Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Addyson McQuaig was just one week past her first birthday when she started riding a balance bike.
Five years later, the six-year-old Napanee native is now one of the top BMX racers in the country in her division.
She’s off to a great start in the 2018 USA BMX season, having already taken part in a handful of races in New York State and South Carolina, earning several second and third place finishes. In her most recent race on April 15 she earned a fourth place finish in New York State.
She has a few more trips down south scheduled but will also start racing at the provincial level.
Riding a bike was just a natural fit for her, as she followed in the footsteps of her father Jamie, who also races BMX. In fact, the BMX just seems to run in the family.
“My step brother and my daddy helped me,” she said of getting introduced to the sport. “I started when I was one.”
Races typically involve eight racers lining up at the starting gate, pedalling along a track that can be 700 to 1,300 feet long with hills and turns mixed in.
The young McQuaig made great strides last year, winning two provincial championships, placing third at the Gold Cup North East and made the podium twice at the Ontario round of the Canada Cup. Representing Team Canada at the Worlds, she placed 31st.
Though she has already established herself as a rising star in the sport and has shelves full of trophies, she says she does it just for the love of racing.
“Mostly it’s not about winning, it’s just racing,” she said of what she’s learned about the sport over her five years of competing.
The sport requires plenty of dedication and travel, with races taking place throughout the entire calendar year across Canada and the States. Her dad says the family will dedicate an entire weekend at the start of the season just mapping out all the races they plan to hit that year in an effort to accumulate enough points to finish atop the standings.
As the sport continues to grow in popularity, so too does the amount of kids who are getting involved with it.
“Since it became an Olympic sport, people are starting to realize it’s not just a bunch of hooligans on bicycles in the back parking lot,” said the elder McQuaig. “People are making a living at this.”
Along with competing in the 10 and under age group, McQuaig also takes part in the cruiser division, which sometimes has her matched up against racers that are up to 40 years old.
“At first she was shy but I told her, ‘honey they’re going to try to beat you if they can,’” recalled her dad. “Now she goes as hard as she can.”
She says she hopes to one day make a career out of BMX, but for now she’s just enjoying her passion while travelling across the States and Canada with her family. When not competing, she trains indoors at a track in Kingston.
At six years old, she’s not even the youngest racers in the family as her three year old brother Eli is also competing on the circuit. To keep track of their results throughout the season, visit www.mcquaigracing.com.