Maverick Cycles Fighting for Cyclists
Added by Mike 28 October 2010

It is that time of year again, when fees and fees and subscriptions are due. Now I fully support the notion of having all riders license to contribute to the whole. I also fully support any initiative to make the process as simple and smooth as possible. I am all for a provincial structure that is cohesive and works. What I am against is the assumption that cyclists out there should be charged exorbitant amounts to partake in their sport / hobby/ recreation activity.

Recently I have gotten myself involve in finding solutions to keep costs down as much as possible for riders, but the goings on of late leave me no option but to search for opinion out there.
Last year, cycling clubs in KZN paid an annual affiliation fee of R1000 to Cycling KZN. This year, this fee was bumped to R3000 with no input from clubs. Cycling South Africa, who have been saying that a new online licensing system will be coming into play and be available to clubs come 15 October to register and to members from the 1st November. What they negated to state was that there is now a R500 club affiliation fee, on top of that! No Pay, no registration – is that not blackmail??

But these are not large amounts, so why is it bothering me so much and not really many other people? Well let us break this down:
Club A: small town club, carries the same views in paragraph one, happy to encourage riders to license. Year 1 has 10 members, year 2 grows to 15, year 3 grows to 20
Club B: older big city club, consistent 300 membership base
Club C: virtual club, 1300 members plus

So the question that raises its head, is why do smaller clubs pay more per member for the exact same benefit they receive as bigger clubs? Do we only want big clubs to exist or survive and let the small clubs simply disappear?

Some might say that it is too easy to form a club and rather dysfunctional to have plenty small clubs, rather have a few super-clubs. So let us explore that option even further.

Yesterday’s Mercury Headline read “Are They South African?” The story linked to this headline was about the composition of the SA Commonwealth games team, and that comments in parliament where that the team looked more like a “European” team than African (Albeit nowadays that the European teams look considerably more African teams). So what has this got to do with clubs? Well, our sport is very “European” dominant, and it is up to us as individuals and clubs to start changing this picture.

So with a few super-clubs out there, there is more complacency and apathy, even more so than there is right now. That means even less people will be inspired to become involved, as they had to join a club of people they do not know, in a town they do not live in, so just leave it up to the committee. This then leaves even fewer people to try and encourage participation of all South Africans. Should smaller clubs decide to remain in play, the cost of developing or assisting young PDI riders will make the club fees become more than what may be affordable for the individual. The base fact is that we are talking about cash. Of course, there are a few that have no problem laying out however much it costs, but we have to remember that we are talking of a vast cross section of people in our sport, some of which have 4-6 family members that participate in the sport. When this adds up, it can be quite an expensive hobby. Add in other costs like EMBA, WILD Card, and ever rising event entry fees, and where does that leave us looking forward? Yip, very little people wanting to participate.

This can then lead to organisations being formed to cater for the recreational cyclist, hosting events for them and showing Cycling SA the proverbial “Fig of Spain” (google it).

My concern with the increasing fees is that fewer clubs will register for 2011, leaving a budget deficit to be funded by whom? The clubs that decide to bear this cost? How much will they then have to pour into the “kitty” toward mid-year? A simple answer is that their club base would have grown in any event, so they can afford that....but as clubs set their entry cost at year beginning and plan their year in advance, riders that belong or have formed smaller clubs will disappear and be lost to the sport due to being so fed up with this bureaucratic bungling.
What happens though with fewer clubs is just like what happens in local government. Competition becomes rife and suggestions get vetoed, as there are simply not enough other voices out there to provide effective input or vote on crucial matters that may affect the future of cycling.

The solution? What was tabled at a meeting that very few clubs actually attended was the following structure. Basic, cross the board, affiliation fee. This fee covers clubs up to 50 members. Then clubs with 50+ members contribute R10 per member up to the 499th member. Thereafter, the amount over 500 member drops to R5 per member thereafter. This fee structure would encourage the growth of small clubs, increase the number of licensed (CSA members) –thereby increasing the refund to Cycling KZM. Then along with organisers’ levies and fees, the province should be able to run very effectively, whilst reducing the administrative load on 1 body. This could actually free up the province more effective in delivery as it will have access to more resources. After all, we live here and we are patriotic to KZN being the best damn province out there.

But that is Mavericks way of thought, use it or don’t, but we will continue to fight the fight to try and keep the barriers of entry to our beloved sport as low as possible. 

 Whilst on the topic, some may see this as an attack on the Cycling KZN committee – far from it, the intention of this blog is to bring awareness of what happens in the background of cycling, to highlight the apathy that exists out there and where complacency amongst clubs leaves the dirty work up to a passionate few. I would like to extend our thanks to all the committee members who give of their time, it is the most thankless, brow-beating volunteer job known to man – but is rewarding when you start to see results. So thanks to the Cycling KZN and KZN MBC guys...