Back to March 99 Cover cycling utah March 1999
By David R. Ward
Publisher
On January 30, the Utah Cycling Association (UCA) held an organizational meeting to find out if there was sufficient interest in the cycling community for such an organization. This resulted from several meetings during the previous three months by a group of interested individuals who perceived that some very specific needs could be met by such an organization. The result of those meetings was the proposed establishment of UCA.
Sixty people showed up for the meeting, exceeding expectations. Not only was the creation of the UCA generally approved, but many individuals joined the UCA that night. Established as a non-profit corporation, the charter board of trustees consists of Dirk Cowley, Angela Snyder, Ryan Littlefield, Jeff Stenquist and Christian Johnson.
The mission statement of the UCA reads, "Utah Cycling Association�s mission is to provide a dynamic range of services to the cycling community at large. It will endeavor to coordinate all activities of cycling within its geographical area, and to communicate the needs of individuals, clubs, promoters and civic groups." Its objectives are identified as:
The UCA will encourage the scheduling of a race for each weekend, and coordinate the calendaring of races to minimize conflicts. This will include avoiding the scheduling of major local events at the same time as major regional and national races. The UCA will also endeavor to coordinate with prime touring and mountain biking events.
The UCA will also establish a standard set of road racing categories for race organizers. This has two aspects. First, there will be the categories which will actually race together in an event. These are as follows: Senior Men 1-3, Senior Men 4-5, Masters Men 35-44, Masters Men 45+, Junior Men 18 and under, Senior Women 1-3, Senior Women 4, and Junior Women 18 and under.
The second aspect is the scoring and awarding of prizes. This means that certain categories, though raced together, will be scored and awarded separately. The categories to be awarded separately are the Senior Men 3, the Senior Women 3, and the Masters 45+. If the field sizes are large enough, these categories may also be raced separately. A race organizer may also choose to score and award even more categories.
The point series competition will be comprised of those events registered as UCA events. The point series categories are: Senior Men 1-2, Senior Men 3, Senior Men 4-5, Masters Men 35-44, Masters Men 45+, Senior Women 1-2, Senior Women 3, Senior Women 4, Junior Men 18 and under, and Junior Women 18 and under. Points will be awarded as follows: 1st, 15 points; 2nd, 12 points; 3rd, 10 points; 4th, 9 points, 5th, 8 points; 6th, 7 points; 7th, 6 points; 8th, 5 points; 9th, 4 points, 10th, 3 points, 11th, 2 points; and 12th, 1 point.
Point series standings will be updated, and UCA event race results will be posted on the cycling utah website (www.cyclingutah.com) by Tuesday of each week.
Membership fees are as follows: Individuals, $10.00; Clubs, $40.00; Promoters, $50.00. With membership comes a 1999 subscription to cycling utah, a $10.00 value by itself, qualification to participate in UCA�s point series competition, a single race number kept by the rider for the entire year and used in all UCA events, and expedited check-in at UCA events.
To avoid a common problem of such nascent groups, the UCA is attempting to not take on too much in its first year. Cowley explained that they are trying to keep UCA�s scope modest during its first year. If the UCA is successful and finds good support, then it will look to expand its role and influence as may be needed and useful.
Since the UCA was born from the minds of road racing enthusiasts, its first year will be primarily focused on the road racing season. In coming years, it is hoped that UCA�s focus and membership will expand to fulfill similar coordinating functions in other areas of the cycling community.
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