Photo: Hon. Anil Roberts amongst some the World's top BMX freestylers

Local BMX freestyle pioneer, Trevlon Hall, along with an entourage of some of the world’s top BMX freestylers, paid the Minister of Sport, the Honourable Anil Roberts a courtesy call at his office, on Monday 27th May, 2013.

Minister Roberts expressed his delight in having such great athletes here in Trinidad and Tobago and was also in full of praise of Hall, whom he acknowledged for representing Trinidad and Tobago internationally as BMX freestyler and working with the Ministry to promote the sport locally.

The visiting contingent praised the Ministry of Sport for its sponsorship of the Monster Energy BMX Freestyle Exams which took place on May 26 at the Jean Pierre Complex. The event featured competition between riders from Aruba, St. Maarten/ St. Matin, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago for US$5,000 in cash plus prizes.

The competition was judged by an elite panel of international experts from the United States, Hungary and France. The audience was also treated to guest appearances from some of the Best BMX freestyle athletes in the world: Pat Case, Nicholi Rogatkin, Daniel Sandoval and Jesse Puente from the USA and Adam Kun of Hungary.

The Minister believes that Trinidad and Tobago’s success in Sprint Cycling can eventually translate into the BMX freestyle format.

“We have done well on the track with Gene Samuel and Njisane Phillip in cycling over the years, so we believe that we have the talent here in Trinidad and Tobago and now we have go out and find it.”

In an effort to harness this talent the Ministy of Sport plans to build BMX Olympic style tracks and skate board parks to cater for all near the Larry Gomes Stadium and then three (3) others across Trinidad and Tobago.

Minister Roberts also highlighted the potential impact that BMX freestyle biking can have on sport tourism in Trinidad and Tobago, as he noted that the X-Games now has over 100 million viewers worldwide.

“We want people to come, perform, train, utilize our facilities and then enjoy the beaches, the fishing, the eco-tourism, the night life, the food, we have it all here in Trinidad and Tobago.”