OBRA: OBRA Chat: increasing competition in O...

HAMMEL Rick

2001-03-02

38 of 154 I / IIs under 30 y.o.

I think the best way to increase competition is to take part in Junior

Development. I'm pretty sure Norm Babcock in Eugene and John Benonoti (sp?)

in Portland would be open to people spending less time writing their opinions

and more time working with them and The Next Generation of OBRA members.

Of course i'll be a hypocrit about this - and as most of my friends know, i

just can't stand kids.

Rick Hammel

Social Service Specialist

503-731-4646 X2268

mmur-@teleport.com 03/02/01 05:53PM >>>

============================================================

$100 SIGN-UP BONUS FROM E*TRADE!

Open and fund a qualifying E*TRADE brokerage account and

receive a $100 credit to your account. Apply today:

http://click.topica.com/aaabwRaVxiDpaVDUisa/eTrade

============================================================

David Johnson wrote:

"we NEED to have USCF events in Oregon. ... Only having OBRA events puts

Oregon

racing on a different level than USCF"

I don't really understand why we need to have USCF sanctioned events. What

is it about obtaining a sanction through USCF (or NORBA for that matter)

that makes the racing "on a different level"? Near as I can see all it

really does is increase the costs both for the race organizer (increased

insurance costs and permit fees) and for the rider (increased membership

costs). Now if USAC provided something in return for the race's

participation then I could see your point. They have done that this year

for the Alpenrose Challenge by making it a selection race for international

events and camps and by decreasing the permit costs. If you look at other

events what difference does it make? What would change, for example, if the

Banana Belt races were USCF sanctioned, other than it would cost more for

you to race?

Mike Murray

============================================================

Get all your favorite e-mail newsletters for free!

Over 2,700,000 people get their news, entertainment & fun from

MyFree.com! Don't miss a thing, visit today & enter for your

chance to win $100,000.

http://click.topica.com/aaabtHaVxiDpaVDUisc/MyFree

============================================================

To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

To respond to the list manager send to ob-@teleport.com

To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com

____________________________________________________________

T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less.

Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.

http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01

mmur-@teleport.com

2001-03-02

David Johnson wrote:

"we NEED to have USCF events in Oregon. ... Only having OBRA events puts

Oregon

racing on a different level than USCF"

I don't really understand why we need to have USCF sanctioned events. What

is it about obtaining a sanction through USCF (or NORBA for that matter)

that makes the racing "on a different level"? Near as I can see all it

really does is increase the costs both for the race organizer (increased

insurance costs and permit fees) and for the rider (increased membership

costs). Now if USAC provided something in return for the race's

participation then I could see your point. They have done that this year

for the Alpenrose Challenge by making it a selection race for international

events and camps and by decreasing the permit costs. If you look at other

events what difference does it make? What would change, for example, if the

Banana Belt races were USCF sanctioned, other than it would cost more for

you to race?

Mike Murray

ted-@aol.com

2001-03-02

Fewer, "higher quality," road events are a mixed blessing. The need to avoid

conflicts with other events reduces the total number of events available.

That means fewer events nearby. So the choice becomes more travel or less

racing. Also, elite events require a lot more time from volunteers, reducing

the time available for "lesser" events. Some folks probably recall the rash

of race cancellations up in Washington when they had the Microsoft GP/nat'l

road champs a few years ago. People found that they couldn't put in the work

on that event and still have time and energy left for a full calendar (I

don't know that anyone up in Washington admitted this in public, but there

was a lot less local racing those years in Washington). It's a tricky

balancing act between big events and a full calendar. I think it would be a

mistake to have two races a month in the northwest that need a clear date to

be successful.

--Ted Haskell

In a message dated 03/01/2001 14:10:05 Pacific Standard Time, David Johnson

writes:

Over the past several months I have been thinking of ways to increase the

level of competition in Oregon. One of the best scenarios I have been

thinking about is the creation of a Washington/Oregon "Northwest Cup" of

sorts. Much like Oregon Cup, the NW Cup would be an attempt to attract a

large number of riders from the NW at one race/venue. Here are a few

"rules"

I have been pondering...in relation to the "NW" Cup.

1-The races should be part of a season long season series, perhaps 1-2

events per month.

2-The race venues should be in locations easily accesible and if possible

in

locations that fall between Seattle and Portland. The majority of racers

live in these two localities, so its best to keep the events close.....to

further increase rider turnout.

3-An agreement with local promoters that another "like event" cannot

happen

within the same weekend as a NW Cup event. This is perhaps one of the

biggest problems of racing in Oregon. While we have a huge number of

events,

which is excellent, we do not have enough "big" events. Having this huge

number of small events takes away energy that should be focused on a

larger

event. There are just too many competing events within the NW, which

spreads

riders out, diluting the competition levels, for example, banana Belt,

Mason

Lake RR, Squim are all on the same weekend.

4-These events would be USCF events. We all know that OBRA does an

excellent

job of organizing, supplying, and insuring events in Oregon, but we NEED

to

have USCF events in Oregon. Off the top of my head I can only think of 3-4

USCF events that happen in Oregon, those being Cascade Classic, Tour of

Willamette, AVC?, and Columbia Plateau. Only having OBRA events puts

Oregon

racing on a different level than USCF, which is in fact a disservice to

Oregon riders looking to travel and compete on a regional or national

level.

5-The goal of a NW Cup, like the Oregon Cup, or the World Cup in Europe is

simple: To provide a race series that attracts as many high quality riders

as possible, and in turn up the level of racing in the NW.

These are just a few thoughts.....it would be good to see further

discussion

on this topic...

Jeff Mitchem

2001-03-01

This is excellent - and one of the main reasons we set up the OR Cup in the

first place....that is, to transition to a NW Cup after a few successful

seasons demonstrating that the Oregon racing community is capable of

supporting a core group of elite road races as the framework around which

the rest of the road calendar is organized. All of your points (and more)

have been discussed at recent cup committee meetings (to which all are

invited). Anyone interested in being a member of the committee should

contact me (via email or phone, 503.417.1796). The planning has begun!

Please check out the cup's web page - http://www.obra.org/oregoncup/

to find out more about the cup. Have patience, it is just up and still being

filled.

----------

From: David Johnson <uo_cy-@hotmail.com>

To: ob-@topica.com

Subject: [OBRA Chat] increasing competition in Oregon/NW

Date: Thu, Mar 1, 2001, 10:09 PM

============================================================

Shop for your next car at Autoweb.com, where

you'll get a guaranteed low price and haggle-free service.

Click here to get a quote on the latest 2001 models.

http://click.topica.com/aaabwtaVxiDpaVzo7Ca/autoweb

============================================================

Over the past several months I have been thinking of ways to increase the

level of competition in Oregon. One of the best scenarios I have been

thinking about is the creation of a Washington/Oregon "Northwest Cup" of

sorts. Much like Oregon Cup, the NW Cup would be an attempt to attract a

large number of riders from the NW at one race/venue. Here are a few "rules"

I have been pondering...in relation to the "NW" Cup.

1-The races should be part of a season long season series, perhaps 1-2

events per month.

2-The race venues should be in locations easily accesible and if possible in

locations that fall between Seattle and Portland. The majority of racers

live in these two localities, so its best to keep the events close.....to

further increase rider turnout.

3-An agreement with local promoters that another "like event" cannot happen

within the same weekend as a NW Cup event. This is perhaps one of the

biggest problems of racing in Oregon. While we have a huge number of events,

which is excellent, we do not have enough "big" events. Having this huge

number of small events takes away energy that should be focused on a larger

event. There are just too many competing events within the NW, which spreads

riders out, diluting the competition levels, for example, banana Belt, Mason

Lake RR, Squim are all on the same weekend.

4-These events would be USCF events. We all know that OBRA does an excellent

job of organizing, supplying, and insuring events in Oregon, but we NEED to

have USCF events in Oregon. Off the top of my head I can only think of 3-4

USCF events that happen in Oregon, those being Cascade Classic, Tour of

Willamette, AVC?, and Columbia Plateau. Only having OBRA events puts Oregon

racing on a different level than USCF, which is in fact a disservice to

Oregon riders looking to travel and compete on a regional or national level.

5-The goal of a NW Cup, like the Oregon Cup, or the World Cup in Europe is

simple: To provide a race series that attracts as many high quality riders

as possible, and in turn up the level of racing in the NW.

These are just a few thoughts.....it would be good to see further discussion

on this topic...

DJ

_________________________________________________________________

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

============================================================

MyFree.com: The best selection of topics on the net...AND IT'S

ALL FREE!! From Bargains to Cooking to Crafting To Free Stuff.

Don't miss a thing, visit today & enter to win $100,000.

http://click.topica.com/aaabtIaVxiDpaVzo7Cc/MyFree

============================================================

To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

To respond to the list manager send to ob-@teleport.com

To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com

____________________________________________________________

T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less.

Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.

http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01

David Johnson

2001-03-01

Over the past several months I have been thinking of ways to increase the

level of competition in Oregon. One of the best scenarios I have been

thinking about is the creation of a Washington/Oregon "Northwest Cup" of

sorts. Much like Oregon Cup, the NW Cup would be an attempt to attract a

large number of riders from the NW at one race/venue. Here are a few "rules"

I have been pondering...in relation to the "NW" Cup.

1-The races should be part of a season long season series, perhaps 1-2

events per month.

2-The race venues should be in locations easily accesible and if possible in

locations that fall between Seattle and Portland. The majority of racers

live in these two localities, so its best to keep the events close.....to

further increase rider turnout.

3-An agreement with local promoters that another "like event" cannot happen

within the same weekend as a NW Cup event. This is perhaps one of the

biggest problems of racing in Oregon. While we have a huge number of events,

which is excellent, we do not have enough "big" events. Having this huge

number of small events takes away energy that should be focused on a larger

event. There are just too many competing events within the NW, which spreads

riders out, diluting the competition levels, for example, banana Belt, Mason

Lake RR, Squim are all on the same weekend.

4-These events would be USCF events. We all know that OBRA does an excellent

job of organizing, supplying, and insuring events in Oregon, but we NEED to

have USCF events in Oregon. Off the top of my head I can only think of 3-4

USCF events that happen in Oregon, those being Cascade Classic, Tour of

Willamette, AVC?, and Columbia Plateau. Only having OBRA events puts Oregon

racing on a different level than USCF, which is in fact a disservice to

Oregon riders looking to travel and compete on a regional or national level.

5-The goal of a NW Cup, like the Oregon Cup, or the World Cup in Europe is

simple: To provide a race series that attracts as many high quality riders

as possible, and in turn up the level of racing in the NW.

These are just a few thoughts.....it would be good to see further discussion

on this topic...

DJ

_________________________________________________________________

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com