A note from the promoter- Rob Hughes in regard to some of the e-mails
that have been posted. In addition, Rob is more than happy to answer
any questions or concerns you may have. You can e-mail him at
hughrobe@comcast.net.
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In response to the recent posts regarding the OBRA Criterium Championship:
First, let me thank those of you who have already responded
supportively to this thread. This post is not intended for the
general OBRA member, who are without doubt among the best sportsmen
and women I have competed with and against.
I urge all of us to act (and write) in ways that help foster the sport
of bicycle racing.
Dave, here you go….
“Since you are charging $20 pre and $25 day of registration, and you
are giving away no monetary prices except for ONE cash prime per race?
I assume this is like a $500 prime?? Why don't you take all of your
profit and donate to charity?”
My initial proposal to OBRA was to put 100% of the entry fees from the
Senior Men and Senior Women races into the purse. This was rejected
by OBRA.
In lieu of a big purse the race committee decided months ago to donate
proceeds to the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, a non profit the
teaches kids to ride bikes safely.
I have promoted one race, last year’s 1st Albany Criterium. We had
about 220 paid entries and gave away more than $3000. I was
out-of-pocket a few dollars at the end of the race.
There will be more than one prime for the Senior Men and Women. The
amounts will depend upon the number of entries.
“Putting on a bicycle race should be to promote the sport and not pad
your pocket. Being that the race is an "OBRA Championship", the
possibility of an extremely large rider turnout is very high. This
equates to a very large profit on your behalf as I have heard what
your costs are and they are very low. I also understand that you are
not paying a medic to be on site for the race. Dude, who is going to
take care of the people after a crash?”
I have enjoyed racing for many years, and decided to help put on a
race in Albany to give back to the sport. Not only do I make ZERO
income from promoting racing, but I have spent hundreds of hours on
this race already, and I will have to take time off work the day
before the event, much to the chagrin of my wife who is threatening to
stop me from promoting more races because of the time it takes from my
family and the added insult of needing to respond to these types of
posts. My team (essentially in suspended animation at the moment)
will receive ZERO money from this race.
You may ask the question: Where did the money go from previous
editions of the State Criterium Championship, or for any race on the
OBRA calendar for that matter?
OBRA’s charges are fair, and some would say that the officials are
overdue for better reimbursement, but generally, costs are NOT LOW.
Two of last year’s sponsors dropped out citing poor cash flow. I
scrambled to find replacements and am grateful for the financial
support our sponsors are providing. The City of Albany, The Albany
Downtown Association, and The Albany Visitor’s Association have all
fully supported the race and have provided 100s of hours of service
already.
I see no reason why a promoter can’t use local, qualified medical
support. I am a Family Practice physician, and there will be at least
2 other physicians (FP and Pediatrics) supporting the race.
Throughout the day a City of Albany medic will also be present. The
course is 5 blocks from Albany General Hospital.
I am calling out to all the OBRA members to take a stand against
people that are taking advantage of our desire to races our bicycles.
Especially, with the economy the way it is. Another question for you?
Do you even race your bike?
Perhaps Kenji can create a poll to determine just how many OBRA
members feel they are being taken advantage of by race promoters? I
can’t imagine there are many, but the results might provide useful
information.
Dave, who is taking advantage of your desire to race bikes?
Accusations like this serve no purpose other than to create division
and animosity.
I raced bikes up until May 2008, when I was injured in the State TTT
Championship. Check out my results from 2007. After surgery this
winter I hope to return to the sport.
Randy, here you go….
“This is not an OBRA problem, it's an issue with promoters
Perhaps the issue of junior development needs some discussion. I
hardly think it is a promoter’s responsibility alone to subsidize U23
riders. As a promoter, I would be happy comply with an OBRA plan to
help develop young riders. Our kiddie kilo is free!
Thanks for reading,
Rob Hughes