The following comes from Tom Simonson's message on the NCNCA email list

The USCF Board of Trustees met in Colorado Springs on the last weekend of
October. One of the biggest parts is considering annual legislation. I am
legislative chair, so I ran that part of the meeting. We had over 70 items
to consider.

This is my quick summary to you of what the important changes are. It is
not an official document and I am hitting the high points.

First off were bylaw changes:

1) We changed the boundary between Northern and Southern CA, moving it to
the south. Formerly it had been zip codes; now it is the southern border
of Monterey, Tulare, Kings and Inyo counties (a straight east-west line
across the state). The main effect is to move the Mammoth Lakes area and
the San Joaquin Valley riders north of Bakersfield into Northern CA.

2) We added separate categories for cyclocross, which will range 1-4.

3) I had submitted adding category 5 for women, but it failed unanimously
- there is just no support for the concept except in Northern CA.

==

For the racing rules, let me break things down into a few groups:

Prizes, field limits, mixing of categories and cat.5

We had a number of proposals concerning what is seen as a problem with
category 5. It was created to be a special class for beginners, with a
smaller maximum field limit and no prizes. Over time prizes were restored,
and in many cases no separate races are offered for cat.5 riders - instead
they are combined with category 4 riders with sometimes very large fields.
There were proposals to forbid any combining of cat.5 riders with other
classes - this could be a problem in areas with very low turnout, and in
age-graded competition.

Ultimately we passed two proposals:

1) No prizes of value in races for only cat.5 riders.
2) There is a maximum field limit of 75 for races that include cat.5
riders with other categories. This will reduce the incentive to have
combined 4/5 races. Note that this will also affect uncategorized masters
races, such as 45+ races.

=

Various:

1) Junior gear limits for the track were changed. They are lower for the
youngest age groups - they were chosen so that each gear limit works with
a 48 tooth chainring - the difference between each limit is just a one
tooth cog change in the rear.

2) The matching uniforms requirement for higher categories was extended to
cover outer wear - jackets, raingear etc, although clear raincoats are
fine.

3) We will return to having Chief Refs collect the insurance surcharge at
the race site - the experiment with having organizers mail it in later was
not successful.

4) The requirements for category A races were amended slightly to make it
clear that video did not satisfy the requirement for photo finish, and
those requirements were made to apply to all NRC races as well.

=

Track:

1) In sprints the obligation to lead for the first half lap was restored.

2) In keirins language was added to cover stoppages of the race for
mishaps at the very beginning of the race, and for foul riding while
behind the derny.

3) In points races the order of tie breaking was changed to use the
placing in the final sprint first (not sprint victories).

4) The language concerning taking free laps and returning to the track in
scratch races, madisons, and points races was clarified. It had been
ambiguous when mishaps happen very late in the race - now the rule is
simply that riders cannot return to the track in the final kilometer.

5) Team sprint was redefined as an event with two or three rider teams
(and two or three laps correspondingly), and championships were changed so
that the women's team sprints are two rider/lap events.

In all of these cases the changes reflect current practice and impending
language changes by the UCI.

=

Stage races:

1) The language defining stage races was changed somewhat to distinguish
between events run on time and those run on points.

2) The final kilometer mishap rule was changed to cover 3km, and also to
apply to criterium stages once free laps have ended.

3) The deadline for protests over intermediate stage results was changed
from the start of the next stage to the close of sign in for that stage.

=

Cyclocross:

1) The language concerning obstacles was corrected slightly, and a
separate item was added permitting more than one set of artificial
obstacles in local events.

=

Championships:

1) A general rule permitting combining fields if there are less than 10
participants was passed. This does not change placings and awards, just
the issue of separate starts. It is anticipated that this will be used for
masters women points races and masters madisons.

2) For junior track, the event mix was changed slightly. Championships for
10-16 are still omniums, but at Nationals the winners of individual events
will get medals.

3) U23 Track must use overall placings if possible to place riders in
sprints, rather than 200m times (which has happened in the past).

4) For Elite Championships, the language was changed concerning the
eligibility of pro riders - they are eligible if there is no other pro
championship in the same discipline. The initial impetus for this came
from the possibility of there being a separate pro TT championship event;
currently the USCF TT championship is also the pro and UCI championship,
but this would not be the case if there were a separate pro event. A
byproduct of this is that if there is no separate pro road race
championship, then the USCF road nationals would also be open to pro
riders.

5) Master road added more groups for tandem RR championships. One more age
group, 55+, was added for women State Championship road races.

6) Masters track added more women's groups for the points race. A separate
45+ madison championship event was added. The womens track TTT distance
was changed to 3km.