Originally Posted by
Ttoc6
Little bit of rambling below, but too tired to edit it into cohesion.Main point is I just want the sport to remain pure at the low level. High level competitive is a different beast. Grassroots is going to cause the sport to grow and cross (where I've raced) exemplifies that.
Going back to the discussion about cross getting people out. By imposing all the crazy rules on the lower level fields it just makes people not want to come out and race. The beauty of Cross in my eyes is you can have the whole family out there. Mom/Dad who is a competitive racer. The other jumps in beginners category or something low. The kids get to hang out with other friends at the park and then ride their bikes around.
Take a look at some of the writing Steve Tilford (RIP) wrote about cross rules regarding the 80% of the race time. And I think he wrote about (but can't find now) nationals a few years back in Texas and how USAC just completely screwed over the junior fields that were left to race. If my memory serves me correct they combined M/W 13-14 and pulled all the women as soon as they were about to get lapped. Leaving 1 girl to take the championship because she lasted just a little bit longer.
Ever since watching USAC try to put on cross races, the local non-sanctioned stuff is much more enjoyable. People that you never see on bikes come out and enjoy the sport. Drink beer on a Saturday or Sunday in a park and have a grand time in the mud. As soon as people have to shell out 40$ to race BEFORE a usac liscense, they don't show up anymore.
I watched a 2 days UCI series race a couple years back. I did the USAC cat 4 division which had a field size of about 10, normally the cat 4 field on a non-sanctioned weekend was pulling 50+. The UCI race was extremly well put on for the pros. High level officials, proper call ups, good course marking. The USAC race felt expensive for what I was getting and a side thought. The sanctioning provides nothing over a race promoter making it their own.
Thank you. That was more clear than most of my writing.
There are race designations / categories that address how serious a race is. Category E/F/G - grass roots, don't expect so much, Category A expect rules to be followed and UCI (several levels). Collegiate cx nats say UCI and Category E - so I have to read what that means. I think it means the barriers will not be over 40cm high.
There is recreation and then there is competition. It is a sliding scale between them where at one end it is families and kids having fun in the park with no rules, just an understanding of what is fair and at the other people doing their sport as a job and using rules and ability to make money. The race categories often align. There are always going to be pick-up games and Tues night Worlds, with participants as good as any. But that is recreation.
When you look at the top "feeder" layer and pros in, I'd guess any sport, there is a lot of travel and money being spent by someone. Traveling competitors need adherence to written rules, and should expect them. What equipment to bring and how high those barriers are they have to jump. I have been, and am "that guy" that reports this stuff, especially as it relates to the category of race. I think USAC is pretty open to these kinda reports and the several times I've brought things up they have dealt with it. Would I report barrier height in a Category E cx - likely not, unless a safety thing with nails sticking out. Would I report it in a Category A and UCI - I'll be out there with my tape measure the day before. Shoot, I'd even bring the cordless circular saw to help out. So I'm basically saying - it depends.
I have no doubt that you can find officials lecturing kids about wrinkled numbers at all levels.