December 9, 2011 By CycleAdmin
New for 2012: Age restriction on clipless pedals for athletes 9 & Under (U9)
Cycling BC has proposed and the BMX commission has approved the setting the age at which riders are permitted to race with clipless pedals at 10 (born in 2003 or later), until this age all riders must race on pedals with no foot retention system. It is felt that the introduction of this rule will help all young riders develop proper riding skills and make racing in the younger classes more competitive. Riders that start using clips too early, in order to be competitive with other clipped in riders, often do not develop correct technique for executing skills fundamental to racing. By establishing a minimum age for clipping in, no riders in the younger classes will be compelled to move to clipping in by competitive pressures and the overall level of competition should be improved.
All skills can be learned, executed and practiced on flat pedals. Keep in mind children concerned that they will no longer be able to jump or manual, or feel that their feet will slip off the pedals unless clipped are merely providing evidence that they have an issue with their technique that is being masked by being attached to their bike. They should be able to execute these skills regardless of pedal choice.
For the past three seasons our youth and junior development camps have been run with athletes on flat pedals. The main goal behind this is to have athletes learn the fundamental skills on flat pedals first. “The implementation of flat pedals at the development camps has definitely been a success. It took the kids about all of half an hour to get used to it and after that there wasn’t a complaint all year. Also, from a coaching standpoint it enables me to teach the athletes proper skills and techniques that are the foundation of becoming a successful rider, not just at their current age and ability but for the rest of their career as an athlete in BMX” – Mischa Partridge, Youth Development Coach.
Currently Alberta (U9) and Quebec (U12) have similar age restrictions. Several other countries including most of Europe have a similar age restriction of U12 or higher.
Our goal is assist athletes in developing skills properly, thus making them better and more complete athletes in the future. We understand that will be a learning curve involved with the changes and will be flexible to accommodate everyone in the changes.
In a Webinar conducted this morning, NBL CEO Gary Aragon announced that the NBL board of directors has approved a letter of intent on a proposal made by the ABA for the two organizations to “merge operations.”
Both “league brands” will remain in place (meaning there will still be an ABA and an NBL, racing their own style of BMX), but under the proposal, a new, “umbrella” organization, USA BMX, will be created to manage the operations of both league brands and handle support services to tracks, fulfill memberships, etc.
Details are being finalized, and the agreement, while approved by the NBL board, is not yet final. The parties are hoping for an effective date of June 1, 2011 for the proposal to become BMX reality. Repeat, this is a proposal, and not a legally-binding commitment by any party, as of this writing.
Here are some highlights:
* USA BMX Membership cards will carry both ABA and NBL logos, and all members can race at any track in North America.
* Under the proposal, the NBL’s “All You Can Race” membership format would be discontinued, and all tracks would return to a “pay as you go” format, as in years past.
* A formula will be applied to all of NBL’s “all-you-can-race” memberships to arrive at a “value realized” / “value credit” number. The money you paid in to your 2011 membership will be “debited” at a rate of $5 per local race and $60 per national race you have ridden thus far. For example, if you paid $99 for your local membership, and raced four local races since you bought it, you will have $79 of entry fee credits to use toward further racing under the new…old…well, let’s just say the “pay as you go” system after this goes into effect.
* The NBL rulebook, tracks, racing format, national series, Grand Nationals and other programs will continue, as scheduled, for the balance of 2011.
* All NBL tracks that are presently owed money by the NBL will be paid in full. NBL Pros owerd money by the NBL will also be paid. Both are expected to be paid in full within 30 days of the agreement’s effective date.
* The Christmas Classic will, under the new system, be a combined “East vs. West” shootout, where champions of both Grand Nationals will slug it out to see who is best. Qualifying and other granular details were not yet available.
* ABA CEO BA Anderson, who was in the room with Gary Aragon for the event (along with ABA COO John David), responded to a question from a listener asking “will I have to buy an ABA membership to race one day in Nashville this weekend. BA said “just come race, we’ll figure that out.” Which sounds a lot to us like “no membership needed.” Even prior to today’s announcement, the ABA already had a special “no membership required” promotion in place for riders entering both days in Nashville.
* The NBL “Board of Directors” will live on, overseeing the “NBL Foundation” which will be charged with “Advocacy, governance, will fund athlete training, fund USA athletes to the UCI worlds and USAC national championships, act as a trustee to a to-be-created “BMX Racing promotion fund,” and other tasks befitting such a board.
* GSX, and their management of the UCI Supercross series will continue as a separate, independent entity. The NBL will divest itself of the shares it currently owns in GSX, and Gary said a purchaser of those shares is already in the picture.
* Gary Aragon will, himself, resign as of the closing of this transaction. He added that he will “put his name in” with the NBL Board to play a role in the NBL Foundation, but it would be up to them, at that time, to re-hire him or not.
* Both Gary and BA were strong in their position that the NBL brand and legacy should continue, with every bit of the sense of pride it always has. The sentiment was that the only thing that would change is the postmark (from Ohio to Arizona).
* The NBL Magazine will reportedly be discontinued (no word on whether Floyd Publications plans on continuing it under a new name).
* In a moment of levity, former NBL Chairman James Bagwell submitted a “question” asking BA for an executive decision on whether his ABA and NBL memberships could be reclassified to Novice. BA said he would grant him the Reclass only if he agreed to a challenge race. If James won, he’d get his reclass. If BA won, James would continue in Expert. No word on whether they’d be using the transfer system or total points.
Have you ever wanted to see how fast you are with no one on the track to take your line or shut you down?
Have you ever wanted to measure yourself against an older rider to see how you compare?
Well, Saturday, Oct 8 at Chilliwack Heritage Park is the time to do it!
Here's the 411-
-starts 15 minutes after racing finishes on Saturday
-$2 entry fee per rider
-registration open during the practise and racing on Saturday
-one run per rider
-Canadian and American riders welcome
-medals to the winner of each age group as follows:
7 & Under Male
7 & Under Female
8-10 Male
8-10 Female
11-13 Male
11-13 Female
14-16 Male
14-16 Female
17 + Male
17 + Female
Pro Male
Pro Female
-medals presented during the break on Sunday
questions? email Sandy at tiname@shaw.ca
