Chris Brandt
As an OBRA MTB racer, I was curious about the specific requirements to
qualify for the '04 NORBA National Championship race. You can find more
specific information pertaining to this subject at:
U.S. MTB Nationals Qualifying Procedures
http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=649
More specific requirements:
http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=648
Basically, in order to qualify you need to be a US citizen and
accomplish one of the following:
a.) Top 10 at State Championships Race (Assuming it's a "NORBA" race,
not the OBRA State Champs, like I previously assumed), or...
b.) Top 5 at an AMBC event, or...
c.) Top 5 at a NORBA National Series event (this is also what you need
to do to get an upgrade from expert to semi-pro, as I have done).
c.) As a junior rider, you have a couple more options... (See links)
Personally, I feel that Oregon has some of the strongest
Expert/Semi-Pro/Pro MTB riders in the country, and we have shown this
numerous times in the last couple years. A lot of our stronger riders
did very well at Sea Otter and the Idaho NCS race last summer. We got
this way thanks to, in part, all of the excellent racing opportunities
we have to choose from. Here, we can develop our strengths and technical
skills in a fun, affordable, and well organized environment.
I don't think that we should have to hold "special Norba races" in order
to qualify our riders for nationals. But, if that is the only way, I
guess we'll just have to hold an "extra expensive" state championship
race!?! From a qualifying perspective, I don't really understand what
difference it makes to Norba whether or not our State Championship race
is sanctioned by Norba or OBRA. It's the riders, not the sanctioning
body, that should make the difference. You're basically selecting the
top 10 riders per state. That's the only point. It's not about pinching
race promotors and digging into the pockets of racers.
I feel that this is an important topic that needs further discussion
with the powers-to-be at USAC. I'm going to share my opinion with them
and I encourage you to do the same.
Here's a a list of contacts:
http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=171
Thanks for reading.
-Chris Brandt