EN Last Saturday in November, as has been the custom for several years, representatives of bicross clubs and the BMX commission met in the meeting room of the Czech Cycling Association to discuss the planned changes for the upcoming racing season. The BMX Commission has presented several proposals that it wants to implement next year. Závody The chairman of the BMX commission, Lukáš Tamme, after the initial welcome, described the principle of financing sports through the National Sports Agency. It issues several subsidy calls every year. For all sports clubs, the most important challenge is "My Club", which contributes to the education of young athletes to all clubs that meet the basic requirements, without distinction. The subsidy is distributed according to the number of training units and participation in races. This subsidy title is therefore the same for all clubs and in a way "entitlement". Another option for financing clubs is their involvement in regional cycling centers. Each region has its own regional cycling center, where children are registered and monitored from an early age. In addition to them, the SpS and SCM centers also operate, which support talented athletes in their further growth and success. In addition, most regional centers contribute to clubs to organize competitions in their region. It is therefore important that individual clubs know about these possibilities and actively use them. After that, individual proposals of the BMX commission began to be discussed. New categories GIRLS The first proposal was a change regarding female competitors - the GIRLS category. The goal is to motivate girls - both to get involved in sports and to stay in bicross even at an older age. Therefore, from 2026, the official girls' categories will be announced. They will be included in the Czech Republic Championship and the Czech Cup races. If at least 5 competitors are registered in the given girls' category, they will go separately. If there are fewer girls, the GIRLS category will be linked to the BOYS category according to the following key: Girls 6 → Boys 6 Girls 7/8 → Boys 7 Girls 9/10 → Boys 9 Girls 11/12 → Boys 11 Girls 13/14 → Boys 13/14 Girls 15+ → Boys 15/16 In any case, the girls' categories will be announced separately in individual races and in the overall ranking of the Czech Cup series. At the Czech Championship, it has not yet been decided whether, in case of low numbers, girls will be combined with boys (see above) or with the category of girls one year older. Of course, the categories WE, WU23 and WJ will also be listed. In league and free races, girls will compete with boys according to the given key, and individual races will not be announced separately. However, the goal is to motivate girls - that's why the league series will also be evaluated in the girls' categories. The aim of these changes is to increase the number of girls in competitions and to support their motivation. At the same time, we believe that competing with boys brings girls valuable experience that helps them stand up even in foreign competition. We expect the system to be fine-tuned over the years based on real-world experience. Change in the results announcement system The introduction of new categories brings higher costs to the organizers. Therefore, the commission proposed to unify the system of ceremonial announcement of results to correspond to customs in other sports. From 2026, only riders on the podium - i.e. in 1st to 3rd place - will take part in the announcement ceremony. The organizers can (especially for younger categories, e.g. six-year-olds) also award prizes to competitors in the 4th-8th. place. These prizes will be handed out at the finish line after the finish of the final race, or after the qualifying races (if the organizer would like to award all competitors). The advantage of this change is the shortening of the time required for the ceremony and the reduction of costs. At the same time, we believe that the new form of announcement will be a greater motivation for competitors to "get on the box". Czech Championship and qualification The next Championship of the Czech Republic will most likely not take place until September, when eight Czech Cup races will already be held. Qualification for the MČR will be four completed Czech Cup races in a given year. National team jerseys Another novelty for the year 2026 is the motivation of older competitors through the possibility of obtaining a representative jersey of the Czech Republic. From 2026, new national team jerseys will be introduced, different from the previous ones. All older variants will thus be invalid. Information on ordering new jerseys will be published in time via WhatsApp and the ČSC website. It is true that only members of the national team can compete in national team jerseys. Challenge categories can only use national team jerseys at the World Championship. At other races, riders must use club jerseys. This move is intended to promote pride in one's own club - instead of the "parents bought the jersey, so I ride in it" approach. The national team jersey is supposed to be a symbol of true representation of the Czech Republic. Canceling the "Incoming" category The last major change for 2026 is the abolition of the "Incoming" category. After evaluating the level in the younger age groups (5-8 years), the committee concluded that these categories had lost their meaning. At this age, all competitors are beginners, so there is no reason to divide them. On the contrary, in the older categories (11+) the participation is very low and the races thus lose their sporting value. The commission therefore appeals to coaches, parents and novice riders to use free, regional and league races, which take place in a friendly atmosphere and provide an ideal opportunity for development. As they say - the best training is the race. The cancellation of the "Incoming" category is also related to the registration of competitors in the Register of Sports, which is the basis for the financing of sports as a whole. In conclusion The whole meeting was long – very long – but necessary. I personally feel that we did not have time to discuss everything that was planned. I would like to give more space to the discussion and opinions of individual clubs in the future. Already after the meeting, other initiatives began to appear that make sense and deserve attention. We therefore want to find a way to communicate with clubs more often and more systematically. My goal is for the organizers to have the desire to organize even smaller races with low costs - races that will be in a friendly spirit and where "bicross racing" will be an added value to the time spent together by children and parents. Bicross is, on the one hand, a children's sport that is primarily meant to entertain children, but on the other hand, it is an Olympic sport. The greatest demands are placed on the development of athletes after the age of fifteen - that's when a hobby turns into hard training and responsibility. In conclusion, I would like to ask all bicross enthusiasts: after Saturday's races, when most aren't rushing home, stay a while to applaud the riders who made it to the podium . This small gesture will make not only them happy, but also their companions - and it is a sign of belonging to our sport. Believe that one day your rider will also stand there.