BMX Event
NORA Cup
The NORA Cup is Ride BMX magazine's annual awards night, where riders and industry vote for the Number One Rider in street, park, dirt, flatland and more.
Updated 3 min read708 words
The NORA Cup (Number One Rider Award) is the annual awards ceremony run by Ride BMX magazine. Professional riders and industry members vote for the rider of the year in each major discipline, along with awards for the year's best video and other categories. It began in the 1990s and is the closest thing freestyle BMX has to an official end-of-year honours list, carrying weight because the votes come from inside the sport rather than from a judging panel or a television audience.
History
Ride BMX was founded in the early 1990s as a freestyle magazine and quickly became one of the most influential publications in the sport. The NORA Cup was created in the mid-1990s as a way of recognising riders whose influence went beyond contest results. In an era when video parts in releases such as Props were as important to a rider's reputation as medals, the magazine wanted an award that reflected what riders themselves thought.
For many years the ceremony was held in Las Vegas during the Interbike trade show, which brought most of the BMX industry together in one place each autumn. The night became a fixture of the industry calendar, as much a party as an awards show. Later editions moved to other locations and formats, including events tied to contests and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, online presentations.
The categories evolved with the sport. Vert was a core award in the 1990s and 2000s before the discipline shrank. Street grew in prominence through the 2000s and 2010s as described in Rise of street riding. Video of the Year shifted from full-length videos to web content as online video took over, a change covered in Web edit era.
Format
The NORA Cup is an awards ceremony rather than a competition, and its format reflects that.
- Ride BMX compiles nominees in each category based on the previous year's riding, video releases and contest results.
- Ballots go to a voting pool of professional riders, team managers, photographers, filmers and other industry figures.
- Votes are counted and the winners are announced at a ceremony, with the trophy (the NORA Cup itself) presented to each winner.
- Core categories have included Street, Park, Dirt, Flatland and Vert, with Video of the Year, Rookie of the Year and a readers' choice or public vote category in various years.
- Some editions have also recognised lifetime contributions and industry figures.
Because the vote is based on a full year of activity, a rider can win without a strong contest season if their video output and influence are high. This is a deliberate difference from medal-based recognition.
Notable moments
- Dave Mirra was a frequent winner in the 1990s and 2000s, reflecting his dominance in both contests and video during that period.
- Garrett Reynolds has won the Street award more times than any other rider, mirroring his record at the X Games and in video parts.
- Riders such as Chase Hawk, Ruben Alcantara and Van Homan have been recognised in years where their video parts and influence mattered more than any contest result.
- Video of the Year awards have gone to landmark releases from brands and crews, and the category is often used as a marker of which videos defined a given era.
Significance
The NORA Cup matters because of who votes. Contest results reward what happens on a given day on a given course. The NORA Cup rewards the rider that the sport itself considers the best over a whole year. Winning one has long been seen as a sign of respect from peers, and for riders who focus on video rather than contests it is often the main form of recognition available.
The awards also serve as a historical record. Looking back at the list of winners by year gives a clear picture of which riders, disciplines and videos were shaping BMX at any point since the mid-1990s, from the vert and dirt dominance of the late 1990s through the growth of street in the 2000s and the online video era that followed.
As print magazines declined, Ride BMX moved online, and the NORA Cup continued as one of the brand's most visible activities.
Related
Frequently asked questions about NORA Cup
What does NORA stand for?
NORA stands for Number One Rider Award. The awards were created by Ride BMX magazine to recognise the best rider in each discipline over the previous year.
Who votes for the NORA Cup?
The main awards are decided by a vote of professional riders and people working in the BMX industry, rather than by contest results. Some categories have used a public or readers' vote.
Is the NORA Cup a contest?
No. It is an awards ceremony. There is no riding judged on the night; the awards reflect a rider's whole year, including video parts, contest results and overall influence.
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