May 2006

Guys

As flagged last weekend, the Committee has held a number of informal discussions over the last month regarding the tightening up of the rules relating to race nominations and late arrivals on race day. These discussions were initially prompted by the failure of a number of riders to nominate beforehand, and the impacts this has on the handicaps when riders turn up and expect to race.

These discussions were reinforced by a complaint received from a member regarding the last minute changes to the handicaps on Saturday 6 May. For those not aware of what unfolded, we had several riders who had nominated fail to turn up, plus two riders who did nominate turned up late. One so late that he had to ride in the next group. The two groups most affected were chopping block and scratch, and this forced the last minute combination of these two groups to form a seven member scratch group. This group did not ride together all that well, with several riders being spat out early in the race. The remaining scratch group held together and in fact took the race lead on lap 6/8, and ultimately produced the winner.

The job of handicapper is hard enough without having to deal with riders failing to show, or with riders turning up without nominating beforehand. Contrary to popular thinking it does take some effort to produce handicap groupings and times for each race and it is a less than ideal situation to try and modify the handicaps in the 5 minutes before a race is scheduled to start.

At the General Meeting held on Monday 15 May, those Committee members present considered the introduction of new rules pertaining to nominations and race attendance in an effort to change the behaviour of riders. Also considered were written submissions provided by two members, one in favour of change and one against. On balance, the Committee has elected to trial the following new rules:

1. Riders must nominate for a Club race by 5.00 pm on the Thursday before the scheduled race day.
2. Riders must sign on at least 15 minutes before the scheduled race start time.
3. Riders who have not signed on at least 15 minutes before the scheduled race start time will not be allowed to race.
4. Riders who fail to nominate, but turn up at least 15 minutes before the scheduled start time, will be automatically promoted to the group behind the group they would normally ride in. In the case of a scratch rider turning up on time without nominating they will ride off 30 seconds behind scratch.
5. Riders who have nominated, but fail to turn up on race day without notifying the handicapper at least 1 hour before the scheduled start time, will in their next race be automatically promoted to the next group behind the group they would normally ride in.

The Committee is mindful of the need to start a race on time along with the need to get the handicaps “right”. Ensuring that riders sign on no less than 15 minutes before the scheduled start gives the handicapper time to make any adjustments, advise riders of their handicaps/numbers and brief the race starter/judge.

The above rules, which will also apply to visiting riders, will take effect from Tuesday 16 May and will be trialled for the balance of the Winter 2006 season. At the end of the season the Committee will review the effectiveness of the changes and decide whether to modify and/or retain the rules.

Regards

Richard