Seth May

Other than the Crusades, I very much doubt we have and over crowding problem. Spending most of my time in Eugene, I'm use to small fields (I was the sole clyde on last weekend). I expected things would be different up north but was quite surprised at David Douglas (closer to downtown Portland than Beaverton) had field sizes matching those of Eugene. My Clyde cat (of 18 riders) was larger than then men c. And this was in the "heart" of fanatical CCX county.

Except for a very limited number of events (Alpenrose?) I seriously doubt we have an issue with too many riders showing up. There are plenty of non-Crusade events, as accessible to the Portlander as Crusade, that would happily take more riders.

Thanks
Seth

On Oct 19, 2010, at 12:24 PM, beth h wrote:

> Candi wrote: "It would be great to split this category but you also have to look at the bigger picture. Currently there are 6 groups of women racing at the same time. This is the largest number of riders in 45 minutes that we have. We have had a call to add SS Women and 55+ women and now Cat C women. What
> categories are you willing to give up? I know that Jon Myers and the Crusaders track the number of riders in all the categories each year. They look at this and try to figure out tweaks to make the schedule work. The only race that has room is probably the Beginner Men field that goes at 8:50."
>
> I suspect the time is coming when all registration for Cross Crusade events will be required in advance, and will be closed when a certain number of riders per category is reached. This is what happens when an event becomes so popular that overcrowding occurs.
>
> If OBRA does move in this direction, any number of categories could be added, by simply limiting the number of participants in each. People who didn't sign up in time would feel angry and left out but I don't see any other solution on the horizon.
>
> It's one thing to say that we want to grow an activity -- look at the number of juniors who are becoming interested in cyclocross -- but when demand outstrips supply (i.e., number of local races available vs. reasonalble number of available spots for participants) then eventually there will be a problem.
>
> It's easy to say, "well, Cross Crusade is getting too crowded, I think I'll go and race in Eugene or Salem [or wherever]." But this may not be the easy option for everyone, either because of scheduling, transportation or other factors. Clearly, cyclocross is popular, so popular that even slower people like me are giving it a go and having a ball out there. But we all need to consider what we want our race experience to look like when the number of racers goes through the roof. What will make the most sense to sustain the activity and continue to offer support and encouragement to newer participants?
>
> Beth Hamon
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beth h

Candi wrote: "It would be great to split this category but you also have to look at the bigger picture. Currently there are 6 groups of women racing at the same time. This is the largest number of riders in 45 minutes that we have. We have had a call to add SS Women and 55+ women and now Cat C women. What
categories are you willing to give up? I know that Jon Myers and the Crusaders track the number of riders in all the categories each year. They look at this and try to figure out tweaks to make the schedule work. The only race that has room is probably the Beginner Men field that goes at 8:50."

I suspect the time is coming when all registration for Cross Crusade events will be required in advance, and will be closed when a certain number of riders per category is reached. This is what happens when an event becomes so popular that overcrowding occurs.

If OBRA does move in this direction, any number of categories could be added, by simply limiting the number of participants in each. People who didn't sign up in time would feel angry and left out but I don't see any other solution on the horizon.

It's one thing to say that we want to grow an activity -- look at the number of juniors who are becoming interested in cyclocross -- but when demand outstrips supply (i.e., number of local races available vs. reasonalble number of available spots for participants) then eventually there will be a problem.

It's easy to say, "well, Cross Crusade is getting too crowded, I think I'll go and race in Eugene or Salem [or wherever]." But this may not be the easy option for everyone, either because of scheduling, transportation or other factors. Clearly, cyclocross is popular, so popular that even slower people like me are giving it a go and having a ball out there. But we all need to consider what we want our race experience to look like when the number of racers goes through the roof. What will make the most sense to sustain the activity and continue to offer support and encouragement to newer participants?

Beth Hamon