simply incredible.

i just got this link from eric marshall.  you should click it and read it.  and then read it again.  once you get through the complaints by james mattis because he didn't get to race, there's some comedy gold to be mined.  in fact, there's a lot to say about this.  a whole lot.  but this one item is simply so wacky, that it must be highlighted.

"Justin [Rogers] politely but firmly told me there was no chance of me racing, even though I knew a U23 racer who was willing to give up his spot for me to race," Anthony told VeloNews. "The problem was not that the field was full, but that USA Cycling had decided to completely close registration a few weeks ago. The waiting lists, which were stacked full for many of the fields, were thrown away.

"In other words, if the first rider on the waiting list was standing right there in the room to pick up his number, and another rider notified USA Cycling that they were not going to race, USA Cycling would not give that open spot in the race to that rider on the waiting list."

"I knew of at least a handful riders who were not going to start the U23 road race, but USA Cycling wouldn't give those spots to riders on the waiting list," Anthony continued. "Therefore, there were far fewer than 125 starters in the U23 road race, and even though I'm [in Seven Springs] and the field wasn't full, I was not allowed to race.

"I don't see how this is fair to anyone. Supposedly the elite road race started with fewer than 115 racers, even though the field limit was 125. There were, however, a number of elite racers on the scene asking to be put in the race, but USA Cycling would not give them the open spots. USA Cycling stated that it would be unfair to let some racers in the race who were behind other racers on the waiting list, even if they hadn't shown up."   (emphasis is mine. -sg)

it's like these issues came out of left field for them.  we have already addressed electronic registration as an innovative and disruptive technology and as a race to the bottom with consequences for the sport.  it's not clear if the problem here was in the registration system or the use of the system.  the fact that the wait lists could not be retrieved from sportsbase online seems very odd.  they must have stored that information electronically after they collected it electronically.  the article above makes it sound as if the hard copy was thrown out and that was the end of the story.  what if someone had spilled a cup of coffee on the start lists?  would they just have sent everyone home?  wtf?

we have two different mabra promoters who just got a wild hair and built their own data-based systems with bar code scanners.  for the record, they are route 1 velo and eric marshall of emi racing, and they should be congratulated for taking the initiative.  i don't think either of those systems would require shutting down registration two weeks before the event.  in our area, even for district championships you rarely see registration shut down more than a few days before the event and waitlist management is fairly standard.  We've all done it on bikereg so it can't really be that hard.

you like the status quo?  admit it, the revolution is looking better and better isn't it?  bring your thoughts in the comments and we'll get the party started.  mabra, sera libre, ahora mismo, venceremos!

- - - posted by scott