SWEETWATER COUNTY – BMX races have been held at the Sweetwater Events Complex before, but now they are about to take place just as Wyoming’s Big Show 2016 is concluding.

August 6 and 7 are the dates when two BMX special events are coming. The August 6 race will be a qualifier event for the state championship BMX competition, event organizer Ashley Wells said, while the August 7 race is slated to be a special event, the “Race for Life”, benefiting leukemia and lymphoma research efforts.The August 6 race will be preceded by participant registration from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Wells said, with racing slated to start at 3:30 p.m. at the track.

Registration for each August 6 participant costs $25 because the race will feature double points, although Wells added that “first timers” will not have to pay a registration fee.

Registration for the August 7 race will be from 9-10 a.m., with racing slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. A minimum $10 donation from each participant is required for the Race for Life, with half of the proceeds collected going to efforts to eliminate leukemia and lymphoma.

“If a rider wants to contribute more than $10 at the Race for Life, they certainly can,” Wells said.

Spectators get in free on both race days. BMX participants race bicycles.

“They’re regular bikes, any bikes,” Wells said. “Participants range in age from, I’ve seen riders as young as two years old up to riders in their 60s. I heard that at the Utah track there was even a rider in his 80s. I think that as long as you can get on a bike, you can participate in BMX.”

Some parts of a regular bicycle, such as baskets, need to be removed prior to the start of the race, Wells saiBMX racers have no engines on their bikes except their feet and their muscles for pedaling, she added.

August 6 represents the second of two state qualifier BMX races held this year at the Events Complex. The first qualifier race took place in March at the Indoor Arena. Other state qualifier races were held in Gillette on June 11 and in Casper last weekend. Participants must race and have qualifying times in three out of the four BMX qualifier races in order to advance to state competition.

The BMX track at the Events Complex is located past the grandstand and behind the motor speedway, Wells said, with visitors needing to use the grandstand entranceway.

“Go through the Boar’s Tusk Campground and it’s right past there,” Wells said.

The racing track is 1,100 feet long, with four straightaways each 250 feet in length, and three turns. Each race takes about 45 seconds for each racer to complete the circuit. The first two races on August 6 will be qualifying races, with the third race for the fastest competitors from the preliminary rounds.

Participants at either Saturday or Sunday BMX event must wear helmets, Wells said, along with long-sleeved shirts, pants, and closed-toe shoes such as tennis shoes. A $60 annual membership fee entitles a participant to a subscription to ABMX magazine. The annual fee helps to pay for insurance for riders and bicycles.

Anyone desiring further information about the upcoming BMX races can contact Ashley Wells at 371-5332.