John David: How BMX Has Become One of the Fastest-Growing Sports

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When you think of the fastest-growing sports by participation, you might be surprised by which activities are gaining the most traction. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, the sport seeing one of the biggest increases over the past three years has been BMX, up nearly 9 percent in participation over that time. That’s no surprise to USA BMX, the national governing body for the sport, which has seen not only participation grow, but also the number of venues that cities are investing in to attract the sport and its largest events. And there are plenty of events. USA BMX sanctions more than 12,000 races a year and organizes its own national event series that has had cities reaching out to get a piece of the action. The world is taking notice as well. In 2020, Houston will host the UCI BMX World Championships at a new venue about to open. One of the key leaders in all of that growth and development has been John David, the chief operating officer of USA BMX and a longtime board member of the National Association of Sports Commissions, now known as the Sports Events & Tourism Association. In this podcast with SportsTravel Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz, David explains how the NGB has partnered with the sports tourism industry to grow its events, how the governing body has changed its approach to entry-level participants, the organization’s upcoming move from Arizona to Oklahoma and how USA BMX engages with cities that may not even have a track.