Junior Field added to Ohio Spring Race Series – Lynchburg
April 26th, 2011 Kirk Albers
All the details are here: 2011 Lynchburg Flyer and the pre-reg links page.
Thanks!
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Level C Officials Clinic – May 14
April 26th, 2011 Kirk Albers
The Ohio Cycling Association will be hosting a C Level Officials Clinic on Saturday, May 14, 2011 from 9am to 3pm.
Cost is $35 per participant and includes first year officiating license fee and rulebook. Box lunches will be provided.
Location:
One Call Now Conference Room
726 Grant St
Troy, Ohio 45373
For those of you interested in obtaining a moto license, please be aware that you must have a valid C level officiating license in order to attend a moto clinic. We hope to have details on a moto clinic in the very near future.
Pre-registration is not required but please send an email to mbeckner@woh.rr.com if you plan to attend so that we can make proper arrangements.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email or call me at 937-654-1553
Please pass this information along to anyone who might be interested!
Thanks!
Mitch Beckner
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Ohio Spring Race Series (OSRS) 2011 – Halfway point
April 19th, 2011 Kirk Albers
The series expanded in 2011 and started a couple of weeks earlier this year, yet average number of participants are up over 30% – a big thanks goes out to Dave Riemenschneider for taking the lead on the series, even bigger thanks goes out to all the clubs, volunteers, and officials who have worked together to ensure the individual races are exceeding expectations on a weekly basis.
Keep it safe out there and thanks for supporting Ohio Cycling.
Photo Courtesy of Bruce Jayne
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Unattached Rider Fees
February 21st, 2011 Kirk Albers
The Unattached Rider Fee is permissible within the rules set by USA Cycling, in all cases, the Ohio Cycling Association regards the fee to be an antiquated holdover and discourages race promoters from collecting such a fee. The fee does not go to USA Cycling or to the Ohio Cycling Association.
An Unattached Rider is one who has not joined a club or listed said club through their account at www.usacycling.org. Need to join a club to avoid the fee? Contact either kirkalbers@prodigy.net or andystburns@aol.com for a list of clubs taking new members.
Thanks,
Kirk Albers
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Board Election Results
December 8th, 2010 Kirk Albers
7 of 38 clubs submitted ballots, unfortunately the quorum of votes (1/4 of eligible clubs) was not met for the Ohio Cycling Association Board of Directors election. Consequently, the board will remain status quo for another year, Andys Burns will assume duties as President, I will assist as Vice President, and the two remaining spots will be filled by nominees appointed by current board members.
Doug Green has graciously taken over duties as Upgrade Coordinator, Andys Burns will process Event Permits, and Mitch Beckner will be overseeing Officials assignments – thanks to all for their assistance.
Thanks,
Kirk Albers
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2011 – 2012 Ohio State Championships
October 29th, 2010 Kirk Albers
Email Andystburns@aol.com if your club is interested in hosting an Ohio State Championship in 2011/2012, deadline for declaration of interest in December 1st. Interested parties will be emailed details and an committee will be formed to designate the hosting race/club.
Ideally, the hosting race/club would agree to a two year commitment.
Categories
Elite Road Race
Junior Road Race
Masters Road Race
Time Trial
Elite Criterium
Masters Criterium
Junior Criterium
Cyclocross
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A short series on the “state” of bicycle racing in Ohio – part four, promoters
October 1st, 2010 Kirk Albers
Great promoters are the backbone of great races – period.
Promoters in Ohio over the last few years have stepped to the plate, and in the last couple of years, pretty much hit it out of the park. Number of licensees is up, participation rates are up, the number of clubs involved with promoting events is up, state championship participation is way up – none of it happens without great races and great opportunities.
Promoters have work hard at uploading complete results, improving amenities, creating new series, greatly improving existing series, working hard not only recruiting new sponsors, but recruiting new volunteers and riders into the whole process, ensuring adequate course safety and a number of items too countless to mention.
As with the officials, the state of racing in Ohio would not be where it is today if not for the promoters.
Salut, prost, kampai, cheers, and thanks to all the race promoters in the state of Ohio.
- Kirk Albers
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A short series on the “state” of bicycle racing in Ohio – part three, schedule
October 1st, 2010 Kirk Albers
Traditional races, holidays, state champs, festivals, national racing calendar, races in neighboring states, etc., all must be taken into consideration when putting together the racing schedule for the year.
Races held on traditional dates are plugged into the calendar, as are the bigger races and state championships, then the process becomes iterative. In other words, one race selects a date, some of the other races may have to consider a date change due to a conflict with the same date. Riders and promoters alike generally prefer to maximize field sizes, a good part of this process is to seek a minimum amount of date conflict with other events in the state and region.
I would like to commend all the current promoters in Ohio for their understanding and for their cooperation in forming a vastly improved slate of races in the state of Ohio, thank you.
- Kirk Albers
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A short series on the “state” of bicycle racing in Ohio – part two, officials
October 1st, 2010 Kirk Albers
As outlined in the previous post, the officials have greatly improved the state of racing in Ohio, complete results are now the norm, as are races starting and finishing on time. Officials licensed in Ohio now number over twice as many as there were in 2007, with many taking on additional duties in neighboring states as well as continuing to seek higher and additional certifications on a yearly basis.
I will be the first to admit to proclaim I thought I knew the ins and outs of officiating, despite never having actually worked as an official (I’ve competed in something like 2,000 events). How wrong I was. I took the plunge near the end of 2007, and after working a number of events, now have a new and even greater appreciation of the job performed by officials. Results may seem like the sole job of officials, but among a long list, they are also tasked with ensuring fair competition, managing safety and crisis situations, completing a healthy amount of post-event paperwork and soothing the often frayed nerves of promoters and competitors alike.
The next time you’re at a race, consider all that the officials do and oversee – better yet, ask your club if you can help officiate at their next event, trust me you will have a new appreciation for all which goes into the official’s side of the event.
From me to the officials, I couldn’t have done any of it without you, my humble thanks for all the help.
- Kirk Albers
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A short series on the “state” of bicycle racing in Ohio – part one, results
September 30th, 2010 Kirk Albers
In the past, officials scored results for the finishing places plus a few more, generally all that is necessary under the rules. Huge strides have been made in scoring races – almost all of the races in Ohio now score all competitors – partly due to use of video cameras, high speed photo finish, moto refs, and chip timing, but mostly due to the hard work and diligence of the officials themselves. Most races have an error rate of less than 1%, I applaud all the officials in Ohio who have contributed to the success and improved state of the scoring.
Promoters have also contributed greatly to the improved scoring, by not only demanding that all competitors be scored, but by accommodating the necessary number of officials, as well as providing accurate start sheets, complete with license numbers, often facilitated by the greater acceptance of online preregistration.
With a few exceptions, the uploading of results to USA Cycling has never been a requirement. However, the riders have come to expect it and the database provides a crucial central location for the results, searchable by both race and rider, the latter providing a valuable resource in tracking results for determining category changes for riders requesting upgrades/downgrades.
A quick glance through the results links by year listed below clearly shows the giant strides made by both promoters and officials, working in tandem to provide great service, all but one road event was submitted in 2009, every road event in 2010 was submitted with exception of the CanAm Police/Fire events as they had mostly one day or foreign riders, contrasted with approximately half the events in 2006 submitting results. (most of the races scored every finisher in both 2009 and 2010)
Results uploaded to USA Cycling for races in Ohio: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
Again, hats off to both promoters and officials for providing great service and dedication to results, thank you!
- Kirk Albers
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