Bunny-hop to it: daring two-wheelers reach new heights

Paolo Cotrim, BMX coach for Access Sport, at Haggerston BMX track

On any given Sunday a trip to Haggerston BMX track, nestled behind Hackney City Farm, will award you with the sight of swarms of ant-like children kitted out in kneepads and headgear flying and hurtling over jumps.

In a rare example of a clear-cut Olympic legacy, BMX tracks in five of the host boroughs were built in an attempt to attract budding bikers to the newest and coolest of Olympic sports.

As well as running weekend sessions for enthusiasts, the BMX Legacy project, run by Access Sport, aims to “transform lives through sport” and collaborates with local schools including Oaklands and Bridge Academy to encourage kids to get into cycling.

Brazilian coach Paolo Cotrim feels that putting kids on bikes is not just a fun day out but can help children who struggle at school with behavioural difficulties and give them a safe place to let off steam.

He said: “Kids who like BMX biking are normally ones with bad behaviour who are not interested in mainstream sports. The club gives them a sense of belonging to something.”

“Most kids who join gangs or can’t behave are often just looking for some attention. They want to belong to somewhere that will care, and I think the BMX project gives them that’.

An air of excitement and nerves surrounded the taster session for Year Four pupils from Lawdale School in Bethnal Green on a sunny Wednesday morning at the Haggerston track. The children practiced their riding BMXstances by standing up on the pedals as Paolo shouted encouragement over a loudspeaker.

After the session, Tamima Khanam, aged eight, said: “I think it was really fun and I would like to go here again, the bikes were awesome to ride.”

Initially nervous about the bikes, Nailah Rahman got the hang of it pretty quickly.

She said: “At the beginning I thought it was really extremely hard and I started getting butterflies in my tummy but then when I got used to it, it was really easy.”

Minaj Islam, aged nine, said: “It was the best experience I have ever had.”

Funded by Transport for London and other sponsors, the BMX Legacy Project is a success story.

Paolo Cotrim notes that “many people complain there is no Olympic legacy,” but he explains, “with BMX there definitely is. We had more than 1000 kids coming through the club last year.”