What beter venue than the 040BMXPARK to host the first official Dutch BMX PARK National championships. The park has attracted some of the top riders from the Netherlands who moved to Eindhoven just to be able to ride the park on a regular basis. Pim Scheers, Levi Weidmann, Daniel Wedemeijer, Milan Tenbult, Erik van de Wardt and Tom van den Bogaard now live close enough to ride the park multiple times per week with Shanice Silva Cruz, Jari Roggeveen and others making the trip to Brabant on a regular basis to get better at riding a bike. The Foampit and Resi section have given the riders a safe way to learn new tricks but at the first KNWU Freestyle Championships those two sections did not count (of course).
On the Women side The Netherlands could use some more riders but it's a growing process and with the attention that Shanice Silva Cruz is getting in the media, it's just a matter of time before girls will find their way into BMX Freestyle. Shanice grabbed the first Dutch title in BMX Park as expected doing 540's, flips and tailwhips at a park that she has visited for years.
The 8-man final in Eindhoven was of a high level. Riders are stepping it up and now it was time to shine. With DJ Winchester bringing the tunes, Dutch national TV filming and a big crowd on the balcony the riders went in full force. 2 runs each, best run counts. The format allowed for the riders to shoot for their best run possible and do it twice. Daniel Wedemeijer had an unfortunate crash on a flair-whip and hurt his hand during run one and did not get the result he wanted.
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.