First timers
 

It's only a big deal to us, but I'm going to share our pride.
My son's rode in their first crit today!!
the Arlington Heights Classic Crit. they did a 5-10 yr olds field, 5&6 yr olds in one race for a block (training wheels and all, very inspirational), 7&8 in another, a 1.2 mile lap (my 2 sons catagory), 9&10 in the last.
So Jake and Max get signed up around 10:30, then have to chill out all day to wait their turn(we live near by so we waited at home mostly). Then when it was time, the boys rode like little bats out of hell.
With 50 kids on the field they both placed in the top 15. Max (@7) was like 5th on a Trek mountain bike. and Jake(@8) was 14th or so, on a 2nd hand mongoose full suspension rig, that has a chain that fell off twice (crappy derailer). Everyone got a medal, and they got to wear numbers. a very exciting day.

What's a crit?

I think a crit is a small mammal about the size of a beagle. I do not think they are indigenous to the United States.

Criterium - closed road circuit race, common form of bunch racing. Can be done in parks, or anywhere where motor vehicle access can be controlled, such as town centres in the evening.

In the UK, before the introduction of 7-day opening for shops/stores/DIY warehouses, etc., they were often run on industrial/commercial estates.

We've just had our local half-mile cycling circuit, at a city council sports centre, re-built for £160k and expect to be organising regular ones from now on.

Under British Schools Cycling Assoc. rules, distances should be as close as possible to:
U8s - 2 miles, U10 - 3 miles, U12 - 6.5m, U14 - 12.5m and U16 - 22m.

They are fast and furious as the kids get older and require good bike handling in the bunch and can be exciting to watch. You could run one for kids on a large car park if it's unused out of hours.

PS congrats

thanks, for the info and the congrats.

By the way, check out www.decathloncycle.com for the Decathlon 7.0 model 24" wheel road bike - very basic (5 gears, down tube shifter) but suitable for 8-11 year olds. don't know what the price is, but in UK it's £119

They have several stores on the east coast, I believe