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Differing view's of USAC's online registration--from So Cal
Wed, 11/17/2010 - 9:14pm
Last week's CBR blog from its opinionated Director:
For-profit USA Cycling corp. to make more money off the backs of racers!!!
Just when you think it couldn't get any worse, they found a way to make more money from you! Not only do they want you to register your club for $150/yr, not only do they make money off of their $3/racer insurance policy, not only do they lie to you by telling you that your club must promote a race (think WMDs in Iraq), but they also want you to (very soon) register online for their USCF races with only their registration process! Think active.com fees but bigger! They're not gonna charge just enough to cover costs because that's what a non-profit does...the for-profit USA Cycling will charge more money than needed so that they can ensure a good profit from their "registration" revenue generator! Let's re-cap: they profit from club/team registration, they profit from their insurance policy, they profit from the annual license fee, and now they're gonna profit from their new race registration process.
If it walks like Wiesel, talks like Wiesel & smells like Wiesel.....
Thanks, Tom. I picked Pillarcitos specifically because I viewed it as the top-end of all the local cross races: if there was one cross series which would go USAC, it would (be? have been?) Pillarcitos.
Honestly my suspicion, FWIW, is that USAC affiliation isn't worth much: Oregon racers do just fine, NorCal cross racers do fine. But I'm too out of the loop these days to really assert anything. Anyone can ask questions, however.
Dan, check the websites for all of the NorCal 'cross series. Only 1 series has even one of their events permitted by USAC - Sacramento is doing Dec. 18th as a USAC-permitted race. This is the lone USAC representative of one of the country's principal cyclocross locations. Ask those promoters the same question.
Tom S.
Pilarcitos Cyclesports
Tom Simpson - Pilarcitos Cyclesports
So is Oregon worse off or better off? Do riders in Oregon want to go back into the fold? Are racers @ Pillarcitos wishing local cross races were USAC?
Firstly, USA Cycling is a non-profit organization. They have the huge challenge of attempting to provide a great experience for the first time racer and the future Olympians. Sure, for the NCNCA member that raced at the 2010 average of 7 local events they might wonder where their money goes. I assure you know one is getting rich in this sport. To the young athletes that travelled to the National Camp at the Olympic Training Center or to Europe and represented the United States of America they are totally appreciative of the fact that the whole USA Cycling model, from grass roots to professionals, provides them with these opportunities. Our team, coincidentally supported by Thomas Weisel, benefitted when four of our juniors took trips into Europe to race with the National team. And, if you didn't know, the athletes (and our team) have some skin in the game too. Top Results wise: Peter Taylor earned a fine 14th place at Paris-Roubaix and Eamon Lucas took 17th in the UCI Junior World Championships. Ryan Eastman (Team Swift) raced more in Europe than he did in Nor Cal. The USAC pay as a service model works that way. IMO this is a good blend of benefits and costs. Larry Nolan, Team Specialized
Glad to hear that BikeReg, Active, and SBO will still be viable choices. Personally, I'm opposed to giving nearly 10% of my entry fee to an entity that isn't at my race, and I'd rather pay a late fee to the promoter instead. Just my opinion, but monopolies on race registration is unAmerican!
Much to do about nothing as I suspected.
Race organizers will not be required to use the USAC offering. There are plusses and minuses of the USAC system, and race organizers will be able to use the USAC system or one of the other services like SportsBaseOnline or Active.com.
Are they going to require/force race promoters to use their online registration? How will it differ from the way things work today? Given what I see on USA Cycling's crappy web site today, I don't see them offering anything better then what exists today. What stops someone from continuing to use a cheaper or better alternative? More facts and less trolling.