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History of the Veterans Cup

The Veterans' Cup has existed since 1995 and is held once a year in Weiterstadt. Initially not planned as a series, it has been so popular for years that we will be organising it for the 30th time in 2024. This makes the Veterans' Cup the oldest OSBMX event in the world

The idea for the Veterans' Cup came to me in 1991 at a race in Hanover. During the 5th round of the Superclass European Championships, an oldies race was organised to celebrate 10 years of BMX in Germany. Former licence riders were invited to compete against each other in a separate class. The reunion with the former BMXers was so much fun that I decided to organise an "alumni race" at my home club in Weiterstadt. Some time passed before I finally talked to TSV Braunshardt in 1994 about the idea of a "class reunion of former BMXers". The club was interested in supporting me by integrating this event into a normal race. However, I was to take on the actual organisation of the event myself. That's how I ended up organising the first Veterans' Cup in 1995, which was the birth of the BMX Veterans' Cup! After the first event in 1995 was a great success, I turned the one-off event into a series. Since then, it has been held annually and has developed continuously over time.

There are now three racing classes:

Veteran class (BMX bikes 20- and 24-inch, bikes of all years allowed, no clothes)
Oldie class (BMX bikes 20- and 24-inch, bikes and clothes from the 80s and 90s, no clipless pedals etc)
Chainless class (BMX bikes 20- and 24-inch, bikes of all years allowed, no clothes, only chain removed, everything else on the bike).

The conditions of participation are as follows:

Only race BMX bikes are permitted for the race, no freestyle bikes, no pegs, no MTBs and no click pedals. Anyone who is at least 18 years old and has not ridden a licence race for two years may take part. All age groups ride together, as do men and women. Helmets, face masks and gloves are compulsory, as are long trousers and long sleeves. Every year there is a special T-shirt made just for this event, which each rider receives as a participation gift. In addition, there is a team classification, provided that enough teams are registered (4 racers always form a team, the results of the races are counted together). The supporting programme also includes a bunny hop contest for all BMX freestyle enthusiasts.
A special aspect of the Veterans' Cup is the beauty show of old BMX bikes.

There are the following classes:

Best-of-Bike-Show (the perfect bike of the day incl. presentation etc)
King-of-Old-Show (the best bike of the day incl. presentation etc). Presentation etc),
King-of-Oldschool (all classes, bike AND clothes should be right)
Roots-of-BMX (bikes built before 1980)
Pro-Class (20-inch bikes from the 80s)
Expert-Class (20-inch bikes from the 80s and 90s)
Junior-Class (20-inch bikes from the 80s, 90s and 2000s)
Cruiser-Class (24-inch bikes, any year)
Freestyle-Class (all freestylers, any year).

Since 1995, over 300 different participants have already competed, most of them from Germany, but also some from neighbouring countries such as Belgium, Holland, etc. The 30th anniversary will be celebrated in 2024, and the newly founded "BMX Hall of Fame Germany" will also be opened on this special occasion and the first German legends will be inducted. This will add to the current German OSBMX history and continue for a while yet.

Let's see what else will come in the future.

Ralf Mauritz