As a MTB racer and promoter I agree with Ken entirely, but I have

found that price seems to have no bearing on attendance at the race.

Team S&M has experimented with race entry fees to try to get more people

to our races. Last year at the Race at Reehers we dropped the price to

$20 for pre-reg (up to the day before the race) and $25 for day of race

fee. We had 140 racers. The year before we charged $25 pre-reg and $35

day of event. We had 200 racers. That same year we did a race that we

only charged $15 dollars per racer (no late fee). We had 58 racers.

So, as near as I can tell, the more we charge, the more people will show

up.

   There are a variety of reasons for a late fee. Some events serve

food or give out momentos to the racers that depend on the number of

racers. If the promoter does not know how many people are going, they

have to order an unknown extra amount of stuff and that costs extra.

Hiring more people to handle the rush of on site registration costs

extra money or delays the start of the event.

   Each race has different costs. I believe that any time you are on

BLM or US Forest Service property, the promoter has to pay up to $5 per

racer in fees to BLM or USFS. Supplies and prizes and insurance all add

up.

   I only know what our club's exact costs and income are and I know

that we have made a profit on 2 of our 3 events. It is no fun to do a

lot of work and end up paying money out of our pocket. Even the events

where we were better than break even, we had to count on a huge number

of volunteer hours from club members.

   OBRA makes it very aproachable to do a race and I would encourage

every mountain bike racing team to put on an event. The racers are very

supportive and it can be rewarding to do.

   Thanks to Ken for the questions and feedback. It is always good to

find out what people are conserned about so that the promoters can try

to address the conserns and improve events.

   -Jon Myers



Ken Lindhorst wrote:

 Hello all

I am a mt biker who raced the last two events in Bend and Bear springs.

Let me first say that both races were put together very well and a blast

to ride. The promoter (I forget his name) was very nice to deal with and

just did an overall great job. My only question is why is it so

expensive to race? I dropeed $45 in Bend, this did include my OBRA

license and I dropped $40 at Bear springs. I understand that there is a

$10 late fee which seems quite high to me. Its very difficult to plan to

hit a race a few weeks in advance, especially if one has a family. I

don't know what I'm doing from day to day let alone a week from now. If

there can be some way to register online would be great to stay away

from late fees (maybe there is a system and I just don't know about it)

I would hate to spend $25 to race only to find out something has come up

and I have spent $25 for nothing.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm just trying to

better understand why the costs are so high. Maybe there is a system out

there that I'm not aware of that one can register just a few days or a

day in advance. Anyway, thanks for a great race series and a big thank

you to Sobe and Cliff bars for the items they supply. Can anyone supply

me with contact info so I can thank them myself? Now get out there and

ride!!



Ken