What’s worse than a race official sending you wrong way...

[duff_duffy]

A race official sending your 9 year old the wrong way costing the lead and race ((in his mind at least)

[pjbaz]

That sucks! Hope they at least apologized for that, and I hope you had a few pleasant words with the officials

NOT the same but I once pulled myself with a lap to go in a CX race because I was got lapped at almost the same moment they rang the bell finished one more lap and stopped when I technically had two to go #Iwasnotleading

[djg21]

Originally Posted by duff_duffy

A race official sending your 9 year old the wrong way costing the lead and race ((in his mind at least)

An official holding you too long when you get a free lap in a crit so you cannot rejoin the pack and end up chasing. I’ve had this happen a couple times, and would go back to the wheelpit and tell the official that I was back to let him do it the right way.

[Tommasini53]

Originally Posted by duff_duffy

A race official sending your 9 year old the wrong way costing the lead and race ((in his mind at least)

well...if you race long enough, expect it will happen a time or two. that is, race officials aren't perfect and likely volunteering their time for the day. and by the way, knowing the course is part of the riders responsibility.

[El Chaba]

It's a shame to happen to a kid, so that is a special case....For everybody else, the responsibity of knowing the course rests on the rider....

[GregL]

Climbing up on my soapbox now: the quantity and experience level of USA Cycling officials has definitely declined over the past 25 years. Notice I didn't say quality. There are some great officials out there (along with a few clunkers). The officials I know are considerate, well-meaning volunteers. However, there are fewer officials and many of those are inexperienced. A significant number have no bike racing background. Without understanding the sport from a competitor's viewpoint, they make bad decisions.

At a recent local road race, the chief official decided to combine fields for all the long course participants. He put the P/1/2/3, 4, and all masters mens fields together in one big pack. It was totally unnecessary as the promoter had sufficient pace and follow vehicles to support three packs. When I heard that the fields would be combined the night before the race, I pulled out. I knew that combining all those fields would lead to problems. Sure enough, there was a large crash in the run-in to the finish line.

Why the lack of officials? Part of the problem mirrors the decline in road racing. Fewer races, fewer racers, fewer officials. I also put part of the blame on USA Cycling. Many experienced officials have left the sport because of the poor management in Colorado Springs. The costs to be an official have risen significantly over the years. $50-100 for a license, $50-$100 for a criminal background check, plus a large amount of your free time for training. In return, you get a small cash payment (typically $35, but more depending on size of the event) and meal/travel expenses for each race you officiate. In other sports I have volunteered for, all the fees were paid by the sport's local organization. While the money is just part of the problem, it is indicative of USA Cycling's lack of understanding of its constituents.

I'm not sure of how to get more experienced officials. I know I would consider coming back if I felt that USA Cycling was more responsive to its members. The cost barrier was the last straw for me. I always officiated as a volunteer. I never accepted payment from the promoters. I wanted to give back to the sport I love. Over time, I felt that USA Cycling wasn't a good steward of the sport and could no longer support them. Heck, if there was another race organizing body that supported local racing better, I wouldn't even renew my USA Cycling racing license!

Greg

[Spaghetti Legs]

When my son was about 10 he was in a 1.5 mile footrace around a park. There was a guy on a mountain bike leading the kids around the course and my son had a huge gap on the pack. He was directed to take a second lap around a softball field when there was only supposed to be one. He finished the race in second.

The kid, who is the artist of the family, totally did not care. I’m not sure how I feel about that!

[merlincustom1]

Teachable moment for you and your son. Brain cancer is worse;

[bikinchris]

I was formerly USCF district rep for Louisiana and had worked up to Cat 2 official. When USA Cycling reorganised officials licenses, I was demoted to something like a C and I called the office to ask. After their attitude on that call I just didn't renew.

[bikinchris]

Originally Posted by pjbaz

That sucks! Hope they at least apologized for that, and I hope you had a few pleasant words with the officials

NOT the same but I once pulled myself with a lap to go in a CX race because I was got lapped at almost the same moment they rang the bell finished one more lap and stopped when I technically had two to go #Iwasnotleading

The officials are allowed to score you down a lap and excuse you. CX is scored like a crit, where everyone finishes on the same lap.

[pdonk]

If it was a "real" official I'd be slightly annoyed, if it was a marshal, totally expected - teenager sitting in the field for hours.

Also as a teachable moment, remember it is the competitors responsibility to know the course.


I was a provincial level mtb commie for about 15 years, and have had to deal with this issue on more than a few occasions. Kids seem to take it better than 35-55 year olds.

[ntb1001]

A few years back 2 of my boys were racing...this particular race was the time trial portion. About 4 age groups all going in 1 minute intervals.
The road was only closed one direction. There is as traffic trying to turn left into a community centre, but the road was barricaded preventing this to protect racers. So, with kids approaching every minute, or less a cop paid for traffic control decided to remove the barrier...at least 3 or 4 kids were almost hit. I went to middle of road and stopped any car trying to turn, even when the cop trued to move me. I had a huge argument with the cop until a more senior officer came over to remove the cop who was endangering the kids.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by GregL

At a recent local road race, the chief official decided to combine fields for all the long course participants. He put the P/1/2/3, 4, and all masters mens fields together in one big pack. It was totally unnecessary as the promoter had sufficient pace and follow vehicles to support three packs. When I heard that the fields would be combined the night before the race, I pulled out. I knew that combining all those fields would lead to problems. Sure enough, there was a large crash in the run-in to the finish line.

I'm pretty sure that officials don't have the power to combine fields - that's left to the disgression of the race director (who is not an official).

[GregL]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

I'm pretty sure that officials don't have the power to combine fields - that's left to the disgression of the race director (who is not an official).

The official in question is, IMO, the worst USA Cycling official in the northeast. Belligerent, know-it-all, argumentative, ad infinitum. Some of his bad decisions and tantrums are infamous. These aren't second-hand reports - I've seen it myself!

Greg