Lisa_Tim Ehlers
Thanks for that info Candi! I was in CO at this time when then BRAC now ACA
was going through all this in 1999/2000. The folks at ACA like OBRA work
real hard to make things happen locally and realized that the old USCF going
to USAC was not focused on the local or even regional aspect. They wanted
and still seem to want another L.A. to come along. I am very thankful for
all that OBRA does and what ACA does for the local/regional racing and
support the ongoing mission of keeping racing fun, enjoyable and moderately
priced (excluding gas to/from events). We got many emails from our ACA
folks about the basically non-existent communication with the National folks
in CO. Springs. I think since then, there has been a better level of
existence between the national agency and the local/regional groups at least
they talked to each back in CO before I left in 2003. And like ACA, OBRA is
doing a great service to those of us who enjoy this sport.
thanks for reading if you made it this far.
Tim Ehlers
----- Original Message -----
From: "Candi Murray"
To:
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 5:02 PM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] OBRA's History
>I wrote this in 2000
> Candi
>
> The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) was originally started in the
> late 70s. Called Oregon Cycling Association (OCA), it was then the
> district
> association of USCF clubs. The name was changed to the Oregon Bicycle
> Racing
> Association several years later to avoid confusion with the political
> group,
> the Oregon Citizen's Alliance which was getting much negative media
> attention at the time. There was not much activity for the first few
> years
> after OCA was formed. When Steve Scarich became the District
> Representative
> he pushed to increase the strength of the organization. Organization was
> improved and a system of collecting fees from races was established. A
> few
> years later Mike Murray was elected to the board. Mike wanted more racing
> in Oregon than was currently being done so he turned the focus of the
> group
> toward making it easier and easier to produce quality events. He bought
> traffic signs, photo finish equipment, PA systems, CB radios and much
> more.
> Whenever OCA had money Mike spent it. So instead of individual promoters
> having to rent and/or stockpile equipment, this equipment became available
> to all events big and small. Over the years we have added to the equipment
> and now have a large truck that can be used to transport whatever is
> needed
> to a race. We developed a automated phone line for race information and
> purchased an 800 number, established a web presence and with the advent of
> the electronic age we have been able to acquire 800 email address from our
> 1700 members and now distribute race flyers, results and notices at the
> click of the mouse. This year we also added a chat group that allows
> members to post for sale items and have discussions.
>
> Dissatisfaction with the United States Cycling Federation came on slowly
> and
> climaxed in December of 1998 when they fired all the Regional
> Representatives in favor of a plan to only utilize 10 people nationwide to
> service the membership. At this same time alternatives to the insurance
> provided by the national governing body became more readily available and
> the question was asked, 'What are we getting back for the dollars that are
> sent to Colorado Springs?' An annual membership ranged from $35 to $50
> and
> then the charge for insurance was about twice what was available
> commercially. OBRA figured that Oregon alone was sending about $200,000
> annually to USAC in USCF and NORBA membership fees and race permits and
> surcharges. In exchange we received little in the way of services and now
> we were not even getting a local representative. The straw that broke the
> back was when USAC doubled the permit fees for the weekend day series
> races.
> To send a message to Colorado Springs the series promoters choose to
> insure
> with an insurance plan purchased by OBRA and to forgo USCF sanctioning.
> We
> sent letters to every USAC board, director and staff member explaining why
> we were doing this and further explaining that it was likely that all
> Oregon
> events would do this unless USAC made changes to address our concerns over
> the diminishing level of service. We only received one response. It
> became
> apparent that local racing was not what the governing body was about. It
> is
> what OBRA is about, to promote and increase the number of events and
> racers
> within the state. In the fall of 1998 there was a vote of member clubs
> that
> was unanimous that we would offer the OBRA insurance plan to all events.
> This meant that virtually all Oregon events were no longer associated with
> USAC. We have met with the principle of USAC to see if we could work out
> our difference but to no avail.
>
> OBRA has been successful beyond our imagination. Our membership swelled
> to
> the highest levels ever when David Beede contacted us about branching out
> into mountain bike racing. The dissatisfaction among NORBA members was
> even
> greater than that from the road/track side. Last year we were able to
> organize a race series amongst the mountain bike races and added them to
> our
> already existing email network. This has given them a voice that they
> have
> not experienced before.
>
> Now other states have followed our lead. American Bicycle Racing (ABR) in
> the Midwest, Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado (BRAC - which has now
> changed its name to American Cycling Association) represent Colorado,
> Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and parts of Texas and North California/Nevada
> Cycling Association (NCNCA) have all formed a coalition of association-
> Federation of Independent Cycling Associations (FIAC). We have started
> incorporation proceedings and are working toward a shared rulebook and
> rider
> reciprocity. No matter what happens, the OBRA membership has chosen to
> concentrate on cycling within the state. Our 2000 calendar has over 200
> says of racing, we offer free membership to juniors and strongly suggest
> that the race organizers reduce entry fees for those under 18. Our Best
> All
> round Competition has expanded to recognize the outstanding performances
> in
> each discipline and new for 2000 we are hosting an Oregon Cup of specific
> races. One thing to remember is that while we try to give the impression
> of
> an organized workforce, volunteers do all of the functions of OBRA; there
> are no paid positions. What makes it work is that riders know that to get
> they must give back also.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
> Behalf Of Quenton Conant
> Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 4:18 PM
> To: obra@list.obra.org
> Subject: [OBRA Chat] OBRA's History
>
> Hey,
>
> I've looked for a history of OBRA and maybe I didn't look in the right
> place, or maybe it's not there, but I'm curious to hear/read the history
> of
> OBRA. The driving force behind it's formation, etc... Anyone out there
> know?
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