Hard Yards has been an event in my head for quite some time now. Saturday the 24th of June, 2023 was the day we finally made it a reality. I wanted to put on a BMX event that was completely fun & with a feel like an older comp from the 1990’s or the 2000’s. From the feedback I’ve received, looks like we achieved that. Really stoked on seeing so many smiling faces all day from riders & the crowds alike. All riders were absolutely killing it, with almost all styles of ramp riding going down.
I wanted Hard Yards to really stand out from other events. It had to be fun for those to ride in it & fun to watch those who were lucky enough to attend. Being it’s in my own backyard, invitees (19 x riders this time around) & crowds had to kept to a minimum, it’s just how it has to be.
But luckily, for those that weren’t there on the day, Cooper Brownlee & Troy Charlesworth were on hand to film the action. Expect some full blown comprehensive video coverage to come out soon. We even had Nick Richardson & Yonny Wakefield on the microphone, which was pure gold. Thank you guys.
Hard Yards was a jam format comp with groups of 4-5 riders having a 20 min jam to take as many runs on the ramp as they wanted. They could also take as many attempts at a certain trick that they wanted as well. Just like the old days, you were not stopping until you pulled what you wanted. It was great.
Classes were judged & split into different styles of riding as well. We had Tech, Burly & Style/Flow. This really enabled all riders to be able to excel in their own style of riding & grab some glory. Some riders did well in all 3 categories.
To top it all off, it was all rider judged. That’s right, each rider after the event, had their own judging form & then chose their own top 3 riders for each Tech, Burly & Style/Flow.
We also had 3 best trick events as well. One on the street spine, one on the wallride & to finish it off, one on the hitching post. Again all rider judged with all riders choosing their own winner for each.
To top it all off we had $4,750 as the prize purse for the winners.
Once all was tallyed up, the results were…
Tech
1. Paterico Fallico $500
2. Karl Southern $300
3. Clint Millar $200
Burly
1. Sam Grace $500
2. Chris James $300
3. Dean Florian $200
Style & Flow
1. Sean Gardiner $500
2. Dean Florian $300
3. Jayden Fuller $200
Street Spine Best Trick
1. Paterico Fallico $500
Wallride Best Trick
1. Chris James $500
Hitching Post Best Trick
1. Dean Florian $500
There was also a Pixeld Energy rider of the day chosen by none other than Nick Richardson himself, the owner of Pixeld Energy. For absolutely killing it all day in every way, Richo chose his rider of the day.
Pixeld Rider of the Day
1. Karl Southern $250
I plan to have two Hard Yards events each year with the next one already in the planning stages to be about 5-6 months from now.
Look out for the video coverage to be coming out in the weeks ahead. It’s going to be something really special to watch & will give you the feeling of being here in person, regardless if you were or not.
Thanks to all those that helped out along the way, you all rule. Thanks to all the riders that came along & rode all day, you all rule. Thanks to everyone that came out & supported the event, you all rule.
Hard Yards #2 will have a date announced soon.
Yo yo !!
