Debbi Kalsow

Filed under Hall Of Fame on February 25, 2020 | Comment(s)

It was the 1980’s - the heyday of bicycle motocross. And along with the growing popularity of BMX racing for teenage boys, Girls were also contributing to massive growth of our sport. Up until this point, the Girls class was referred to as Powder Puffs - a term coined from the motocross world. 

But times they were a changin’. Girls racing was about to get the respect it deserved. 

When the Kalsow family left Lansing, Michigan to the BMX mecca of Phoenix, Arizona, their kids - Digger and Debbi, were already furiously fast. Debbi had already won nationals in the ABA and NBA, and earned an NBL No.1 plate for 11 year old Girls. 

At the time, the ABA was handing out National No.1 titles for Pros ...and Amateurs  ....and even a Factory Team title. But none for the Girls. 

Debbi was among the few who applied the pressure on the ABA to create a No.1 Girl title for the fast, flyin’ females of our sport. Finally - in 1982, the ABA added a fourth National No.1 title to their Championship series ...and Debbi Kalsow was right there to chase down the No.1 plate. After racking up a solid points lead throughout the season, Debbi would hold her own at the 1982 Grands against JMC’s Yolanda Williams, and with 711 points - she’d be crowned the ABA’s very first No.1 Girl.

Two years later, she’d earn the No.1 Girl title in USBA, and would become the 1984 NBL No.1 Girl Pro. 

Debbi Kalsow’s determination and record-setting ways makes her a true trailblazer in the BMX World. And still to this day, she gives back to the sport - as founder of the Tuff Gurlz BMX team. Debbi still inspires and encourages both boys and girls all across the Globe to do their best in BMX.