LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - All manner of bicycling skills, from abrupt stops to following the rules of the road, were tested during an annual event at Bompas Elementary School.

Kyra Sanguez, 8, deftly dodges a pylon during Bompas Elementary School's annual bike rodeo in Fort Simpson. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

On May 27 the Fort Simpson school held its bike rodeo. The rodeo has become a spring tradition at the school.

The event has been held for at least the last 12 years and possibly longer, said Nancy Noseworthy, a program support teacher who organized this year's rodeo. The rodeo is held in the spring because it's the beginning of the biking season and it provides students with a refresher as they clamber onto their bikes, she said.

"They look forward to it," said Noseworthy.

In the weeks leading up to the rodeo, students learn about bike safety, hand signals and road safety in the classroom as part of their health program. The rodeo gives students the chance to display their safety and bike riding skills.

On Friday, classes, along with their bikes, were brought one at a time to the arena where the rodeo course complete with six elements was set up. The basics were tested first, including the ability to ride in a straight line, weave between obstacles and stop quickly.

The testing then got trickier. In the fourth section, students had to navigate a zig-zagging course to demonstrate their ability to turn. Up next was a mock roadway where students had to demonstrate which lane to stay in, what to do at a stop sign and how to use their hand signals.

At the final station RCMP Const. Phil Fortin watched and gave pointers as students navigated an intersection drawn in chalk on the cement arena floor.

For Kyra Sanguez, 8, the best part of the rodeo was the zig-zag course because she enjoyed turning her bike.

"It's fun," she said.

Sanguez rides her bike every day to get places faster, including seeing her friends and her grandma. Sanguez said she learned some safety tips to use while she is riding.

"You have to stop when you cross the street," she said.

Classmate Etanda Hardisty-Beaverho, 8, also enjoyed the rodeo. She liked all of the courses and getting points based on how well she did. Hardisty-Beaverho can often be found riding her bike on the weekends, sometimes with her parents and sometimes with friends.

Although the whole school participates in the rodeo, the students in kindergarten to Grade 4 enjoy it the most, said Noseworthy.

"They did well. A lot of them can ride their bikes without training wheels," she said.

While the older students have been through the rodeo multiple times, Noseworthy said it's still important for them to participate.

"I don't think it's ever too much information," she said. "They need to practise it."

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