Pontins BMX Championships by Steve Keech

The weekend everyone waited for — always the third weekend in October — took place at a holiday camp in Heysham near Morecambe, Lancashire. Well, not that close to Morecambe, but nobody really knew where Heysham was anyway.

It was always held on the final weekend before the camp closed for the season. The annual pilgrimage up the M6 led you to a tidal-controlled shortcut road to the camp, and upon entering, Jim Bowen’s former Bullseye pub sat on your left. It wasn’t a bad pub, but he’d likely sold it by then and moved on to better things.

Pontins was an institution — for young and old. It was an adventure away from home, in the middle of nowhere, at a holiday park where anything could happen. For younger riders, it was the place you’d see and do things well off your parents’ radar, and you’d have the absolute time of your life. For older riders, it was racing and hard partying to the extreme, staying in war-style chalets at a camp that even had its own BMX track. It felt like being on holiday — with racing thrown in.

The racing was tough, held on a beachside track where the onshore winds tested your skills just to stay upright on the gate. It was competitive, too. It mattered to be at the front, battling against riders ranging from moto fillers to No. 1s — all of them running on late nights and hangovers from the evening before.

Although it was a fun weekend, everyone wanted to make the final and get up on the stage to collect a trophy in the lavish ballroom, home to the world’s longest bar, where the cabaret-style presentation wrapped up the weekend. The whole experience was nostalgic — the camp was old, the season was ending, and even the employees, the famed Bluecoats, usually joined in the party.

As with all weekends like this, what happens in Pontins stays in Pontins. It was definitely a memorable weekend — one that always comes up whenever riders get together to talk about the old days.

Anthony Sewell (GT) and Gary Llewellyn on the Yes team, with Geth Shooter behind them, battling at the 1985 Pontins Open Championships. Sewell took the overall win across all three finals. (BMX Bi-Weekly)