Starting gate- The starting gate is one of the main points in BMX.  when the gate drops the race begins.  There is a cadence which says "ok riders, set em up, riders ready watch the gate", and then there are four beeps.  There are also four lights that go along with the beeps.  The first one is red.  Then the next two are yellow, and the last one is green.  Then the race begins.

Rules-You cannot try to make other racers fall while you are on the track.  If you are behind you cannot intentionally impede the forward progress of another rider.

Gear- The gear that is required is a full face helmet, long pants, and long sleves.  You can also wear knee pads, elbow pads, goggles, chest protector, shin guards, and ankle guards.  These things are not required though.

Protesting- There are two different kinds of protests, video protest, and regular protest.  Video  protests is when the officials say that you got one place but you think you got a different place, you can go to an official and say you want to video protest.  They will show you a video of the finish line in slow motion to make sure you got the right place.  The other protest is a regular protest.  If when your on the track you see someone cut the track or push someone or you off the track you raise you hand as soon as you cross the finish line and an official will some overt and if what the other person did was wrong he will automatically get last and everyone else will move up one place.