PODIUM. Journal of Science and Technology in Physical Culture, May-August 2022; 17(2):448-451

Translated from the original in spanish

Editorial

Motocross: challenge and sport attraction

Motocross: reto y atracción deportiva

Motocross: desafio e atração esportiva

Fernando Emilio Valladares Fuente^1* https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4952-1846

María Victoria Hernández Pérez¹ https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2234-0906

¹University of Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Faculty of Physical Culture "Nancy Uranga Romagoza". Pinar del Río, Cuba.

^*Corresponding author: fernando.valladares@upr.edu.cu

Among the extreme sports that has attracted the most attention worldwide, and especially on the island of Cuba, is motocross. There have been many Cuban motorcyclists who have dedicated their skills, time and resources to their practice; more than anything for passion and tradition. Too often, the sight of training or competing in this exciting and daring sport is enjoyed without realizing that behind this test of bravery there are many years of dedication, challenges and sacrifices that most outstanding athletes have had to take on.

However, even considering the contagiousness of this sports exhibition, there are not many spaces to disseminate information about this modality that is eventually present and that, if it existed, would significantly enrich the culture of sports.

Motocross originated in England in 1924, in those days they were only bicycles with built-in combustion engines; the stretch to be covered was only 2.5 miles long, including slopes, rocky sections, stream crossings and other natural settings (Larson, McIntosh, 2012).

But in a first stage it was not known as motocross. "It was originally known as scramble racing and quickly grew in popularity. Later, by combining the two terms motocyclette (motorcycle) and cross country (cross country), it was baptized with the name of motocross, and that is how it is known to this day" (Ajete, 2019. p. 2).

This sport has had maximum exponents in many countries of the world and annual championships of high magnitude are held that test the skills of the athletes and the best of the world's automotive mechanics, which is represented by the competitors. All this assembly of dexterity has been part of a story that is globally persecuted on the radio, television, the press and the internet.

However, scientifically, the studies have not been as multiple as possible, not more than this noble sport deserves. If a bibliographic search is carried out on the subject, aspects related to health and sports injuries are highlighted (Grange, et al., 2009; Humpherys, et al., 2018; Singh, et al., 2018). Other topics have been found that deal with accidents caused in the exercise of sport (Gorski at al., 2003), another related to a comparison between the physical performance of motocross athletes and other athletes practicing sports such as soccer and basketball (Sandel et al., 2018). In addition, a study on motocross seen from the characteristics of a championship of this event in the city of Semarang, Indonesia (Mahrani, et al., 2020) stands out.

Regarding local motocross, Pinar del Río province, this sport has come to establish itself and maintain a prestigious heritage of motocross riders. According to an interview applied to its provincial methodologist, Orestes García Fernández, the local team has won the national championship for five consecutive years, only interrupted by the Cornona virus pandemic in 2019. This team has contributed athletes to the national team.

Fifteen years ago this group was the winner in the individual category 125, for the 11-15 years category, and today, the award (2019) is repeated in the figure of Biarna Rodríguez Lobaina. This young athlete comes from a motocross family; her father and her grandfather were in their time and ensured this valuable legacy that makes this province proud.

In general, this sport makes its presentations in six events, organized chronologically throughout the year and in different territories of the country: the first at the beginning of the year in Mayabeque (Guines); the second takes place in March, in the province of Holguín; the third is held in Pinar del Río in the month of May; the fourth, in July or August, in the province of Sancti Spiritus; the fifth is held in September in Las Tunas and the last is held in November in the province of Villa Clara.

This Pinar del Rio motocross team has a group of athletes, coaches and workers who dedicate their time to improving techniques and exceeding the results of the indicators that govern training. It is important to add to this that the team receives systematic training by the methodological faculty of the local sports sector.

Regarding the material conditions in the sport, it could be mentioned that the technical team fights tirelessly to guarantee the basic conditions for this sport to be carried out, even though it is known that times have been very difficult to obtain original parts in the world market. This is where the innovative power of the workers, the use of Cuban knowledge and ingenuity come to the fore. Doing everything possible to return the smiles of motocross athletes and spectators after this pandemic that affected everything is the spiritual motto of Cuban motocross fans. Getting the knowledge of motocross to reach everyone with the same intensity that the races reach, that should be the main goal of any promoter of this risky but beautiful sport.

REFERENCES

Ajete., J. R. (2019). Motocross, a campo traviesa. Periódico Guerrillero. http://www.guerrillero.cu/motocross-a-campo-traviesa/

Gorski, T. F., Gorski, Y. C., McLeod, G., Suh, D., Cordero, R., Essien, F., Berry, D., & Dada, F. (2003). Patterns of injury and outcomes associated with motocross accidents. The American Surgeon, 69(10), 895-898. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14570370/

Grange, J. T., Bodnar, J. A., & Corbett, S. W. (2009). Motocross Medicine. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 8(3), 125-130. https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0b013e3181a61e95

Humpherys, J., Lum, Z., & Cohen, J. (2018). Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome of the Forearm in Motocross Riders. JBJS Reviews, 6(1), e3. https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.RVW.17.00023

Larson, A. N., & McIntosh, A. L. (2012). The epidemiology of injury in ATV and motocross sports. Medicine and Sport Science, 58, 158-172. https://doi.org/10.1159/000338728

Ruliana, P., & Ritonga, R. (2020). Building the Image of Semarang City through Motocross World Championship. Jurnal Komunikasi Ikatan Sarjana Komunikasi Indonesia, 5, 243-253. https://doi.org/10.25008/jkiski.v5i2.423

Sandel, N. K., Worts, P. R., Burkhart, S., & Henry, L. (2018). Comparison of baseline ImPACT performance in amateur motocross riders to football and basketball athletes. Brain Injury, 32(4), 493-497. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2018.1429020

Singh, R., Bhalla, A., Ockendon, M., & Hay, S. (2018). Spinal Motocross Injuries in the United Kingdom. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2325967117748644

Conflict of interests:
The authors declare not to have any interest conflicts. 

Authors' contribution:
The authors have participated in the writing of the work and analysis of the documents

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license
Copyright (c) 2022 Fernando Emilio Valladares Fuente, María Victoria Hernández Pérez