WSBA SCHEDULING MEETING:

This past Saturday was the WSBA scheduling meeting where all the promoters in the greater Seattle area get together and try not to step on each other's toes as the next year's racing season is put onto the calendar. All the usual suspects were in attendance as well as Jan Luke-Hamasaki our USA Cycling Regional Representative.

Now I started racing back in Ohio in the early eighties and then spent 5 years in the Los Angeles area before coming here. 4 of the 5 years that I was in LA I was on the Board of Directors for the Encino Velodrome. Based on my experience in these other areas I have to give the WSBA a big thumbs up. Everyone actually seems to want to work together for the greater good (of cycling of course).

Now I have some pretty strong opinions about how bike races should be put on and how promoters, officials and riders should interact. This is based on over 25 years in the sport as a rider, a promoter, a venue director and "professional" cycling team manager. Since I am still kind of the new guy in the area I kept my opinions mostly to myself (I say mostly because I did interject a few of them at the meeting). I will however spout off about a few of them here:

• The riders are our constituency. Without them, there would be no need for officials or promoters. Why is it then that the riders have the least voice in just about anything related to racing? Are they too stupid or disorganized to constructively get their opinions across or do something about improving their situation (as it relates to entry fees, prize lists, competent and fair interpretation of the rules, etc.) Now racers, that does not mean you just go and spout off at promoters and officials. You need to do it in a constructive manner and NEVER EVER under any circumstance yell at: promoters, officials, volunteers. You are just shooting yourself in the foot if you do. The thing is, if you have a beef, organize and do something about it, even if it means not racing!

• Prize Lists: one of the local promoters in the area said to me once that the racers around here don't race for the money (as it relates to prize lists). Now that may very well be true, but I would argue that is because the racers around here (and anywhere on the west coast for that matter) have never had the opportunity to actually race for any money. Poor people usually don't know that they are poor if they have never been outside their own community. Prize lists out here suck. In the Midwest and East coast, cat. 3's can race for more than Pro1-2's out here. I would argue that promoters need to step up, stop trying to make their prize lists based on entry fees (which is a bad business plan), create a good proposal and go out and hit the bricks and get some money. Money is not that hard to come by if you put in the effort and go after it. If I had $10 for every person that asked me how we got so much money for our races I could make a prize list out of that (at least a west coast prize list).

• More on Prize Lists: This is one I actually brought up at the meeting. Promoters should make the last paying place at least equal what the entry fee was. As a rider, how much does it suck to bust your ass, get a place, and still lose money on the entry fee? It should not have to happen. Well, you would have thought I was proposing that we require all promoters to offer up their first born as a prize. Standard answer was: we don't have enough money for the prize list to do that. Well I have 2 answers for you: 1)see the above point or 2)(and this is the tricky one) pull a little bit off the top of your prize list and put towards your last paying places. Whew. The little effort it would take to throw that extra $5 or $10 down the prize list is far less than the perceived value that the promoter will get back from the customer (the racers) for doing this.

• Do the little things: That's right promoters, do the little things. Do a podium presentation, get a trophy made up, go to Costco and pay the extra $4 for some cheap champagne. Make a show out of your race and the riders will remember it. I had a former Olympian tell me, of all the bike races he won over the years (and it was a lot), the only ones he really remembers are the ones in which he stood on the podium and popped the cork. Again, perceived value, it goes a long way.

• Don't gouge the riders on entry fees. Charge a reasonable entry fee for what you are providing (good course, good atmosphere, good prize list)
  That's my 4 cents on it. I welcome comments. Thanks for reading.