and I caught this bit from Bill Marshall:
In a more general feedback request, the organizers are looking for 'cross racers' thoughts on Kansas City as the location for nationals going into the future. "We want to bid on it again," said Marshall. "The whole intent is that we want to prove to USA Cycling that it is advantageous to have the event in the middle of the US. The demographic is mostly the northwest and northeast, so we want to show them that Kansas City is in the middle of that."
Lets see. If you hold the race in the NW, 1/2 the field doesn't have to travel. If you hold the event in New England, 1/2 the field doesn't have to travel.
If you hold it in KC, 95% of the field has to get there some how.
Fiscal irresponsibility.
Have Nationals alternate between epicenters of the highest concentration of cyclocross racers. Sure if the race is in Portland it might be 65% local, and if it comes back to Providence it would be close to 60% regional. But in essence folks from the MAC north would drive in likely, and that's a shorter drive (in general) than going to KC.
I don't like nationals being held in the middle of the country. Doesn't make sense. All it does is put more fiscal stress on the racers who want to participate. Maybe for the masters who are pulling down over six figure incomes it doesn't matter where it is held. But for many it is a big factor in attendance.
Benefits for holding it in a strong cycling/racing culture area? Spectator attendance. Providence it wasn't too bad, and i know a large number of folks who came to check it out who didn't know about cross at all. Portland would have no issue getting spectators. Seattle probably the same.
No answers here but wild speculation that it has to make a much bigger carbon footprint to hold the race in the middle. With that many more people flying in, sure it would "stimulate" the economy more (maybe) it would certainly drain more wallets than if the race was held on either coast.
14 comments:
the question being is it better to have everyone or most of everyone fly in for a race, or to draw only the best more devoted and boost local attendance...
having it in the middle seems to decrease the #s (not a bad thing) but the majority of people will travel further.
fuzzy logic that doesn't equal 2+2 or what ever the formula that was pointed out...
seems to make sense in a complex picture in my head - but then... "shrug" i dunno
if you draw more participants locally then fewer will be flying into the race and that's a good thing... i think...
but then, truthfully i won't be headed to nats unless they bring em back to New England or pop em in a location where i might have a double reason to be...
for once, i totally agree with you.
They (USCF) have followed their stated East-Central-West rotation pretty well over the years (subject to qualifying bids and who knows what else). Since they went to the two year program, each region has had it once. Competitor come from all over. Not to mention, holding nationals probably does a lot to generate interest and grow the sport in the hosting region.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Cycling_Cyclocross_National_Championships
Oh geez. How about this one: isn't is absurd to hold a national champs for anyone but Elite Men/Women/Juniors? Do Masters really need that validation that they are indeed no longer elite? Or is it more that the "numbers" in the non-elite races "pay" for the elite events? I think they have it right in Europe....
While it's unlikely I'd travel for nats in the first place, I have no desire to go to KC. My personal outlook - I would much rather travel to New England to see what that's all about.
I guess some people like to race on frozen ground, but I much prefer mud. Lots of mud.
And let's not forget the fact that you can't get to KC directly from anywhere... Now add the cost of the race, the flight, the bike shipping/flying, the hotel, food... Man - that gets expensive!
Full on agreement here - make it in a center where you have a concentration of racers.
Uh, ericv, I recall a bit of frozen ground the last time it was in Providence.... (and some might make the argument that PvD ain't all that interesting either...)
Cathy, connecting flights are a fact of life unless you live in a hub city/big city, a lot of times that makes the flights even more expensive (ie Cincinnati). Hard to fly into Providence direct as well, Hartford is a decent alternative, Logan is not (imo, having done that quite a bit).
Or is it more that the "numbers" in the non-elite races "pay" for the elite events?
Bingo. Also, age-group championships matter to a lot of people. You can argue that 30-34 and 35-39 are silly, but beyond that, it is a big deal to be the fastest guy your age.
I think they have it right in Europe....
Yeah, because everything that works in Europe works here.
Hmmm, travel farther? If it is in the middle isn't that half as far for people coming from either coast(if it were held on a coast)?
I'd say there are a decent number of cross racers within driving distance.
(CO, MN, WI, MI, IL, OH/IN/KY, TN, and MO).
Not for sure on the numbers, be interesting to look at the zip code distribution of those registered last year.
Okay, so I'll play a little.
Say you hold it in Chicago (lots of direct flights) and they design a really great course, one that East and West sayeeders like. Wouldn't that negate the whole "centrally located" argument?
Besides, I think that they should try them in the Mid Atlantic too.
bt
mid atlantic lovely weather in January (lets not forget nats are in Jan next time), say like NC or VA, sounds WICKED nice to me!
My wife might even come.
Totally agree on VA/MD (NC maybe too far). THAT would be an ideal area.
Chicago (if but that it is pretty damn solidly frozen in January).
KC isn't a big hub for any air-carrier.
People coming from the east by plane have to take two flights (generally) folks from the west, same thing). But then unless you are in and out of a major hub for your particular airlines then ya gonna double fly.
Put it at a hub and you'll be rocking. Louisville would be a better Central location IMHO.
That's the down side to Bend OR as an option. Pain in the ass for non-locals.
Your appearance contract is going to end up with more special needs stipulations than Madonna's. But I'm sure USA Cycling will re-write the bid specifications to accommodate a big name rider such as yourself...
true it does just really come down to who is willing to put the package together to make it happen.
few people have the time and resources to add something like doing a national championship event to their workload.
I know there is a bit of support from USA Cycling, but from an almost outsider (brief conversations and volunteering at Nats here in PVD gives me only a small view of what is going on now), it seems there is too much hope and prayer than someone will put together a package for the next few years.
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