Annual Governance Meeting - Recap

The PCA membership gathered last Saturday at the Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown to talk about the current and future state of the PCA. The discussions were spirited and the passion for the sport we all love was very evident when the 18 proposals were reviewed prior to voting. I want to thank all who attended the meeting and to Pete and Beth for their support.
The following is the outcome (pass/did not pass) of the voting on the proposals with additional commentary where applicable:


Events Standards / Scheduling

· Entry fees vs. standards – After lengthy discussions on this proposal the membership opted not to vote on this item but instead work with the PCA board and selected members to develop a rating system (platinum, gold, and silver). The rating system will be based on factors such race distance, prize list/entry fee ration and other factors. Look for future communications regarding the race rating system.

· PCA non-profit clubs and race teams should get first priority when picking dates for their events – This proposal PASSED with the following parameters: All races to be considered for PA BAR status must the BAR application submitted 60 days prior to the event and USAC permit approved 30 days prior to the event.

· All BAR races must meet USAC upgrade requirements – This proposal did NOT PASS as the voting ended in a tie however races meeting USAC upgrade distances will factor into the rating system highlighted in proposal #1.

· Promoters must pay a fee to hold a BAR event – This proposal PASSED with the following criteria: All prospective PA BAR races must pay a $50 fee that is submitted with the application 60 days prior to the event.



BAR Points / Competition

· Clarify and modify awarding of PA BAR points for stage races (2) – These combined proposals were discussed and it was determined that the PCA needs to enforce a rule passed in 2007 that BAR points will be awarded for each stage of an SR and not on GC. Lack of enforcement of this rule by the PCA since 2007 has had a negative impact on at least one BAR championship. The PCA board will instruct promoters to work with the Chief Referee to ensure that riders who do not complete a stage cannot continue in the race. Only riders who complete al stages will be awarded BAR points for each stage. The membership did vote on the PCA board enforcing a previous enacted ruling and the outcome of the vote was PASS.

· Hold a PA State Championship TTT – The membership did not to vote on this proposal but asked that the PCA board add this event to the state championship schedule for 2010. The PCA will offer modest monetary incentives to a club that hosts this event and will discuss the awarding of individual/team BAR points in 2011.

· Use of team cars in four to six road races per year – This proposal/idea has been touted by Mike Miller for several years to give riders the experience of racing with team and neutral support vehicles to prepare them for the next level. The membership discussed this proposal and decided to enact it via a PCA grant. If a promoter of a road race has team cars in the event the PCA will offer monetary support for the race.

· No use of radios in races – This proposal, like others on the agenda, was an enforcement issue. The PCA is not aware of any races under their guise that featured riders with radios in 2009. If radios are a component of an event USAC rule 1N6 applies: 1N6. Non-handheld radios with only one earpiece providing communication with coaches, managers or other riders may be worn or carried by the rider or bicycle only in elite road events that include category 1,2, or professional riders, and not in masters or junior races. No earpieces may be worn except as authorized above; audio playback devices are expressly forbidden.

· Create a PCA junior race series consisting of 12 quality events – This proposal sponsored by the PCA Junior Race Committee was PASSED. The PCA will work with May Britt and Gwen to help solicit promoters that have junior races to meet the race series criteria and become part of this great opportunity to grow junior racing. So far 5 races have signed on for 2010. PA BAR points will be awarded to the race series only but the PCA encourages all races, regardless of inclusion in the series, to offer junior events.

· Model PA BAR points system after the USAC ranking system – This proposal did NOT PASS.

· Add subcategories to the PA BAR individual standings for criteriums, road races, and time trials – This proposal did NOT PASS.

· Determine the value of points and the depth of points for each race based off of attendance – This proposal did NOT PASS.

· Add Team BAR subcategories for all categories of racing (best men's 1/2/3 team, best women's 4 team, etc) – While this proposal did NOT PASS the PCA will work with their web master to add team results by category to the PA BAR points system to be displayed on the site. The 2010 PCA awards banquet will honor those teams at the end of the season.

· For overall team BAR standings, only use the top 5 riders (highest individual BAR standings) per team per racing category (1/2/3, junior 17-18, etc) to count towards the team totals. – This proposal did NOT PASS.

· Change Masters categories to 35+, 50+, 60+ – This proposal did NOT PASS.

· All PA residents can score BAR points – This proposal did NOT PASS.



PCA Governance

· Compile a database of PA based motorcycle organizations to provide resources for cycling events. – This proposal was not voted on as the PCA board will take the lead and compile a database of motorcycle organizations and will ask the membership for their help.

· Award a state champion jersey to all state championship category winners – This proposal did NOT PASS however the membership recognized that the state champion for elite events with mixed categories (M1-2-3, W-1-2-3) will be awarded to the first PA rider across the line regardless of category. Elite state champions will receive a state jersey and the current stock of state jerseys will be offered to non elite riders at cost. PCA board member Pete Thallner is working on finding a sponsor for state jerseys so that the PCA can offer a jersey to all state champions.

PCA Expansion
Next week I will have a conference call with Randy Inglis and Frederike Blattspieler, who manages the local associations for USAC about expanding the PCA. The PCA is looking to bring the Appalachian Bicycle Racing Association under the PCA umbrella. The ABRA manages racing in West Virginia and cannot form its own local association due to the small number of riders. Their web site is http://www.abraracing.com/. More details to come on this effort.