International BMX Conference - Training Safe. First transnational meeting for Erasmus+ project - BMX Training to Win.

Last Week saw the continuation of the Erasmus+ Sport project “Training to Win”, where the partners finally found a chance to hold the first transnational meeting in Sangalhos, Portugal along with an International Seminar for coaches and a Battery Test of BMX riders.

The first two days 6th and 7th of September were scheduled for the International Seminar for coaches from six countries both – face-to-face and online. Malta was represented by BMX Coach Karl Naja from the Malta Street Sport Association, Karl was also entrusted in participating in a round table of coaches where he together with Coaches from Slovakia and Spain discussed various topics in BMX Coaching with all the BMX riders and partners participating in the conference physically and Virtually.

From the left, Slovakian Coach Peter Hencl, Maltese Coach Karl Naja and Spanish Coach Rafa Izquierdo Tello during Coach Round Table Discussion on BMX Training.

The International Seminar was followed by the first transnational meeting of this project. The meeting took place in the following two days at Sunlive Hotel. The main points discussed within this meeting were the first intellectual output – the Need’s Questionnaire, which was finished in June and the second intellectual output – the Battery Test that was almost finished but at the beginning of the transnational meeting event was still going on with the last tests of BMX riders mainly concerning lactate after the workloads. Riders from Latvia, Portugal and Spain took part in the various battery tests that took place to gather the data needed for the project.

The Battery Test gave the young athletes an opportunity to meet each other and get acquainted to youth mobilities also promoted by the Erasmus+ Programme. Unfortunately Maltese riders where not able to participate in the battery tests as local riders do not have the appropriate facilities to be familiar with such high level tests such as the 8m start burst. Although Malta has a BMX Racing track in Pembroke, it lacks the international standards you see in the track below.

This is why the Malta Street Sport Association works hard in participating in such events, so the knowledge and technology used in such sports like BMX are brought to Malta and the level of our local riders increases.