Photo Gallery: 2011 Young Guns Shootout

Our fourth trip to the Young Guns Shootout at Steel Wheels BMX had a lot of the earmarks of the first trip. Lots of 13 and under race action, an abundance of familiar faces and a house full of fans, families and photogs.

Rider count this year was 125, sorted into five classes: 7-Under Boys, 8-10 Boys, 11-13 Boys, 10-Under Girls and 11-13 Girls

Justin Richmond has been the most consistent and successful rider in the history of the Young Guns series, having never lost a lap in the four years of racing the event. He closed out his Young Guns career with absolute dominance in the 11-13 class, and was joined on the podium by two of his Snap Factory Teammates, Nick Deters and Tyshawn Carr. Nick just joined the Snap squad after the Grands, and is looking good in the new threads. The Snap guys have some new things afoot for 2012, showing some early signs via the corral of Ssquared frames in their pit, replacing the Redman rides. More to come on that.

In the 11-13 Girls Class, Rennen-Intense Michigander, Elida Beeman was up front in all the rounds and put the punctuation on a good season.

DK’s Ohio Express, Spencer Cole, brought the fight to the 8-10 boys class in a big way, winning the main by a beefy margin. Coletrain was rockin the new DK Magnesium frame, which we know lots of people are anxious to get their hands on in the new season.

We don’t have the official results yet, and will update this post when we do, but before we head back to Steel Wheels for today’s Future Pro Challenge, we wanted to get the photo gallery up for y’all.

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Young Guns Goes Top Gun With Camp

Over the past few years, we have watched, with great interest, the evolution of Brad Cloutier’s “Young Guns BMX” program. It started with the “Young Guns Shootout” — an annual race for riders 12 and under…then added on a factory team, then a “development” team.

We love the work Brad is doing, because it shines the spotlight on a segment of the sport that gets very little coverage or attention, the…well…young guns. Everyone loves covering the latest and greatest Elite rider at the top of the UCI standings, that’s an easy do…and the Jr. Devo prodigy who is going to give Maris and Willers a run in a year or two. But the seven-year old who is on a tear in the ABA series is rarely given the props s/he deserves. We, of course, include ourselves in this lamb-basting.

Well, Brad and his board of directors have taken their concept to yet another new stage, with the creation of the “Top Gun” Camp. As you’ll read in the press release below, the camp will take place July 8-10 at Imagination Glen BMX in Portage, IN, site of the 2011 Hoosier National. The admittance policy is “invitation-first,” with invitations having been sent out to the top 10 NAG standings in the 11 to 14 year old boys classes. Remaining spots after the invitation RSVP period closes will be available to riders who petition for a slot.

Along side the camp will be the introduction of the “Top Gun BMX Scholarship Program.” This scholarship is not going to send you to Harvard, but it will send a handful of lucky riders each year to the Harvard of BMX Development–the USAC Jr. Development Camp in Chula Vista.

The full release follows, but suffice it to say we are anxious to see how that this innovative group continues to evolve.

Young Guns BMX Announces Top Gun BMX Camp and Junior Development Scholarship Program

Young Guns BMX, LLC, in cooperation with the American Bicycle Association (ABA), is pleased to announce the creation of Top Gun BMX Camp and Junior Development Scholarship.

The inaugural camp will take place July 8-10 at Imagination Glen BMX in Portage, IN, site of the 2011 Hoosier National. Top Gun BMX Camp has been designed as a pre-Junior Development camp for expert riders between the ages of 11 and 14 interested in pursuing the ABA’s Junior Development program. 44 of the top expert riders in the country will participate by an invitation and petition process.

40 Top Gun BMX Camp invitations have been sent by the ABA to the top 10 NAG riders (based on last year’s final results) in each of the respective classes. These riders have until May 13 to reserve their place. Any remaining openings will be made available to expert riders who petition for a spot in the camp. Top Gun BMX Camp will focus on advanced BMX skills and is designed to prepare attendees for the SX style tracks and competition.

Leading the Camp coaching staff will be USA Cycling World Team Coach Jerry Bradford. Mr. Bradford is a USA Cycling Certified Instructor, USA Challenge Team Coach and the USA Cycling Junior Development Coach. Assisting Jerry, in the role of Lead Instructor, will be 2007 ABA #1 AA Pro and three-time Pro Cruiser Champion Danny Caluag.

Expert riders between the ages of 11 and 14 who have not received an invitation to Top Gun BMX Camp are encouraged to visit the camp website at www.topguncamp.com and complete the petition form.

Additionally, Young Guns BMX is pleased to announce the Top Gun BMX Scholarship Program. The scholarship program is designed to help offset the costs of participating in the ABA’s Junior Development Camps in Chula Vista. With BMX as an Olympic sport it is our goal to aid in the growth and development of our future Olympians by deepening the talent pool of USA BMX for future generations. The Top Gun BMX Scholarship program will sponsor at least one rider per year who previously participated in Top Gun BMX Camp. With an eye towards the future it is our desire to be able to sponsor multiple athletes in the Junior Development Camps. Young Guns BMX is currently accepting donations from the BMX Community, companies and individuals interested in assisting future Olympic BMX athletes and helping promote the sport of BMX. Interested parties may contact Brad Cloutier at bradc@younggunsbmx.com.

Brad Cloutier
Young Guns BMX, LLC
bradc@younggunsbmx.com
www.younggunsbmx.com / www.topguncamp.com