Jomo Series Eliminates Pro Class

The JoMoPro series brought BMX pros from near and far to Missouri in April for one of the season's most celebrated events. This year, there are changes to the event, including the elimination of the pro class in the BMX Park category, and the addition of skateboarding to the weekend. "We will be offering Intermediate and Expert classes for BMX Park. We will also be offering Intermediate and Expert Classes for Skateboarding in the park as well this year," said Autumn Ramp Park director Jeremiah Anderson. "This is a throwback to the original JoMoPro," he added.

JoMoPro will also offer a flatland BMX competition in partnership with Flatland Fuel, which will offer Intermediate, Veteran, Expert, Masters and Pro classes, so there will be an assortment of pros traveling to Joplin for the weekend of April 8-10, 2011, but there will not be the usual 50+ BMX park pros on hand to compete in the event for a cash purse and grand prize motorcycle, as there has been in the past.

But, as Anderson noted, select pros will be invited from both BMX and skate "To hangout with the am riders and skaters, and also to judge the event."

"These changes have been made in order for us to get back to the original reason we started doing the event, which was to provide a fun and well executed competition experience for the up and coming riders and skaters in the Midwest," said Anderson. "For 2011 we feel the way for us to produce a quality event is to make these changes," he added.

To reflect the changes to the event, the name has been changed from "JoMoPro" to "JoMoShowdown."

Over the past four years, JoMoPro has attracted Dew Tour and X Games athletes, and has featured $25,000 cash purses, and Harley Davidson motorcycles as Best Trick awards. Opened in 2006 in Joplin, Missouri, Autumn Ramp Park has held JoMoPro every year in April since the park opened. Together, with the Bridge Center and the Foundry Music Venue, the 20,000 square-foot building makes up Bridge Ministries, a non-profit organization that exists to develop relationships with teens that will make a positive impact on their lives.