MTB in SA – a fun sport!
Added by Mike Bradley 24 June 2010
So through hook and by crook I finally get a look at what the 2011 calendar structure looks like. To say it has been established to generate as much profit for event organisers is an understatement. Do we need 2 separate marathon series in SA? What for? Last time the remainder of the world checked, there is NO World Cup Marathon series and no format for marathon in Olympic Games – so we want to build a nation of fun riders in order: a) to maximise event participation (make profit for event promoters an organisers); b) appease pro team sponsors to give them greater coverage and thereby serve the means of even a lesser few! Looks like we have picked up mass participation illness from road racing with disregard of what it takes to generate world class athletes.
Now, I admit, that I have limited knowledge of the thought process behind this – in fact I am actually quite confused by it, but having masterminded SA-MTB’s rise to Olympic status and enabled both our men and ladies to qualify as an internationally ranked country and not merely as no 1 in Africa, I find it odd that SA-MTB have adopted this approach heading into the most crucial period for Olympic qualification.
London 2012
The UCI have changed the goal posts again (this is fairly common practice with the UCI) for 2012 qualification. Originally the 2012 Olympic qualification was accumulation of points from 01 Jan 2008 to 31 December 2011. Now they have decided to alter this as follows:
Total number of points accumulated (determined by the sum of the 3 highest ranked riders in a nation) from 23 May 2010 to 22 May 2011 added to the accumulated points (determined by the sum of the 3 highest ranked riders in a nation) from 23 May 2012 to 23 May 2012. If there are any ties, then the highest ranked nation in either 2011 or 2012 will qualify. Thanks UCI, you have once again, structured a qualification system that has max benefit for European Nations!
But, we in SA can actually benefit from this now, if we play smart! We have the opportunity to ensure we can maximise points PRIOR to the start of the World Cup Season, by having additional XC/DH races in SA that carry UCI points rankings before the World Cup. This gives our riders the chance to qualify to ride in the first World Cup of 2011 (to be hosted in SA), and actually be favourably seeded. The 2nd World Cup is on the weekend of the 23 May 2011, so we can achieve quite a high country ranking before the first cut off date, so should there be a tie come 23 May 2012, we may just come out tops! Would it not be great to qualify for at least 2 male and female riders to London? We have the talent on the bicycle, but do we have the talent behind the scenes? It is important to note that SASCOC will not allow us to compete if we are ranked no 1 in Africa.
Investing in our future
So having had some experience in the field, so to speak, it is also nice to know that there is very little information flow out there at present, with provincial heads and clubs being left out of the loop, totally. That’s awesome – leave out the people who give of their time freely to keep the sport going. Remember the rider? Yeah, he’s the guy who’s being taxed to death to do his sport, whilst event organisers continue to rake in large amounts of entry fees, sponsorship money and pay very little back into the sport – a small levy and calendar fees. (Oh yes, they are going to start taxing riders 10% of prize money to fund drug testing – is that not a conflict of interests? If riders do not pay – do they not get tested? Since when has drug free sport started charging the federations for drug testing?). The fact that our over full calendar continues to grow is a testimonial that hosting MTB events is very lucrative. So the question is – how many of these events actually invest back into the sport? I reckon I could count them on 1 hand – that is practically the provincial bodies that go all out to host national XC/DH events.
Role of Sporting Federation
So I guess a point of departure is to determine the role of the National Federation of a sport. The role, in my opinion, is to nurture, develop and provide opportunity for any South African to be able to perform in the sport at the highest level. It is there to meet the requirements of the Department of Sport and Recreation.
So why does the Department have the title “Sport” and “Recreation”. The sporting side is exactly that – the top echelon, the athlete, the guy/girl who sacrifices to achieve. Recreation is there for the masses who want to do the same as the athlete but to a lesser degree. Cycling SA has a recreation commission – and effectively all mass participation events should fall under this umbrella. Recreation should be the profit house of Cycling SA that funds the other disciplines. Why should recreation fund developing athletes? Well without competitive professionals there is no draw card, there is no story, there is no aspiration. No story, no heroes = no sponsors, therefore the mass participation events cannot attract as many riders and therefore less sponsorship. It is not about why I am paying for the top athletes, it is about investing in my sport to keep the profile high. High profile, better events, better sponsorships (but we all know that that does not relate to lower entry fees unfortunately!).
Why push XC/DH when it is poorly supported?
This statement is only made by those who want to profiteer from the sport. XC and DH are World Cup and World Championship sports. These are the pinnacle of MTB. Yes, marathon also has a World Championship, but it is being scaled back and is mostly contested by riders who have been to Olympics, world cups etc but over the years still want to be competitive but have developed more endurance than speed. It does not attract the sponsorship of DH and XC World Cups, it does not have a spectator appeal.
In SA, XC/DH is where we develop our youth, or racers of tomorrow. Yes, there are a few of us “older guys” who have a passion for this format of racing, because it is where they can truly be competitive. It is where mountain biking, is still mountain biking – technical, tough and challenging. The last bastion of what MTB was – an extreme sport; like it or not. Perfectly manicured roads and single-track is not where MTB is at. Here we forsake talent and favour just strength.
The Crux?
So Why I am opposed to the 2011 Calendar structure in its current format? Well let us look at this holistically:
- Marathon series from Jan, Feb March – who has the ability to actually travel around the country doing 5 events in effectively 2 months? Also marathon events provide NO opportunities for youth and younger.....so no racing for the future guys in our sport till May – nice one SA-MTB
- XC/DH champs in March (same weekend as the MTB Argus) – how do athletes build to this with absolutely NO XC/Dh racing up to that point? (The provincial series is proposed to start in late April – after the World Cup!)
- XC/DH series – April, May, June. The biggest groups this year in XC and DH have been Youth, Sub Juniors and Sprogs – how many can afford this amount of time off school in the months when mid-year exams start? So we are going to cram XC and DH provincials and nationals into the busiest period of any school kid’s life.
- National Marathon series in September / October separate to the summer series, points in number 1 repeated. What is the purpose of this?
Now when top riders say that by June they are already feeling pretty exhausted because of the busy first part of the year (remember this period also includes the ABSA Cape Epic) – how many will want to contest or even pitch to a Cup series once the SA Champ title has been decided in March. I also doubt we will see international pros at an early season Champs, due to the limited amount of sponsorship allowed on a National Champion jersey; the XC and DH Cup series will have nothing to build up to; and the likes of us ever seeing our top international pros competing amongst us mere mortals will no longer be possible. Unfortunately, the SA Champs who will be crowned in July this year will never have the opportunity to wear their SA jerseys, as the next event they will participate in will the next SA Champs!
Current status: RSA ranked 21 in Men Elite (46 points) and we have no ranking for Elite Women !
Trail riding here I come.....
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