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state championships watered down
Fri, 07/08/2011 - 9:12pm
This weekend I'm racing at the TTT and Masters Track Championships. It's sad how few racers there are in so many championship races. I would like for the district and eventually the NCNCA and NCVA BOD to decide if the championships become meaningless because of so many being offered. For instance, in the TTT, maybe ten teams of four riders need to compete before another category is opened. 200 riders and 5 championships. Not 20 teams and 10 championships. For the track, cut to ten year age groups and crown an omnium champion. Not year events per 5 year age group!
I love both TTT and track racing but "wins" are empty when they are not competitive.
I suggest this for "state" championships only. The local races can offer as many categories as they choose. I just have a hard time with the total number of championships that are on tap this weekend. What's your opinion?
Larry Nolan, Team Specialized Racing
Larry, commenting on the track portion of this one thing I've noticed in TX and SoCal is that while the fields tend to be small, the guys that show up are dead serious. In TX we had 5 guys in the 50-54 500m. !st and 2nd went on to take 3rd and 4th at Nats and one of those guys won the Omnium.
I received a lot of "attention" from the USAC officials in SoCal for racing down in age group (kilo and 3km 45-49) even though the approved flyer allowed it (I am still on a TX license in any case). While I get why they might not want people racing down at Nats, it's worth having a discussion about allowing it on a state level to bolster competition.
Again, this is just relating to the track portion.
As an aside, had SoCal and Nor Cal's championship not fallen on the same weekend, I would have come up and raced, even though I would not have been eligible for a jersey.
You may have a point that the championships have become rather meaningless and are likely used more as a warmup for Nationals. Perhaps only one gold medal per rider would bring more riders out. The marginal riders may then feel they have a chance to win a jersey. Running track states as an omnium could discourage entrants unless the field sizes were sufficient to allow upgrade opportunities. NCNCA's numbers shouldn't be watered down by offering fewer championship opportunities. My opinion.
Omnium championships still exist at the national level USAC Junior & Elite Track Nationals have an omnium championship; so does FIAC:
http://www.ambikerace.com/2011/flyers/ABR_FIAC%202011_Track_Nationals_v2...
I heard the FIAC Track Nationals were postponed due to the heat wave. New date is August 27-28.