BWitty
Ken et al-
You are correct. Prior to last year, the Masters cats were 35+, 45+ and
55+. Many people over the years requested that Masters not be
age-graded, but rather ability rated.
Last year, we stubbornly held onto the age-graded categories, but
changed it to 30+, 40+ and so on. The reason was two-fold: 1) At the
National Championships, there is a Masters Men 30-34 race, and we felt
like giving an opportunity to the 30+ folks among us who wanted to
prepare for that, and 2) We felt like a Masters 30+ race (racing with
the A's) would draw many riders out of the B's field (which is HUGE) and
put them into the final race of the day. It was thought that this would
balance field sizes a little bit more and help the officials score the
races. It did not work like we expected.
So, this year we decided that this year we would not cling stubbornly to
the age-graded categories. Most people like racing with people of
similar abilities, rather than just similar ages. So, its Masters A and
B (maybe in future years we'll add a Masters C). It just makes more
sense since there are varying abilities and fitness levels at all age
groups.
Why did it go back to 35+? Well, it is a widely held opinion that you
are not a masters racer at the racing age of 30. Most races in Oregon
recognize masters racers at 35+.
Thanks for reading. I hope it answered your questions.
Cheers,
Club Vivo
Cyclocross Crusade
www.crosscrusade.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Benderly [mailto:bende-@comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2004 12:37 PM
To: obra
Subject: [OBRA Chat] New Cross Crusade Masters Classes?
Two years ago the Masters classes were: 35+, 45+, 55+.
Last year they were: 30+, 40+, 50+.
This year it's: 35+(cat A), 35+(cat B), 50+.
What's the deal? Why was was it changed for last year? Why didn't that
work? What is the goal for this year?
Curious,
Ken
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