mmur-@teleport.com
The population of Oregon is a bit over 3 million. The population of
Wisconsin is over 5 million. Add in the densely populated states adjacent to
Wisconsin as part of the potential market. The population is also more
evenly geographically distributed in the Midwest compared to the Northwest.
I think that population demographics just about completely explain the
differences between the 2 states.
The number of events is also an issue that decreases the market value and
the potential number of competitors for each event. I don't have the
numbers for WI but Jeff mentions 12 races. The current OBRA schedule has 46
days of mountain bike racing, 62 days of track racing, 117 days of road
racing (9 tt, 13 stage race, 13 individual road, 13 criterium and 69 weekday
circuit races). CCX has yet to be scheduled.
Some people have suggested that we have some way of limiting the number of
races so that the remaining races would have higher participation numbers,
better production and ultimately more market value. Personally I think that
the only way to do this is to let market forces determine the right number,
and for that matter the right entry fees.
I think it is important that race organizers look at the items that make
events successful. They need to look at the potential markets. They need
to look at the data that OBRA has collected on race participation. Prize
list does not seem to motivate participation. There appears to be an inverse
relationship between entry fees and participation. Ironically, some of the
events with lower entry fees are actually profit generating whereas the
higher entry fee races may post a loss.
Mike Murray
Jeff McNamee [mailto:mcna-@mailbox.orst.edu]wrote:
"having just moved out from wi i am a bit surprised with the amount of
attendees at mt races. i am a grad student and haven't found the time to
race, but i am extremely excited to start this summer. the wi series
(www.wors.org) averages over 1500 riders per race. there are many factors,
but i believe the most significant are accessibility and number of races.
the series only includes 12 races and most are within a 2 hr. drive. two of
the races attract over 2000 riders....the sport class tends to be around
600-800 while the expert varies from 100-200...we had a competition class
and no semi-pro. "