was just a one hundred percent payback on their entrance fee. This system put a premium on consistency while the Transfer System was a little closer to luck, both good and bad for a racer.

''ABA Financial Problems''

While ''BMX Action's'' deliberate boycott was damaging, it was not the only reason the ABA received reduced coverage in the BMX press, including in ''BMX Action's'' biggest competitors ''BMX Plus!'' and ''Super BMX''. Many ABA nationals coincided with important NBL nationals and considering there was an informal pro boycott of ABA nationals, other races were often scheduled on the same weekend as ABA events. The press followed, which led to a further decrease in coverage.

As the BMX industry noticed this, there were fewer BMX and non-BMX companies willing to invest in ABA events with the fewer direct and indirect advertising possibilities. Those companies not only stopped sponsoring and cosponsoring ABA races, but also stopped sending their expensive race teams to ABA Nationals.

Also, the vast majority of non-sponsored BMX racers stopped attending ABA events when they perceived a lack of press coverage''Super BMX & Freestyle'' September 1986 Vol.13 No.9, p. 18 and a lack of big name pros and amateurs they wanted to see and race against.

''Bicycles and Dirt'' (''BAD)''

The in-house newspaper ''ABA Action'' did not generate enough coverage since it was restricted to ABA members, a limited audience. The obvious solution for the ABA was to create its own magazine to circumvent the established press and attract advertisers: ''Bicycles and Dirt''. The first issue premiered in September 1982 and advertisers did not flock to the new magazine, despite its built-in audience. Like ''ABA Action,'' it was a subscription-only magazine at the time.

With this in mind, the ABA put ''BAD'' on newsstands a year after its premiere with Stu Thomsen on the cover. The financial woes of ''BAD'' only grew worse. ABA pumped funds into the venture but it eventually became clear that they could not sustain the loss. With no hope of a turnaround, and an agreement with ''BMX Action'' to cease publication as a condition to end its editorial boycott ''Bicycles and Dirt'' was discontinued with the September 1984 issue.

The magazine had left the ABA on the verge of bankruptcy. The rising costs of the insurance crises of the early 1980s, with its skyrocketing rates, affected every sanctioning body, but given the ABA's greatly weakened state it, was life-threatening. By 1984, the first indications of the plateauing of the popularity of BMX were seen in the flattening growth in memberships and the falling off of attendance of nationals. Some of this was caused by the growing popularity of BMX freestyle siphoning potential racers from BMX, and the beginnings of the resurgence of skateboarding, both of which exploded in popularity by 1985.

Pro Spectaculars

Another financial drain was the Pro Spectacular concept, a revival of a similar experiment abandoned in 1980 after financial losses. At the time, BMX as a whole was not a mature enough sport for the concept to be a success. In 1984, the perceptible drop in the popularity in BMX racing was outstripped by the explosive growth in BMX freestyle bicycles. Track operators noted a decline in new entrances in the beginner's class at local tracks. Unsponsored racing classes are main sources of income for local races, and these racers are the vast majority in any sanctioning body.

The idea of the Pro Spectacular was inspired from Motorcycle Motocross (MX) Supercross, where events were held in indoor arenas with tracks of greater difficulty to enthuse spectators. The intent was to turn BMX racing from an almost strictly participatory sport into one with great appeal to spectators.

The events were restricted to pros, eliminating the amateur and children classes, and invested heavily in television advertisements. Races were held on Friday nights and kept to two hours in length, which fit a television schedule and the attention span of an audience. The increased exposure of BMX was hoped to spark an upsurge of beginner classes at the local level. Greater revenue was obtained from entrance fees, making the ABA less dependent on participation on the local level.

The first ABA Pro Spectacular, a critical success, was launched in Reno, Nevada, on January 4, 1985. The efficient event was generally liked by pros and more than enough pros participated to make it interesting, $10,000 purses for each race were offered.''Super BMX & Freestyle'' September 1986 Vol.13 No.9, p. 19

The necessary spectator attendance was lacklustre. Despite the relatively low admission fee of $5.00, the venues were either empty, or seating was well below capacity. At the first event held at the Lawlor Events Centre of the University of Nevada in Reno, Nevada, only about 2,000 spectators were on hand in a facility that could seat 10,000.''BMX Plus!'' May 1985 Vol.8 No.5, p. 38

The Pro Spectators ended in 1985. While the Pro Spectaculars were a financial failure, they were a critical success in terms of the quality of races concerning both the courses and the top level pros attending.

Problems with Spectator Pro

* Those who signed up to race in the National the next day got a discount on the spectator's fee in the Pro Spectacular, so they may have not been there to support Pro Spectacular.
* Not enough people knew about the existence of BMX.
* Bicycle racing of any type was more common in Europe, where capacity crowds fill venues and racers are front-page news. The same was true for South America. As a comparison, the 1983 International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF) sanctioned World Championship held in Slagharen, the Netherlands drew 15–20,000 paying spectators and was televised ''live'' in Europe.
* Despite the expensive 68 30-second TV advertisements shown on the-popular programs like ''Magnum, P.I.'', '' Dynasty'' and ''Good Morning America'', it was difficult to win over the public. The light attendance most likely did not justify the reputed $4000 in television advertising the ABA invested.
* The most successful of the Spectaculars (non-racer attendance) was the fifth round held in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 8, which drew 2,600 paying spectators. However, the cost of renting the arena and lack of entrance fees were financial expenses the ABA could not absorb.
* By the time of Land of Lincoln Pro Spectacular on April 28, the last in the series, they had dropped the TV advertisement campaign due to the only few dozen spectators on hand for the event at the Coliseum State Fair Grounds in Springfield, Illinois. To help reduce costs, the ABA ran a few selected Amateur open classes to offset, at least partially, the losses.

The USBA, Resignation, and Bankruptcy

Those five former officers were Geoff Sims, Steve Schaefer, Dave Cook, Rich Mann, and Rod Keeling, the head of the new governing body that was the ABA company pilot who rose to the rank of Vice President of Marketing. Previous to the piloting position with the ABA, he had no experience with BMX racing. Mr. Keeling had departed the ABA on March 2, 1984, and announced the creation of the new governing body on March 23, 1984. Some thought the creation of the USBA was timed to take advantage of the ABA's financial dire straits and to cause a stampede of ABA tracks to change affiliation to the new organization. Mennenga saw it as a personal betrayal to the point that he called a press conference to denounce them. He charged at that press conference that it was they who had given him bad advice to take a hard, uncompromising line against the track owners, the racers, and the BMX press. His basic charge was that their collective advice was deliberate sabotage to undermine the ABA so they could make this move to set up their own governing body and destroy the ABA.

During a 1981 dispute with the promoters of the large-pursed ($10,000) Knott's Berry Farm race, the ABA bristled at being scheduled directly opposite, i.e. on the same Thanksgiving weekend as, their prestigious Grand National in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. That it was sanctioned by the NBL, being run under NBL rules and racers received national points at that race as they would at a national created directly by the NBL, exacerbated already raw feelings between the NBL and the ABA. The ABA felt it was a deliberate action to siphon off racers, particularly the pros from their season-ending Grand National. The hiring by the Knott's Berry promoter Thomas Henn of former NBA founder and President Ernie Alexander to run the race (he also designed the temporary track at Knott's) didn't help matters. Alexander had a reputation of deliberately scheduling NBA events against the events of other sanctioning bodies when he ran the NBA. Mennenga sent out press releases and faxes to the BMX press, track operators and bicycle manufactures allegedly hinting that they should boycott persons and organizations that participated in the Knott's Berry race.''BMX Action'' April 1982 Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 77–78

The ABA allegedly had a boycott list that had many notables of the BMX industry on it, including promoter Renny Roker, which the ABA ordered tracks to boycott his upcoming Pro seven race series that would later come to be known as the ESPN Pro Spectacular. Several ABA tracks left the ABA and joined Roker to participate in his series which were to be NBL sanctioned. With this siege mentality in his background it was easy for Mennenga to believe that USBA stole the valuable ABA membership records to proposition ABA racers to join the USBA. While the value of this list would be a motive to steal it, Mennenga provided no evidence.

As then, in the USBA controversy, whatever Mennenga's intention, it came off as a desire to shift blame for his actions as well as being unlikely that this conspiracy could keep its cohesion for over two years. The ABA even went as far as to launch a lawsuit against the five founders of the USBA, and while dismissed by the court, the lawsuit drained the resources of the new competitor and engendered the atmosphere that followed. It would the actions of the new USBA leadership that would lend credence to Mennenga's charges.

The two-year war between the ABA and the USBA was perhaps the ugliest rivalry that BMX has ever saw. It seems the USBA was making most of the aggressive moves. The motivation for rivalries like this was the $2 million to $4 million in revenue yearly that BMX generated at the time. Compared to other older more established sports like baseball, European football (soccer), American football and auto racing, this was a pittance but still enough to generate bad promoters and political infighting between and within sanctioning bodies. Track operators had quite thin profit margins to work with, which perhaps made the back biting even worse since there was so little to go around. There was a slump in the BMX racing market as mentioned with the growth of Freestyle, the resurgence of skateboarding siphoning off young people and the insurance crises to drain resources further. Pretty desperate times for the organizers of BMX racing, and desperate times generate desperate acts, including actions straight out of Watergate.

Despite all the foul weather facing the ABA, Mennenga, who was said to be an eternal optimist, hung on. There was one instance that was probably responsible for him relinquishing his position and BMX, the sport he had helped nurture, all together. On January 27, 1985, at the GT Super-nationals in Pico Rivera, California, a disgruntled woman hurled a cup of coffee into the face of Mennenga. In all his years involved in BMX he had never been attacked physically, but that was only the beginning of his humiliation. After ABA security had to physically remove the spectator from the facility, she filed a false police report that Mennenga assaulted her. The Pico Rivera police came down to the track and arrested Mennenga during the event. The true story eventually came up and the charges were dropped and Mennenga wes released.

On March 5, 1985, ABA founder and President Merl Mennenga with the loss of membership and tracks (in part because of rising insurance cost of liability), the ABA on the verge of bankruptcy and personal burnout and exhaustion-and possibly with the Pico Rivera incident on his mind, announced he had sold the ABA to Bernie Anderson and Jamie Vargas, two wealthy ABA track operators, for a reported $250,000 (paid out over several years''BMX Plus!'' June 1985 Vol. 8 No. 6, p. 71) and resigned as owner and President of the ABA. Vargas was a computer consultant from Louisiana who ran the first track in Louisiana. Anderson owned a magazine subscription sales service who founded Rebel Racing, a regional BMX bicycle firm he started in 1980 and sold in 1982. He at one time operated the first successful track in Texas. Both men had sons who raced at the time. The new owners installed Walt Ehnat, who had just previously been a partner with Gary Ellis Sr. in running four tracks in the Seattle, Washington area (including one in Tacoma, Washington) as the new president. They reversed some questionable programs like having three separate point seasons in a year (as opposed to having one continuous season for about a year) meaning a racer would race for the lowest number he could get not once (but three times). However, they decided to hold the remaining Pro Spectaculars despite the immediate financial gain it would cause by canceling them; the damage it would cause with their relations with the pros far out weighed in their view of any immediate financial benefit.''Super BMX & Freestyle'' October 1986 Vol. 13 No. 10, p. 22 They tried to stave off bankruptcy by paying off other debts, although declaring bankruptcy would have also helped the ABA immediately. As cancelling the remaining Pro Spectaculars would have been bad policy regarding the pros, the new management felt that declaring bankruptcy would have put out a false impression to track operators around the country that the USBA would exploit. Despite all efforts and the Internal Revenue Service at the door and a reported liability to twenty creditors of $700,000 to $750,000. Most of the financial haemorrhaging was inflicted by the losses over ''Bicycles and Dirt'' magazine. Anderson and Vargas filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 25, 1985. As predicted, the USBA tried to take advantage of the situation, with some success, by playing on the fears of track operators. Some tracks worried about the solvency of the ABA changed their affiliation to the USBA. The USBA tried to fan a stampede by calling individual track operators and citing the precarious position of the ABA with the publicly published court papers outlining the debts incurred by the ABA under Merl Mennenga. It attempted to generate among ABA track operators a sense of impending doom facing the ABA over its financial dire straits in order for them to change their affiliations to the point of harassment. The father of pro racer Gary Ellis, Gary Ellis Sr., who ran the ABA-affiliated River Valley BMX track in Sumner, Washington, was a prized target for conversion. Rod Keeling, the founder and President of the USBA, went so far as to have a face-to-face meeting with Ellis to convince him to jump ship. Such a defection of a high-profile track operator would have been a large propaganda feather in Keeling's cap. He was not successful, in large part according to Mr. Ellis. Keeling stressed the problems of the ABA, without stating how joining the USBA would be advantageous to Mr. Ellis and BMX as a whole. However, Gary Ellis Sr. was of the opinion that bankruptcy was good for the ABA since it removed most of the top management that got the ABA into dire straits in the first place:

''"... We basically felt ... well, I basically felt the person that started the USBA was part of the bad of the ABA that put them towards bankruptcy in the first place. You can quote me on that."''''Super BMX & Freestyle'' October 1986 Vol.13 No.10, p. 23

Many ABA track operators were of the same opinion. Also, since most track operators were businessmen themselves, they understood that the ABA filing for Chapter 11 protection wasn't the disastrous thing most laymen think it is. Many took it as a good thing since filing Chapter 11 would get rid of most of the executives who mismanaged the ABA in the first place, as was Gary Ellis Sr.'s opinion. They knew other companies in the industry that were in the same position as the ABA was but came out of it. The Van Doren Rubber Co., the maker of Vans tennis shoes that were then a favorite with BMX racers and freestylers and skateboarders alike, filed for bankruptcy a couple of years before and eventually came out of it solvent. However, nearly 160 track operators did switch to the USBA, effectively splitting the world of BMX racing three ways.

By late 1985, Sims and Cook, both commercial pilots, had left the USBA for flying jobs. Keeling was forced out by a USBA major investor, Phoenix, Arizona, businessman Ira Hall, and replaced with a new management team, including Walt Ehnat, who was installed as president of the USBA after Keeling was removed. Ehnat was Keeling's vice president at the USBA who had earlier replaced Merl Mennenga as President of the ABA. A few months later he was fired by the ABA's new management and had bitter feelings towards it. The USBA, which was in worse financial shape than the ABA by that time, was growing desperate, which may have inspired an unethical and illegal act.

Possible corporate espionage and buyout

As noted, a few months after his appointment as ABA President Ehnat was fired by the ABA under bad circumstances and was replaced by the new ABA management by Clayton John, a former motorcycle racer and BMX track operator and who is still the current (2006) ABA President. Ehnat became Vice President of the USBA and became active in the campaign to shore up the image of the USBA which was beginning to take damaging hits in the BMX industry, including its dealings with disgraced BMX promoter Renny Roker. Bob Hadley*, team manager of the Huffy BMX team noticed at one time that Erhart was pretty prescient in questions he had with him even before he mentioned them. At the time only Clayton John was privy to the specific concerns in a letter Mr. Hadley had that he had shared only with Mr. John at the time. The timing of Ehnat responses and the fact that the USBA seemed to always be one step ahead of the ABA in court actions was so uncanny Mr. Hadley joked that someone must have bugged Mr. John's office. Clayton John took the whimsical joke seriously and had ABA headquarters swept for bugs by experts in counter surveillance and corporate espionage. After the sweep, two experts, one a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent and the other a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent found evidence of tampering in one of the telephone trunk lines leading to Mr. John's office. The lines were stripped in a way that it was evidence that a telephone tap was in place at some time.''Super BMX & Freestyle'' October 1986 Vol. 13 No. 10, p. 26 "Interview with Clayton John" sidebar. No conclusive proof, only circumstantial evidence has suggested that the USBA was responsible. Another suspect, the IRS could have done it given the pressure they put the ABA under, including showing up during ABA nationals but aside from it being illegal without a court order, the IRS had perfectly legal ways available to them to get once sensitive information about the ABA, including financial assets. Most of it was public record, particularly court proceedings. The IRS had no real motive to go through the unnecessary risk of wire-tapping the ABA offices.

By early 1986 while the ABA was slowly getting back on its feet financially the USBA was starting to sink under the financial weight of poorly attended nationals and the loss of the core of their original management. Still, Mr. Hall approached the ABA with a plan to buy the ABA from the new owners Anderson and Vargas. This was quite strange since as mentioned the USBA was in worse shape financially than the ABA. On several occasions Mr. Hall approached Mr. Vargas and Mr. Anderson with buyout proposals. The talks came to naught.

There was a rumor of one final act to survive conducted by the USBA. The idea to turn Merl Mennenga, the founder of the ABA to somehow force Mr. Anderson and Mr. Vargas to sell back the ABA and then to sell the ABA to the USBA which would then close down the ABA under the Chapter VII bankruptcy law with the USBA inheriting the tracks ABA's then current leadership. If true, perhaps they were thinking about the precedent of Walt Ehnart, the former President of the ABA and by then the Vice President of the USBA that they could have turned Mennenga. However unlikely it would have been, nothing came of it.

Instead it was the USBA that ended up being bought out by the ABA. A few months later Messrs. Vargas and Anderson bought a majority share of the USBA from Ira Hall, becoming its two principal stockholders in 1986. About 24 hours later Ehnat was fired and replaced by ABA President Clayton John, placing him at the head of two sanctioning bodies simultaneously. Until the end of 1986 the USBA remained a separate body. The final merger of it to the ABA was in early 1987. The result was the ABA re-reacquiring most of its old tracks and some brand new ones—160 in total—and the USBA's membership. Later Mr. Vargas would sell his interest leaving Mr. Anderson the largest share holder.

Solvency and re-expansion

After 22 months in bankruptcy protection On September 24, 1987, the United States Federal Bankruptcy Court approved the ABA's plan for financial reorganization and removed it from Chapter 11 as well it should have been since it promised exorbitant gifts to the various national number ones that year, including the amateurs. For instance, the eventual amateur No.1 Mike King received a $14,500 Glastron boat and a Honda Reflex motorcycle valued at $1,600 for a total value of $16,100. To reiterate, the top ''amateur'' received the boat, not the professional number one. That winner got the "standard" automobile. The Pro number one for that year, Charles Townsend, received $1,600 in cash, a GMC Chevy S-10 pick up truck valued at $10,500 and a Honda XR250R Honda motorcycle valued at $3,500. Total value of $15,600. You had the odd situation of the amateur winning prizes of greater value collectively than the professional by a $500 margin. The amateur girls class champion Nikki Murray (unlike the NBL at this time, the ABA did not have a professional women's division) and the Pro Cruiser number one Eric Rupe also received Honda Reflex motorcycles.

If there was ever a sign of health of the ABA (and BMX in general) it was the 1988 Grand National in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was then the largest BMX race in history at 470 motos. This was by 27 motos larger than the previous record holder, the 1982 ABA Grand National (the 1989 ABA Grand National would be 467 motos, knocking '82 back to third). This was in the teeth of a general two year sag in ridership on the racing side of the industry and in the face of the popularity of BMX Freestyle, Skateboarding and the rise of Mountain Biking.

Though all this it still remained the larger of the two major bodies. The ABA has demonstrated over the years the desire to become even larger. In a plan to diversify and not rely on its BMX income totally for its survival, the ABA purchased the National Off Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) in the summer of 1986 (The ABA later sold NORBA to the United States Cycling Federation (USCF) in 1989). It also acquired from Hutch Hi-Performance Products, a respected BMX bicycle manufacturer, the National Freestyle Association (NFA) a BMX Freestyle sanctioning body. Hutch had recently reacquired the body back from the USBA which it had sold it to a few months prior. Hutch, which had started the NFA in the first place, sold it to the USBA because competing manufacturers were reluctant to send their freestyle teams to a sanctioning body run by a competitor, therefore helping him financially. The USBA, suffering its own financial dire straits, sold it back to Hutch who in turn sold it to the ABA.

In 2002, the ABA attempted to purchase the NBL from USA Cycling after it was approached by officers of USA Cycling to sell the NBL but was turned down by the USA Cycling board.

Proficiency and division class labels and advancement method

Open:

5 & under to 60 & over in 5-year steps. Age classifications only.

Operations

ABA National number ones by year

Note: Dates reflect the year the racers won their plates, not the year they actually raced their No.1 plates. In other words, Stu Thomsen won his No.1 plate in 1979 entitling him to race with #1 on his plate for the 1980 season. Brent Patterson then won the No.1 plate in 1980 and raced with #1 on his plate during the 1981 racing season.

''Pro Nat.#1 Men (AA)''
*1977 Title did not exist
*1978 TDNE
*1979 Stu Thomsen
*1980 Brent Patterson
*1981 Kevin McNeal
*1982 Brian Patterson
*1983 Brian Patterson
*1984 Pete Loncarevich
*1985 Ronnie Anderson
*1986 Pete Loncarevich
*1987 Charles Townsend
*1988 Mike King
*1989 Gary Ellis
*1990 Gary Ellis
*1991 Pete Loncarevich
*1992 Pete Loncarevich
*1993 Steve Veltman
*1994 Gary Ellis
*1995 Gary Ellis*
*1996 Robert MacPherson
*1997 John Purse
*1998 Christophe Leveque
*1999 Christophe Leveque
*2000 Wade Bootes
*2001 Warwick Stevenson
*2002 Danny Nelson
*2003 Warwick Stevenson
*2004 Bubba Harris
*2005 Bubba Harris
*2006 Bubba Harris
*2007 Danny Caluag
*2008 Khalen Young
*2009 Randy Stumpfhauser
*2010 Sam Willoughby
*2011 Marc Willers
*2012 Sam Willoughby
*2013 Sam Willoughby
*2014 Maris Strombergs
*2015 Joris Daudet
*2016 Joris Daudet
*2017 Connor Fields
*2018 Joris Daudet
*2019 Connor Fields
*2020 Connor Fields

''Pro Nat.#1 Cruiser Men''
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* TDNE**
* TDNE
* TDNE
* TDNE
* TDNE
* TDNE
* 1987 Eric Rupe
* 1988 Eric Rupe
* 1989 Hans Nissen
* 1990 Kenny May
* 1991 Kenny May
* 1992 Darrell Young
* 1993 Terry Tenette
* 1994 Justin Green
* 1995 Kiyomi Waller
* 1996 Wade Bootes
* 1997 Kiyomi Waller
* 1998 Kiyomi Waller
* 1999 Dale Holmes
* 2000 Andy Contes
* 2001 Randy Stumpfhauser
* 2002 Randy Stumpfhauser
* 2003 Randy Stumpfhauser
* 2004 Randy Stumpfhauser
* 2005 Randy Stumpfhauser
* 2006 Donny Robinson
* 2007 Danny Caluag
* 2008 Danny Caluag
* 2009 Danny Caluag
* 2010 Barry Nobles

''Veteran Pro Nat. #1 Men''
* 1977 CDNE
* 1978 CDNE
* 1979 CDNE
* 1980 CDNE
* 1981 CDNE
* 1982 CDNE
* 1983 CDNE
* 1984 CDNE
* 1985 CDNE
* 1986 CDNE
* 1987 CDNE
* 1988 CDNE
* 1989 CDNE
* 1990 CDNE
* 1991 CDNE
* 1992 CDNE
* 1993 Harry Leary
* 1994 Harry Leary
* 1995 Eric Rupe
* 1996 Eric Rupe
* 1997 Eric Rupe
* 1998 Eric Rupe
* 1999 Eric Rupe
* 2000 Eric Rupe
* 2001 Eric Rupe
* 2002 Jason Carnes
* 2003 Jason Carnes
* 2004 Jason Carnes
* 2005 Jason Carnes
* 2006 Jason Carnes
* 2007 Jason Carnes
* 2008 Kenth Fallen
* 2009 Kenth Fallen
* 2010 Kenth Fallen
* 2011 Matt Pohlkamp
* 2012 Cristian Becerine
* 2013 Cristian Becerine
* 2014 Javier Colombo
* 2015 Cristian Becerine
* 2016 Cristian Becerine
* 2017 Cristian Becerine
* 2018 Tyler Brown
* 2019 Tyler Brown
* 2020 Tyler Brown

'' Pro Nat. #1 Women''
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* 1999 Heather Bruns
* 2000 Michelle Cairns
* 2001 Jamie Lilly
* 2002 Alice Jung
* 2003 Alice Jung
* 2004 Jamie Lilly
* 2005 Samantha Cools
* 2006 Samantha Cools
* 2007 Alise Post
* 2008 Alise Post
* 2009 Dominique Daniels
* 2010 Dominique Daniels
* 2011 Dominique Daniels
* 2012 Dominique Daniels
* 2013 Dominique Daniels
* 2014 Mariana Pajon
* 2015 Alise Post
* 2016 Alise Post
* 2017 Alise Post
* 2018 Alise Willoughby
* 2019 Alise Willoughby
* 2020 Alise Willoughby

* Ellis finished second in points in 1995 to Christophe Leveque, but was awarded the title of National Number One Pro due to an ABA rule at the time that prohibited non-US citizens from earning the title. The rule was changed the following year.

''Amat. Nat.#1 Men''
* 1977 Title did not exist
* 1978 Kyle Fleming
* 1979 Richie Anderson
* 1980 Richie Anderson
* 1981 Jason Wharton
* 1982 Steve Veltman
* 1983 Doug Davis
* 1984 Mike King
* 1985 Brent Romero
* 1986 Eric Carter
* 1987 Mike King
* 1988 Kenny May
* 1989 Marty Christman
* 1990 David Milham
* 1991 Zack Roebuck
* 1992 Alexis Vergara
* 1993 Adam McGuire
* 1994 Kevin Royal
* 1995 Robert MacPherson
* 1996 Matt Ortwein
* 1997 Brandon Meadows
* 1998 Andy Contes
* 1999 Brandon Nicholls
* 2000 Ian Stoffel
* 2001 Wes Jones
* 2002 Sean Lechner
* 2003 Josh Oie
* 2004 Josh Oie
* 2005 David Herman
* 2006 David Herman
* 2007 Nic Long
* 2008 Nic Long
* 2009 Corben Sharrah
* 2010 Josh Klatman
* 2011 Josh Klatman
* 2012 Rusty Nesvig
* 2013 Maliek Byndloss
* 2014 Roman Jaworsky
* 2015 Kevin Pauls
* 2016 Jesse Welch
* 2017 Brandon Crain
* 2018 Ronnie Kim
* 2019 Riley House
* 2020 Cole Frederick

''Amat. Nat.#1 Cruiser Men''
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* 1980 Jeff Kosmala
* 1981 Joe Claveau
* 1982 Steve Veltman
* 1983 Brett Allen
* 1984 Jason Johnson
* 1985 Shawn Callihan
* 1986 Matt Hadan
* 1987 Darwin Griffin
* 1988 Kenny May
* 1989 Shelby James
* 1990 Justin Green
* 1991 In Hee Lee
* 1992 In Hee Lee
* 1993 Anthony Freeman
* 1994 Larry Miersch
* 1995 Randy Stumpfhauser
* 1996 Barry Nilson
* 1997 Barry Nilson
* 1998 Barry Nilson
* 1999 Barry Nilson
* 2000 Wes Jones
* 2001 Jarret Kolich
* 2002 Mike Ellis
* 2003 Kirk Chrisco
* 2004 Terrel Proctor
* 2005 Robert O'Gorman
* 2006 Chris Verhagen
* 2007 Billy Russell
* 2008 Kory Cook
* 2009 George Goodall
* 2010 Brodie Spott
* 2011 Chris Verhagen
* 2012 Reid Austin
* 2013 Shawn Diprete
* 2014 Kiegen Perlberg
* 2015 Jason Carnes
* 2016 Drew Motley
* 2017 Marshall (MAJOR) Gehrke
* 2018 Hayden Passanisi
* 2019 Rowdy Holzer
* 2020 Rowdy Holzer

''Amat. Nat.#1 Women''
* 1977 CDNE
* 1978 CDNE
* 1979 CDNE
* 1980 CDNE
* 1981 CDNE
* 1982 Debbie Kalsow
* 1983 Cheri Elliott
* 1984 Cheri Elliott
* 1985 Cheri Elliott
* 1986 Dianna Bowling
* 1987 Nikki Murray
* 1988 Cindy Davis
* 1989 Mapuana Naki
* 1990 Tammy Daugherty
* 1991 Marla Brady
* 1992 Betsy Edmunson
* 1993 Shara Wilson
* 1994 Ashley Recklau
* 1995 Cindy Davis
* 1996 Ashley Recklau
* 1997 Ashley Recklau
* 1998 Jessica Cisar
* 1999 Brooke Elder
* 2000 Brooke Elder
* 2001 Alise Post
* 2002 Terra Nichols
* 2003 Terra Nichols
* 2004 Alise Post
* 2005 Tyler Schaefer
* 2006 Shelbi Long
* 2007 Dominique Daniels
* 2008 Jordan Nopens
* 2009 Jordan Nopens
* 2010 Tyler Schaefer
* 2011 Dani George
* 2012 Sophia Forresta
* 2013 Kelsey VanOgle
* 2014 Kelsey VanOgle
* 2015 Sophia Foresta
* 2016 Elida Beeman
* 2017 Katja Shriver
* 2018 Payton Ridenour
* 2019 Tiegen Pascual (1st non American winner)
* 2020 Mckenzie Gayheart

''Amat. Nat.#1 Cruiser Women''
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* CDNE
* 1988 Leigh Donovan
* 1989 Dianna Bowling
* 1990 Stephanie Anderson
* 1991 Cindy Davis
* 1992 Sheila Songcuan
* 1993 Cindy Davis
* 1994 Cindy Davis
* 1995 Darcey Cobb
* 1996 Ashley Recklau
* 1997 Anna Appleby
* 1998 Ashley Recklau
* 1999 Ashley Recklau
* 2000 Kim Hayashi
* 2001 Kim Hayashi
* 2002 Mailani Mcnabb
* 2003 Alise Post
* 2004 Alise Post
* 2005 Samantha Bretheim
* 2006 Tyler Schaefer
* 2007 Dominique Daniels
* 2008 Felicia Stancil
* 2009 Carly Dyar
* 2010 Kelsey Van Ogle
* 2011 Jamie Wyndholz
* 2012 Kelsey VanOgle
* 2013 Jordy Scott
* 2014 Olivia Armstrong
* 2015 Olivia Armstrong
* 2016 Jaycie Sinclair
* 2017 Madelynn DeSantis
* 2018 Danica Anderson
* 2019 Danica Anderson
* 2020 Landon Burian

*Until the 1979 season when professionals were required to be licensed and earn separate points from the amateurs, the #1 plate holder was considered #1 over all amateur or professional. The ABA did have a pro class in 1977 & 1978 but the title of National Number One Professional was not created until the 1979 season when the pros and the 16 Experts were separated and the pros earning separate points (in the form of purse money won) from the amateurs. Prior to 1979 the pros, due to the comparatively small number of them, competed with the 16 Experts and were able to earn amateur titles.

'**'Title Did Not Exist. While the ABA did start its pro cruiser class in 1981 the title pro cruiser National Number One did not exist until 1987.

Special Race Series past and current

State Championships

NAG 5 Challenge
*The National Age Group Five Challenge is a competition formed from the top five National Age group year end finishers of National races. Males 15 to 28 of their respective age divisions are eligible.

Super Bowl Championships

Race of Champions (ROC)
*This is an invitational only race of the top 10 age and skill level finishers of their state championship series. The state champions get a special number plate with a red background and a white number one. The winner of the single event ROC (which is held the day before the ABA Grand-nationals at the same venue) is the champion of that event in his/her age group.
Gold Cup / Redline Cup Series

*ABA's U.S. Gold Cup series of events were created in 1981 and then, in 2000, as part of the sponsorship agreement with then-sponsor Redline Bicycles, was renamed the Redline Cup Series, before switching back to being called the Gold Cup in 2014 following Redline's decision to no longer sponsor the successful series. Redline/Gold Cup races are a series of regional championship events that are held mostly for the benefit of the amateur racer with a No.1 plate (designated by a yellow background) on the line for the overall winner of the age and classification. Its original purpose was to give non factory sponsored amateurs-then as today the great majority of BMX racers-a chance for a national title without having to go through the great expense of touring the country racing in nationals competing against sponsored national calibre racers. It originally was a one-off Jag like Championship race on November 27, 1981, in which the competitors just had to come in the top 100 in their districts to compete. It became a six race qualifying series in 1982 held in conjunction with standard nationals. Like in its inaugural year, the Championships was held the day before the ABA Grand Nationals in Oklahoma as a pre race. In succeeding years the ABA allowed the track operators to choose when to hold the qualifying races and they weren't held at the same time and place as nationals with the finals being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October. In the year 2001 the ABA changed the name of the U.S. Gold Cup Series to the Redline Cup Series. Redline Bicycles had been sponsoring the Gold Cup Series for the prior six racing seasons. Today the Gold Cup Series Championship or simply the Gold Cup, is the second most sought after title in the ABA. The races are a series of over 60 multi-point (double and triple) qualifying races in 35 states in the U.S. and one Canadian Province (2008 edition), which is divided into Western, Central and Eastern regions of approximately 14 to 21 qualifying races in each region.

SERIES FORMAT – 1981 to 1987: In the days of the former U.S. Gold Cup Series there was the United States Gold Cup Championships a.k.a. The Gold Cup East/West Shootout (there were only two regional divisions at the time after it was split into such in 1987) that was held a day or so before the Grand Nationals (and in the same location as the Grand Nationals) to decide the Gold Cup Champion for the entire country. This has been discontinued and no competition between the West, Central and Eastern regional champions to decide an overall national champion are held.

SERIES FORMAT – 1989 to 2012: A racer must make the main of anyone of those qualifying races (regardless of where the racer lives) to be invited to race the Western, Central, or Eastern regional finals depending on the location of where they reside in. At that level they must race in the final where they live. For example, a racer who lives New Jersey, which is in the Easter Region, is not permitted to race a final in California, which is in the Western region even if he originally qualified in California. That New Jersey qualifier must race in the Eastern final. These regional finals are held in September. The winner of their classes are regarded as their National Age Group (NAG) Champion. There are also Cruiser NAG Champion and Girls NAG Champions. The prizes for the winners are a custom Redline Cup jacket and a golden trophy. All Champions are entitled to run the yellow Redline Cup No.1 plate for the following year at standard district, state/provincial and national events just like the winners of the standard ABA National No.1 plates.
In 2007 the RL Cup season was from January 28 to mid August.

SERIES FORMAT – 2013 to current: Along with switching the title of the series back to Gold Cup, USA BMX decided to also change up the format. Instead of only one "qualifier" race, ABA now took a rider's best 2 finishes from a regional Gold Cup race. The Saturday race of the Gold Cup Finals weekend (formerly known as the U.S. Open) were to now count in the points chase, along with those two local scores. The Gold Cup Championship Finals, whether East, Central of West, would be the fourth and final finish and would determine who would win the No.1 Gold Cup Championship, trophy, award jacket and number plate. Additionally, USA BMX added a No.2 and No.3 award plate, to give a boost to the races series.

ABA World Championships.

ABA Disney Cup.

See also

*National Bicycle Association
*National Bicycle League
* National Pedal Sport Association
* United Bicycle Racers Association
*United States Bicycle Motocross Association

End notes

*Much of the source material for this article, particularly with the ABA's troubles with its Pro Spectaculars and clash with the USBA, is from Mr. Hadley's September and October 1986 two part ''Super BMX & Freestyle'' article "Reflections on the ABA vs. USBA Battle".
{{refend

External links

The American Bicycle Association (ABA)

2008 ABA Rulebook

The National Bicycle League (NBL) Website, the ABA's chief competitor

Cycle racing organizations
Bicycle motocross
Cycle racing in the United States
Sports organizations established in 1977