How 'BMX in a wheelchair' grew from viral clips to a global sport — and how it could reach the Paralympics

Wheelchair motocross — commonly called WCMX — has become an online sensation, with riders posting tricks and tutorials that have helped the sport spread from pockets of enthusiasts in the United States to active communities across Europe, Australia and Brazil. The next major event is the World Championships in Bulle, Switzerland, scheduled for Sept. 12-14, as athletes and organisers push to build structures that could one day make WCMX eligible for the Paralympic Games.

WCMX athletes perform tricks in a skatepark-style setting, taking up to three 90-second runs to showcase aerial and technical skills and accrue points, similar to BMX and skateboarding formats. The sport’s growth has been fuelled largely by social media stars and pioneers such as Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham, who coined the term WCMX around 2000 and gained global attention after riding in the Rio 2016 Paralympics opening ceremony. Young British rider Tomas Woods, now a double world champion, described the sport simply as "basically BMX in a wheelchair," and credited online videos with changing the course of his life after he first tried the discipline at Greystone Action Sports in Salford in January 2020.

The visibility of WCMX online has not yet translated into automatic acceptance by international sporting authorities. The International Paralympic Committee told BBC Sport that WCMX is not currently eligible to apply for inclusion at Brisbane 2032 because it is neither governed by an IPC member international federation nor recognised as an IPC-recognised federation. The IPC requires that a sport be regularly practised in at least 32 countries across three regions, have a recognised governing body able to run competitions and qualifying events, comply with the World Anti-Doping Code, and possess a formal constitution and competition regulations before being considered for the Paralympic programme.

Organisers and athletes acknowledge those gaps but say work is underway. World WCMX president Jo Woods has been collating rules from national bodies and "mashed them all together" to form a unified rulebook, while double women's world champion Lorraine Truong has created the first classification schedule to determine how athletes with varying disabilities should be grouped for competition. "It's not where we want it to be, but there are boots on the ground," Tomas Woods said, reflecting both progress and the remaining challenges.

Talks have taken place with World Skate — the federation that runs Olympic skateboarding — about that organisation taking on responsibility for WCMX, a move supporters say would help meet governance criteria and raise the sport’s Paralympic prospects. World WCMX leaders have said they were aiming for a test event at Los Angeles 2028 and targeting inclusion at Brisbane 2032, but the IPC has indicated there are no plans for test or demonstration sports at the next Summer Paralympics and that WCMX has missed the window for 2032 under the current processes.

Beyond governance, access and funding remain practical barriers. Specialist WCMX wheelchairs can cost up to £16,000, putting them beyond reach for many prospective riders. Some skateparks have begun to offer WCMX-specific chairs for hire on designated nights, and national pockets of organisation exist in countries such as Germany, Switzerland and the United States. In the United Kingdom, growth has been more grassroots: riders frequently rely on family support, crowdfunding and sponsorship to buy equipment and travel to competitions. Tomas Woods said his first chair was paid for by his parents selling a car, and that rental fleets similar to those used for skateboards or BMX bikes would widen participation considerably.

The sport’s stars have used social media not only to build personal profiles but also to teach and recruit, posting tutorials, travel and competition footage and advice for newcomers. Fotheringham, who has hundreds of thousands of followers and is widely regarded as a foundational figure in WCMX, described the sport’s spread as "pretty cool," noting different countries bring varied approaches and styles. British athletes including Lily Rice and Ben Sleet have also attracted sizeable followings and are using those platforms to promote the sport and seek sponsorship.

WCMX’s competitive history is still short. The inaugural World Championships took place in Hamburg in 2019, and the discipline has held events both indoors and outdoors in a range of skatepark environments. The world circuit’s return to Europe with the Bulle championships will bring riders together in a region noted for strong WCMX participation and depth of talent.

Despite the roadblocks, advocates say WCMX has many qualities that would translate well to the Paralympic stage: it draws crowds, produces moments that can play well on broadcast and social platforms, and appeals to younger audiences. Fotheringham has publicly encouraged the IPC to consider the sport, saying it would be "unreal" to see WCMX at the Games. Organisers continue to build the administrative, classification and anti-doping foundations the IPC requires, even as athletes keep pushing the sport’s technical boundaries in skateparks around the world.

For many riders, the immediate priorities are pragmatic: increasing access to equipment, developing consistent competition rules, and expanding national structures so that more athletes can train, compete and be counted toward international criteria. Organisers say those steps will take time but are necessary if WCMX is to move from a viral cultural phenomenon to a fully recognised international sport.

WCMX’s journey from online curiosity to organised competition reflects broader shifts in action sports and adaptive sport pathways. While inclusion in the Paralympic Games remains a longer-term objective, the sport’s athletes and administrators are building the foundations that would allow WCMX to be measured against the formal standards the IPC requires. In the meantime, the Bulle World Championships will be an important test of the sport’s competitive depth and organisational reach as it seeks to translate social-media attention into sustainable international growth.