BMX competition with a difference

By Tom Shepherd
BBC Blast Reporter

Up for the challenge

The Rushden Jam made a welcome return on 25th July with its own blend of live music and extreme sports.

The festival is in its eighth consecutive year and the 2009 leg took place at Jubilee Park, Rushden.

For those new to the event, The Rushden Jam showcases an array of local bands and live DJ sets, thrown in with an offering of some of the county's top pro BMX-ers and boarders.

But it was the Weekender crews challenge that got tongues wagging.

Those went down to the event enjoyed a sprinkling of local talent in the form of bands such as Vender, Bill Snide, Borelia Mass and Sir Black Newt! There were plenty of opportunities for punters to get involved with the extreme sports which took place across the day; however the Weekender's Natasha House just couldn't wait for the event.

The Weekender's BMX challenge

The Weekender’s Natasha House

Natasha rounded up a selection of the local talent set to feature at the festival, and put them through their paces in a somewhat improvised BMX competition. It was a hard fought battle between bands Vender, Borelia Mass and Sir Black Newt, commentated and judged by pro BMX-er Ben Joyce.

The three bands were asked to call upon their skill, tactics and pure energy in a gauntlet of BMX tasks ranging from circuits to bunny-hops. The competition came to a climactic finish as Vender narrowly beat Borelia Mass in a head-to-head race.

The Rushden Jam headliners, Vender, were then crowned winners of the 2009 Weekender BMX challenge and their song 'Breakdown' was played on the Weekender radio show in honour of their victory.

Listen to the Weekender every week for more information on local music events and up coming bands.