Bill Warburton
Greetings,
We had about 15 people at the meeting last night and we talked about getting
new clubs started, getting existing clubs into the fold and set a date for
the first Regional Practice so all clubs and potential riders can meet up
with potential coaches and see what happens.
All the info I went over last night can be found online
here.
OBRA is working on building their own HSCCX page, but till then I'll post it
all there at that link.
We decided we should all meet at Summit High School on *August 12th,
Thursday, at 5:30 pm* for our first practice!
The practice is open to all high schoolers from all schools in the region so
we can see which schools / clubs / teams want to be represented, which clubs
are taking shape and connect everyone with some coaches and other resources
to move this initiative forward. As a note, I will not be in town for this
date but I will help as much as possible leading up to the event. Tim Jones,
Brent Chapman and others will be there to help set the course, run drills
and help organize the meet.
We talked about clubs and regional directors. After talking to several of
you after the meeting, I think the best practice would be to have each club
appoint a director or coach, then that person would then automatically be
part of the regional decision-making group. Let's call it the Central Oregon
High School Cyclocross Division for now. We all agree we should have an
advisory board for the Division and it will include others besides the club
directors. Race Promoters, Course Designers, people from other related
organizations, we can all participate. I will be the main contact for the
Division and continue to help setup the structure while being the
main liaison to OBRA, which will connect our Division directly to the others
across the state. I even got a shiny new email address today that we can use
to promote the Division: bendhsccx@obra.org.
But it is up to each of you to:
1. Build your club! You need 5 - 10 riders to be considered a "team" for the
competition. If you have too few, you can join another team in the region.
More than 10 and you can split into separate teams. Top 3 riders are scored
in each race.
2. Current High Schoolers -- recruit your friends to show up to that first
practice on Aug. 12 - let me know what we can do to make it attractive for
them to show up. Anyone have ideas on this front?
3. Decide if you can help out with a club or for the Division - if you can,
speak up now so we can get you in the loop
Biggest Barriers to the HSCCX:
COST:
1. Bikes - we will have loaner mountain bikes available at the first
practice. They will have to be reserved by Tuesday, August 10. Contact Bill
Warburton for more info. OBRA and others have ideas for bike purchase
discounts. Remind people that they just need a mountain bike to have fun.
2. Races - all of the HSCCX races in the series will be in the Valley. Entry
fees will be 5 to 8 dollars and The Bend Endurance Academy and Cog Wild have
vans available to transport large numbers of riders to these events. They
would charge transportation costs but if the van is full (9 - 11 riders)
then the costs should be about $15 - 30 per rider for the trip depending on
the distance traveled.
3. Sponsors - clubs and teams can have their own sponsors but let's talk
about the overall HSCCX program so we can combine our efforts on things like
jerseys, loaner bikes, travel money.
4. Partnerships - this is the best way to share resources and keep costs
low.
PERCEPTION:
1. People might not know what CX racing is, so we have to educate them it's
a fun party atmosphere great for families or people of all ages.
2. Girls are less likely to compete or want to compete, so we need women in
our community to help recruit
3. Create a video promo targeted to High Schoolers so they can be attracted
to CX
4. Social Media - get the word out about CX on social media so people are
aware of it's presence
5. Let school admin and teachers know it exists and that it will benefit
their schools, find ways to add it into daily curriculum
TRAINING:
1. We will have Divisional practices to start. All clubs and teams show up
to practice on the same course together. This shares resources and provides
the glue for the Division so we can compete at away races better. Once these
are established, clubs will feel comfortable doing their own practices. I
suggest we always have 1 Divisional practice a week.
2. Summit HS is the most obvious venue, but others include Pine Nursery and
Wanoga. Bill, Brent Champman, Woody Starr (COTA) and others will work to
create a Course Designer Group to help get standing courses in the Division.
Bill and Kendall are working on securing SHS as a permanent venue.
3. Make the practices fun & inviting specifically for High Schoolers - any
ideas?
LOCAL RACES:
1. Gina Miller will include high school categories at her 3 FreshAirSports
races this fall. They are not part of the official series this year but they
will be next year. These races are our Regional Meets.
2. Henry Abel and WebCyclery want to be involved so we'll be working with
them to see if the categories are a possibility at their Thrilla events.
3. Other events are welcome. OBRA will sanction the events and it will be up
to the organizer to get all permissions from landowners, Forrest Service or
other agencies. There are lots of resources for clubs and others to put on
events, talk to Bill for more info. OBRA has equipment in Bend to help put
on OBRA events.
OVERALL CYCLING DEVELOPMENT:
I think it's crucial that people look at this HSCCX Initiative as part of an
overall cycling development initiative in Bend. With all the resources we
have here it makes sense that we should be developing the best new riders in
Oregon and in the country. There are lots of fragmented pieces out there,
that, once combined with awareness and partnerships, will make us one of the
best places in the USA for junior cycling. That is my personal goal for this
area and that's why I've gotten involved in all of this.
I am the cycling director at The Bend Endurance Academy and we have designed
our Cyclocross Development program to fit with the local clubs / teams and
allows racers of any ability to get proper training 2 - 4 days per week not
just for cyclocross but for cycling and fitness in general. The program is
open to ages 12 - 18 and costs $350 for 10 weeks of coaching. Academy
athletes can ride and be scored for their school club or team.
COCC Cyclocross Club sport - this is happening for 2010-2011 and it will be
nice to see. The Academy and the COCC club will share practice times and
travel resources in an effort to provide a continuous cycling development
between ages 12 and 25.
I have spoken with many other organizations who want to be involved, so as
those relationships build, I'll list them.
CLINICS:
If you're interested in attending or leading a clinic this fall for anything
Cyclocross related, talk to Bill for more info.
MISSING:
If you didn't make the meeting but want to share or hear more, contact
Bill.
If you think others should be involved, then forward them all this info and
start the trend.
Let me know what else is missing...
CONTACTS:
I am making a contact list of people who want to be involved so let me know
if you want to opt-in. By opting in, you'll get the specific emails about
this HSCCX and local news, if you don't opt in, you can get the general news
on BendCycling or OBRA Chat. To sign up for BendCycling, go to Yahoo Groups
and search for it there.
For overall Division Contact: Bill Warburton, bendhsccx@obra.org
Clubs and Teams - send me your info as you want it published, and we'll post
it to the new OBRA HSCCX page.
Cheers,
Bill
--
William Warburton
Cycling Director
541.335.1346
Bend Endurance Academy
500 SW Bond St, Suite 142
Bend, OR 97702
www.BendEnduranceAcademy.org
--
William Warburton
Cycling Director
541.335.1346
Bend Endurance Academy
500 SW Bond St, Suite 142
Bend, OR 97702
www.BendEnduranceAcademy.org