youngbeginner

I will get my license this upcoming January or February and I have never raced before. I was wondering if I should join (put down on the license) a club (in my case the CRCA) in my first year of racing or if I should try it out first and then change it later? Thanks for all answers and please ask if you are unclear of what I am trying to ask as I find it hard to ask...

carpediemracing 

If you belong to CRCA then you can put them down. If you don't then you should leave it unattached.

If you're going to join CRCA, or if you already have, then ask them exactly what you should put down for the club name. They have many subset teams (like CRCA/SecondarySponsor, CRCA/ThirdSponsor - they probably have 20 or 30 sub teams). When you apply for a license online you'll have a pull down menu for club names - this way you can only select a club that has paid its membership for that year and USAC doesn't have to guess what club you really wanted to join. You'll see a bewildering array of club names.

Once you have your license you can change the club name if you change clubs. It's best to avoid club hopping as this gives a certain impression to those around you. It's better to find a club and stick with them for a year. It's not unusual to change clubs after a year but to change clubs midseason doesn't present a good impression (aka you can't make up your mind, you are hard to get along with, you're just looking for free gear, etc). Even if you have different reasons for changing clubs people will still jump to conclusions.

youngbeginner

Thanks. But on the website it says you have to have it on your license to join, so should I email the guy over there?

carpediemracing 

Which website?

youngbeginner

https://www.crca.net/coaching/juniors/
Joining comes first

"The requirements are to join USAC using CRCA as your Club, join the Club, and sign up with the Junior Development Manager, Ken Harris."

carpediemracing 

It seems that CRCA wants you to select CRCA (or Century Road Club, not sure how it shows up on USAC's site), then join CRCA, then sign up with the JR Dev guy.

I don't know the people that run it but the riders I've seen ride for the JR Dev team seem like good kids. If that's what you plan on doing it should work out.

If you're not racing cross this fall and you aren't racing on the road until next year then I'd wait until December to sign up with USAC. If you get a license now it'll expire Dec 31 this year. If you get a license in Dec this year it'll expire Dec 31 2014.

If you're going to race this year more than a few times or you want to do cross then you'll probably need to get the license for this year.

youngbeginner

No, because of an injury I can't race until next year so I'll get it in December or January. I've been talking back and forth with the guy and he said I could maybe join before putting it on my license, especially if I joined to ride before racing.

carpediemracing 

Sounds like a plan. Take it easy with any injury recovery - you have plenty of time to ride and race.

youngbeginner

Thanks