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Old School BMX 1980 - 1988 => Old School Freestyle (frame stands and kickturns galore!) => Topic started by: Trev on January 03, 2008, 04:56 PM

Title: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 03, 2008, 04:56 PM

UKBFA was formed in late 1985.  I believe Holeshot 85 was their first offical competition.

Does anyone know when it folded?  I kinda stopped riding around the 91/92 mark and I'm sure it was still going then.

Does anyone know what the last official UKBFA contest was?
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: DR VINOAH on January 03, 2008, 05:14 PM
here ya go trev :coolsmiley:

not sure if it answers ya question

http://www.23mag.com/events/ukbfa/ukbfa.htm
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: tricknuts on January 03, 2008, 05:28 PM
 Yeah. Trev. I've alwats wondered this myself. I can't remember the final days at all.

Did people just stop showing up to UKBFA comps?   or was there such a small turn up that they decided to fold there and then?

i can't remember what happened to the pro's. i remember pepi on skyway, but not much after that. i remember  Craig giving up, then being back at Holeshot doing his  half pipe 540,  but can't remember when Neil  quit.   
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 03, 2008, 05:46 PM
Neil quit in 86.  I believe the Poole National was the last comp he done (6th June 1986 i think).  If I remember rightly, that was the 5th of 6 nationals and he didn't show for the last one in Cardiff.

There were rumours of him quitting, being burnt out or simply having just missed his train.  More rumours surfaced a few months later that he was back riding, preparing for a tour for Holeshot. I think Paul Zak was also involved in that. But I don't know if that ever happened.

His profile appeared in the BMX Beat 86 Programme (August 86), so his retirement would have been not long before then.

Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: DJ on January 03, 2008, 06:40 PM
Cant have been long after 93/94? I think Roy & Diane had just had enough of it, they were still into it but werent getting any younger. I know a few people tried to start another organisation called BFN (British Freestyle Network) but it never materialised plus back then, it wasnt cool to have these organisations was it? Funny thing is, now it would be really helpful in BMX, especially with the BMX being in the Olympics n all.
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 03, 2008, 06:54 PM
I guess lack of people riding comps would be one reason.
Another reason could be that the UKBFA was basically a few rider's parents. Once their kids stopped riding, it would have been hard for them to carry on.
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: yoda on January 03, 2008, 07:12 PM
Hey Trev, for your info Holeshot wasnt the first bfa competition. There was a whole national series which they ran that year which started with the first round in Nottingham second round was in Edenbridge and so on throughout the year. I'll try and remember more for you but the old memory is a bit tattered at the mo....
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 03, 2008, 07:14 PM
Hey Trev, for your info Holeshot wasnt the first bfa competition. There was a whole national series which they ran that year which started with the first round in Nottingham second round was in Edenbridge and so on throughout the year. I'll try and remember more for you but the old memory is a bit tattered at the mo....

Dave, I thought the nationals that year were under the UKBMX banner...
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: yoda on January 03, 2008, 07:18 PM
Hmmm now youve got me thinking Ive def got the slow onset of alzhimers going on.......  ;D
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: BLUEMONDAY on January 03, 2008, 08:22 PM
I'm absolutely certain that Trev is right there. I don't think UKBFA started until late 85/early 86.

I remember this because on the weekend that the last outdoor BMX beat was recorded in Carlisle (1985), a UKBMX freestyle national was held at Carlisle's BMX club on the saturday morning (filming of bmx beat took place in the afternoon and a lot of riders competed in both contests).

I can become even more anorakish now for the trivia fans out there....but  the quarterpipe used at the UKBMX national on the Saturday morning belonged to Pepi (RIP) and was the actual quarterpipe used at the previous year's BMX beat. Think it was only pepi who liked that pipe.

I don't know whether this will jog your memory any further  Dave, but I remember you landing an air quite "awkwardly" (in the most painful of places) during your run in that national....not that it affected your performance at BMX beat later...lol

Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: welsh denny on January 03, 2008, 08:28 PM
the end of ukbfa.......................street happened. everyone wanted to be away from uniforms,, street riding was taking over and as freestyle was going very underground (and riders getting older) and not bothered about competing in a flat or  1/4 pipe contest- halfpipes were what were vert was about by now. jams were happening and like was said a lot of the head people at ukbfa sons/daughters had quit so was it worth keeping going as their siblings were no longer doing it.
rebeling occured late 80's with the banning of anyone bar the pro's winning any money so licenses were burnt etc, no one to be involved with cigarettes or alcohol.
how times have changed.
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: yoda on January 03, 2008, 08:29 PM
hahahaha fk man, I really cant recall that at the minute but hey im def not questioning your knowledge....(bluemonday)the scary thing is that theres now someone else on here that holds as much oldschool info as Trev......  ::)
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: rosscoe on January 03, 2008, 08:53 PM
I remember the first national in Nottm as I rode at it, cant remember the banner though, pretty sure it wasnt UKBFA

UKBFA really tried, even tried getting a riders rep going (I did it for a bit) but at the end of the day there was always gonna be a generation gap, and that would never work

I run a skatepark now......radcliffeskatepark.co.uk (site still under construction) and its funny when the youngsters dont know your background - they can be really difficult to work with..........this xperience gives me a huge but belated admitration and respect for those 'adults' who tried back in the day.They were doing what they thought was best for the younguns.

So heres to Colin Kefford (RIP), Mr Noble, Roy and Diane (looked after the local club at the time too - scary to think a very young skinny kid called bestwick used to look up to my riding skills.............), the MacDonalds, Pete Hawkins. the Crazy Geordie bloke whose name I cant remember, Mr Atkins.........all the judges etc etc etc. Without them it would have taken a very different route

Damn kids huh??
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: BLUEMONDAY on January 03, 2008, 08:53 PM
Ha ha....I probably don't know that much really......but I remember the whole BMX beat weekend like it were yesterday.:-

Great weather on the saturday......free cans of schweppes lemonade.....p*ssing it down on sunday......Alastair Pirrie breaking up fights amongst the local kids!!! Bliss.
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 03, 2008, 08:59 PM

Yeah, despite what a lot of people thought of the organised comps, i loved them. I met a lot of great people through them.

Top respect to those who tried to make it work.  Like Ross said, big props to those involved.

Colin Kefford (R.I.P.) & Peter Noble were the main guys to start with. Then Roy & Diane Winfield. Roger Atkins, Keith McIntosh, Peter Hawkins, Jonathan Swan, Anne Denton, Jim Bryant, Geoff Catlow. I'm sure there were plenty more too.
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: keyhole kid on January 03, 2008, 10:58 PM
ive still got my licence how sad...................... especially the piccy with me mullett
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: welsh denny on January 03, 2008, 11:07 PM
i've still got the rule book and the cardiff national booklet..... marked down for not being in factory outfit. marked down for presentation of the bike, etc,etc. no links with alcohol or cigarettes. like being in school . lol.
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: yoda on January 04, 2008, 10:27 AM
"So heres to Colin Kefford (RIP), Mr Noble, Roy and Diane (looked after the local club at the time too - scary to think a very young skinny kid called bestwick used to look up to my riding skills.............), the MacDonalds, Pete Hawkins. the Crazy Geordie bloke whose name I cant remember, Mr Atkins.........all the judges etc etc etc. Without them it would have taken a very different route"

The crazy geordie bloke was Will Smith. Him and his wife Jill also had a hand in all of these events because both theyr'e sons rode. They gave up so much of theyr'e free time and devoted it to freestyle. I lost count of the amount of miles they drove us over the years not only to comps but to places like Livingstone etc. I gave them loads of shit when I was younger along with all my mates cos we were typical kids I guess.

Clearly without them  we (me and my m8's) wouldnt have had the opportunities we did or got to the places we went to. Yeah there were a lot of things wrong the BFA in later years. These things came to light as the riders started to mature and wanted to take more control of the direction of the sport and its image. Thats just natural progression.

Without going on and on about the past one thing I know is certain; without these people's initial efforts good or bad I believe the freestyle scene would have struggled even more than it did in the 80's and 90's. Im sure a couple of the worlds top vert riders would agree with some of my points..........nuff said  ???
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: rosscoe on January 04, 2008, 11:45 AM
indeed. And in thinking about this I remembered getting a formal letter from the BFA after a national (maybe gateshead?) where I rode to a GuanaBatz song with 1 swear word in it. I had to issue a formal apology if I wanted to keep riding in their competitions.........oh how times have changed
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 04, 2008, 12:12 PM
indeed. And in thinking about this I remembered getting a formal letter from the BFA after a national (maybe gateshead?) where I rode to a GuanaBatz song with 1 swear word in it. I had to issue a formal apology if I wanted to keep riding in their competitions.........oh how times have changed

You rebel Ross...  :LolLolLolLol:

Maybe it was you that inspired Nick Phillips.
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: tricknuts on January 04, 2008, 06:50 PM
indeed. And in thinking about this I remembered getting a formal letter from the BFA after a national (maybe gateshead?) where I rode to a GuanaBatz song with 1 swear word in it. I had to issue a formal apology if I wanted to keep riding in their competitions.........oh how times have changed


haha  thats funny.   and the swear word was  only "bum" 
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: rosscoe on January 04, 2008, 08:19 PM
indeed. And in thinking about this I remembered getting a formal letter from the BFA after a national (maybe gateshead?) where I rode to a GuanaBatz song with 1 swear word in it. I had to issue a formal apology if I wanted to keep riding in their competitions.........oh how times have changed


haha  thats funny.   and the swear word was  only "bum" 

not quite... .......

but think my mum still has the letter from them

will try and dig it out next time I visit... >:D
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: tricknuts on January 04, 2008, 10:49 PM
 

I think we should start up the UKBFA again...  with uniforms and disciplinary letters the lot..
call Peter Noble. see if he's still interested in the job.   If not we may need to look at all other candidates ;D

its what this country needs. Bloody kids nowadays...  :LolLolLolLol:
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 04, 2008, 10:51 PM
to keep it traditional we'll need it to be run by rider's parents.

bill stupps, superbikedan, lazychubs, fruit.....
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: rosscoe on January 05, 2008, 08:58 AM
or why not have an old school freestyle comp done with the help of the original people..... those of you with old school bikes and uniforms can ride......... :idiot2: :uglystupid2: ??? ::) ;D

get practicing your compulsories
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: tricknuts on January 05, 2008, 05:57 PM
or why not have an old school freestyle comp done with the help of the original people..... those of you with old school bikes and uniforms can ride......... :idiot2: :uglystupid2: ??? ::) ;D

get practicing your compulsories

i say lets have another BMX Beat "REVISITED"  Get all the original riders back, see who wins now!. :LolLolLolLol:

 
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 05, 2008, 06:14 PM
or why not have an old school freestyle comp done with the help of the original people..... those of you with old school bikes and uniforms can ride......... :idiot2: :uglystupid2: ??? ::) ;D

get practicing your compulsories

i say lets have another BMX Beat "REVISITED"  Get all the original riders back, see who wins now!. :LolLolLolLol:

 


 :LolLolLolLol:  Great Idea Ross.

I reckon Carlo would win it.  After that maybe Andy S, Dave Y, Stupps, Macky, Jeff Spicoli....
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: rosscoe on January 05, 2008, 09:41 PM
or why not have an old school freestyle comp done with the help of the original people..... those of you with old school bikes and uniforms can ride......... :idiot2: :uglystupid2: ??? ::) ;D

get practicing your compulsories

i say lets have another BMX Beat "REVISITED"  Get all the original riders back, see who wins now!. :LolLolLolLol:

 

cant argue that Carlo would probably beat me........again.......remember the little bugger trying to psyche me out waiting to ride on BMX beat, felt like clipping his ear and telling him it wasnt really necessary........... ::)         


 :LolLolLolLol:  Great Idea Ross.

I reckon Carlo would win it.  After that maybe Andy S, Dave Y, Stupps, Macky, Jeff Spicoli....
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 05, 2008, 09:46 PM
that's right. i remember you were on just before him....
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: bmxer4ever on January 07, 2008, 04:36 PM
or why not have an old school freestyle comp done with the help of the original people..... those of you with old school bikes and uniforms can ride......... :idiot2: :uglystupid2: ??? ::) ;D

get practicing your compulsories

i say lets have another BMX Beat "REVISITED"  Get all the original riders back, see who wins now!. :LolLolLolLol:

 

Hahaha! I'm up for it! But if you enforce the cigarettes and alcohol ban I'm screwed! I actually remember sittin in the stands at a comp with a can of Bud and a smoke BEFORE my run, and nobody said anything! (Apart from Crazy Eric who was laughing about it!) Don't know HOW I got away with that....heehee! And as for getting back into a uniform....NOT A CHANCE!! I've actually got my first pair of Haro pants sittin' in a cupboard not 30 feet away from me.....no way i'm gonna fit !
And my old school bikes disappeared or got nicked....bummer.
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 07, 2008, 04:40 PM
haha. i've still got my Haro Mode 3's.  No way I'm ever gonna fit in them again. But then again, I was never on BMX Beat.

I saw Jazzchimp wearing his old Haro De Luxe racepants at MK.  Can't believe he could still fit into them.  >:(
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: bmxer4ever on January 07, 2008, 06:11 PM
Had to go and look for those Haro pants......and I found them! No digi camera, so a bit of scanner work and hey presto....

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/k48/2ndChildhood/Old%20School%20Gear/haropants02.jpg)

Pics are a bit big though....!

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/k48/2ndChildhood/Old%20School%20Gear/haropants03.jpg)

To my great surprise, I found these in the same bag.....

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/k48/2ndChildhood/Old%20School%20Gear/haropants04.jpg)

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/k48/2ndChildhood/Old%20School%20Gear/haropants06.jpg)

Can you guess what this is...?

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/k48/2ndChildhood/Old%20School%20Gear/moto01.jpg)

Hope I'm not hi-jacking your thread!
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 07, 2008, 06:30 PM
can't see photobucket pics on my pc anymore, so tried to view it on my phone. is it a bell moto 4?
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: rosscoe on January 07, 2008, 07:25 PM
can't see photobucket pics on my pc anymore, so tried to view it on my phone. is it a bell moto 4?

me thinks so, and should we mention that it was worn for flatland routines?????

maybe not..... :coolsmiley:
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: bmxer4ever on January 07, 2008, 07:31 PM
Hehe.....Moto 4 it is, still my helmet of choice!! Yes, it was worn for flat routines because the UKBFA rules stipulated you had to wear one and I could only afford to bring one lid to every comp. Would love to have got a Mag 4 as well, but i just didn't have a spare £100 odd quid. They were cool lids though. Moto 4 still fits like a glove, so a least my head hasn't got any bigger........ (!)
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 07, 2008, 07:49 PM
 :LolLolLolLol:  i remember using a Moto 4 for flatland. Hahahaha. I too couldn't afford two lids.

I have no idea why you needed to wear a lid for flatland though. They never made you wear one when you were warming up / practising before the comp.

I have no idea where mine is. I've not sold it or anything, so it's got to be around here somewhere.
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: macky on January 12, 2008, 12:12 PM

UKBFA was formed in late 1985.  I believe Holeshot 85 was their first offical competition.

Does anyone know when it folded?  I kinda stopped riding around the 91/92 mark and I'm sure it was still going then.

Does anyone know what the last official UKBFA contest was?




It was 1992 i think.. the Rider cup at Spittlefields old market, london.  they may have held some regional comps after that like??
Some one should start the ukbfa back up!!!
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: bmxer4ever on January 14, 2008, 02:03 AM
I've been meaning to go up to my folks house and look out ALL my old stuff - magazines, parts, photos etc.
Got a call Saturday night from my mum that my old man had decided on an impulse to chuck EVERYTHING out and burn it!!! AAAAgggghhhhhh! And it was gonna happen today!!!
Needless to say I went absolutely mental and got up there today and rescued everything (I think). I found some mad stuff - lots of UKBFA stuff - letters, minutes from AGMs - all sorts! I'm goin' back up on Tuesday to sort the junk from the usable, so I'll see what's worth posting up for you.
I even found my '88 UKBFA Licence in mint condition - wait 'til you see the photo! Haha!!
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: bmxer4ever on January 16, 2008, 08:34 PM
As promised, licence with bad '80's photo....haha!

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/k48/2ndChildhood/UKBFA/ukbfa01.jpg)

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/k48/2ndChildhood/UKBFA/ukbfa02.jpg)
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: teamsano on January 16, 2008, 08:55 PM
Got a call Saturday night from my mum that my old man had decided on an impulse to chuck EVERYTHING out and burn it!!! AAAAgggghhhhhh! And it was gonna happen today!!!

perfect threat for a loft clearance!!

nothing gets a kid moving quicker than a threat to bin his childhood!!

 :LolLolLolLol:
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: Trev on January 16, 2008, 09:00 PM
I did find my old UKBFA licence a few months ago I think. As tatty as fook though and the pic is well dodgy.

I remember one year, I sent my photo in and I was wearing a cap and shades and they still issued it.
Title: Re: UKBFA
Post by: bmxer4ever on January 16, 2008, 09:55 PM
Got a call Saturday night from my mum that my old man had decided on an impulse to chuck EVERYTHING out and burn it!!! AAAAgggghhhhhh! And it was gonna happen today!!!

perfect threat for a loft clearance!!

nothing gets a kid moving quicker than a threat to bin his childhood!!

 :LolLolLolLol:

Tell me about it! They're gettin' new central heating put in and I've been saying for months ' Give me a shout when you want me to come up and clear out that room...'.
As usual with my old man, he does what suits him and f@ck everyone else. Everything rescued though!
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