This week, I'm letting some of my readers share their thoughts with all of you. My comments follow each section, in italics - JB
The whole idea of fining riders for racing both "World Championships" by the UCI is so far out of anything I thought I would ever see in the world of BMX. I am one of those "returning" riders that you wrote about a while back. I am 33, just lost a hundred pounds in the past year, and alot of that has to do with me getting back on a bike again. I started racing again in January of this year and I am having a blast... I see all the time whether at the skatepark, or at the track, kids that could definitely benefit from a small chunk of this money that these sanctioning bodies are throwing around over this. I'll help any kid I see that needs a part or someth ing fixed on their bike, to me that is part of the sport, at least it used to be when I was a kid racing, and I plan on keeping that policy as long as I can ride.
Another rider making the excellent point that LOCAL TRACKS NEED HELP! This should be the sanctioning bodies' first priority - right now, it's not a priority at all.
while on a typical day I think you're a (expletive deleted), your last two columns are spot-on...
As Meatloaf says, "Two out of sixty-three ain't bad".
The almighty dollar has taken over what should be a race to bring the best riders together for a race. Is the NBL afraid that riders will like the ABA system more than the NBL? That foreign family that saved money for so long to be here should be able to experience as much as possible without being penalized. A true test would be to win both races and even that is a far cry from crowning a true world champion in BMX. But I have to say that the ABA is making it as easy as possible for any rider to at least compete in a race with some of the best talent out there. Remember the old Jag world championships, no one felt this was a true world championship but it was a big race and many of our top riders were there. So at least this proves that a rider can hang with some of the best out there. Is the goal to make money or try to bring as many of the best riders in the world to one race and crown a world champion? Hell just the factory riders can do both anyway, so some fast kid in backyard nowhere can't afford to be there. JUST DUMB.
He's right. What is/was the NBL afraid of?
...on to my Topic. This solution is dependent(which will never happen) on the sanctioning bodies cooperating. But the plan is this: Each sanction has a 9 month season. After each sanctions Grands th ere would be a 3 month lay-off. So for example after the NBL Grands in Sept. they would not race until Jan. and after the ABA Grands in Nov. they would not race until March. Each sanction would have a 14 National race weekend schedule. So the NBL would race once in Jan, Feb, Mar, and Sept for the Grands, and they would race twice in April, May, June , July, and August. The ABA would race once in March, April, May, and Nov. for the Grands. They would race twice in June, July, August, Sept, and Oct. The only months where both sanctions are racing twice a month is in the summer in June, July, and Aug. Perfect for National Tours, clinics, etc. Each sanctioning body would have 3 months off to pursue bigger, outside the industry sponsors, work with local communities to develop pr ograms and build tracks. The Factory riders could actually have an off-season, and there would be not be any races in Dec. so people could actually spend Christ mas at home with family. I know this would hurt the Christmas Classic but the ABA would not have Reno in January, either. I, as I believe you do, think the local scene is the heart of our sport. Wherever kids race from point A to point B on a 20" is BMX. I do feel the sanctions are going the wrong direction at charging $15/ lap at a National, but at the same time attending a National is a fun experience to see all the people in the Mag's, etc. I would appreciate your input. But if you jot the schedule down on paper, it does work.
Yes it does... Before you dismiss this guy's idea, ask yourself, "Why not?" The only answer - "The sanctioning bodies wouldn't give up the money." Why should we let them determine what's best for us?
It's interesting that the larger an organisation becomes, the more internally focussed they become. It's stops being about the clients, the members, or in this case... the racers or indeed the sport itself. I recently read Richard Bransons book and he made the comment that within his organisation (Virgin) as each division gets to a certain size, he splits the organisation up into more, smaller businesses. This, he feels, reduces the amount of politics and increases the level of service to the customer, as well as ensuring each division is focussed on what they should be doing. I think "Empire Building" is part of the natural human condition, and the only way to reduce this is to ensure everyone is as close to the rock face as possible, accountable and measured agaist their objectives regularly.
Accountable? Measured against their objectives? It happens in the the "real world" - why not in BMX?
More comments as I have time to paste 'em in... This kind of feedback proves, once again, that riders are a lot smarter and alert than the sanctioning bodies think we are... Let's keep the pressure on. This is OUR sport, not their payday!