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The Clearwater contest attracts riders from beginners to pros who find their thrills in spins and jumps.
By EILEEN SCHULTE
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 17, 2001
CLEARWATER -- This year's third annual Chaos in Clearwater Pro/Am BMX Contest lived up to its name last weekend at Central Skate Park on Ulmerton Road.
For three days, BMX riders ripped it up on a course filled with huge ramps inside the modified warehouse as they performed thrilling Superman jumps and tailwhips while songs by hardcore bands such as Refused blasted from stereo speakers.
Skate park manager Jay Turner said 150 competitors, including top pros Rob Nollie, Mike Andrews and Jeff Harrington, came from as far away as Canada, Ohio, Michigan and Massachusetts to participate in what he called the "grass-roots competition," which included street, miniramp and rhythm contests.
Beginner, intermediate and advanced riders paid $30 per event, while the professionals who were vying for a $2,000 purse paid $50 to compete.
The judges look for style, originality and best use of course.
Mark Mulville, 17, was there to ride the ramps. He only had to travel from his home in New Port Richey for the competition, which is nothing out of the ordinary for him; he comes to the skate park every day to practice.
"I'm up against 10 to 20 people," he said. "There's not as many people as there should be, but there have been a lot of good riders."
Mark Hewett, 19, drives from his home in Sarasota to the skate park once a week to practice. He didn't qualify for the finals in the street competition this year, but it didn't seem to bother him.
"I ride for fun," he said. "It's all about pushing yourself."
Chad More, 14, of Tampa, who has been riding BMX bikes for three years, competed in the intermediate street contest and said he thinks he did pretty well, although he wouldn't know the results until later in the day.
"You do whatever tricks you want to do," he said. "I do tailwhips, where you spin your bike around and get off and get back on."
In the world of BMX bike competitions, it's not uncommon for blood to be shed when performing moves such as tailwhips. Just ask 16-year-old David Donnals' mom, Tammie Donnals, of Port Richey. She said a few weeks ago her son was practicing his stunts when he fell and suffered a compound fracture. Instead of getting upset, he showed off the protruding bone to a couple of girls who had been watching him practice.
"He says, 'Don't freak out, Mom, it goes with the territory,' " Tammie Donnals said. "It's what he wants to do."
With his mother watching, David Donnals placed sixth out of 26 riders Saturday in the intermediate contest.
The riders range in age from 12 to 30, and the BMX bikes they use cost between $800 and $1,200, according to Termite Hudson of Profile Racing in St. Petersburg, who was at the contest handing out T-shirts.
Turner said the sport "is definitely growing."
"You see this all over ESPN," he said.