Director's Note

Race #1 Frisco Bay Invitational is next weekend and we are super stoked to bring the community together to celebrate positive sporting behavior, inspiring efforts, and the joy of riding dirt!

Check your team dashboard to ensure your racers are registered in the correct category. Please let me know by Monday, August 21st of any changes for riders, division size, or scoring units. Your timely attention to these details is greatly appreciated.

I look forward to seeing you at the Coaches meeting race morning at 8:15 AM at the Colorado League/AES Information tent. Team directors or a coach must attend to be informed of any race-specific updates and to answer questions

Thank you for reviewing the information below to stay informed about the series.

Season #8 is going to be GREAT thanks to all your efforts of supporting healthy youth!

Kate Rau
Executive Director
720.272.9282

Contents August 2017

1. Frisco Invitational Race #1 Information
2. Registration Online Only - Closes Monday, August 21st
3. Team Division Determination - Monday, August 21st
4. 2017 Rules Update and Highlights
5. Confirm Legacy Riders
6. Race Weekend Volunteer Team Assignments
7. Weekend Contests - Fire Up Your Team Spirit
Calendar

Number Plate Distribution

Number plates will be available starting Friday at 2:00 PM. Coaches will pick up number plates for all team members who have registered for any one race this season. Please inform riders this is their plate for the entire season and includes their timing chip. There is a $10.00 replacement fee if it is lost or forgotten at subsequent races. Remove number plates while bikes are transported to and from races.

Family Dashboard - Now families can have all of their riders registration and one coach registration associated with just one email address. No more logging into separate accounts for each rider and coach. Parents can register their riders, pay for races, update personal information, download coach and rider licenses, and access their order history all on their family dashboard.

A new rider family dashboard is set up immediately upon being invited into the Pit Zone registration system.

Returning riders will be prompted to set up a parent login as the first step of registration. This step creates the family dashboard. For a complete walkthrough of how a returning rider establishes their family dashboard watch this short video: Navigating-the-Pit-Zone-Returning-Riders

Please de-activate members who are graduated or no longer on your team.

Riders who wish to join a team and not race must pay the $65 Colorado League/NICA membership and complete the registration process.

Many questions regarding Pit Zone registration can be answered HERE.

If you need an invitation to register a new or existing team, or independent racer please contact Kate Rau.

Team registration deadline is August 20th. Late fees will be applied starting August 21st.

Team Division Determination

Will your team compete as D1 or D2? Division size and scoring units need to be defined to allow for accurate scoring. The deadline for this determination is Monday, August 21st.

Division 1 = 16 or more members who attend the same school or less than 5 riders from any 2 schools.
Division 2 = 15 or fewer members who attend the same school or less than 5 riders from any 2 schools.

Please inform Kate Rau of team division size changes or updates in scoring units within a composite team for the season.

Please note that once the season begins, teams do not change divisions. It may not be clear which division a team should compete. This requires coaches to know their team members and, if they're on the cusp, make their best honest prediction. Feel free to welcome new student-athletes once the season commences if the are adequately skilled and fit to race.

In the context of this rule, a "member" is a student-athlete who does at least one race during the season. It does NOT mean the number of racers at any given race. It also does NOT mean your total number of student-athletes if there are student-athletes who will absolutely not be racing. Here are a few examples of how this might play out:

▪ A team has 10 total student-athletes and does not know of any other potential student-athletes are ready to join the team. This team is clearly a D2 team.

▪ A team has 20 total student-athletes and 16 are stoked to do every race. This team is clearly a D1 team.

▪ A team has 14 total student-athletes and they are all ready to race. Coaches have heard of, and maybe talked to, 4-5 additional students who think they might join the team and race. This team is likely D1 team as it is on the cusp and will likely end up with more than 15 racing student-athletes.

▪ A team has 11 total student-athletes. Coaches have heard of, and maybe talked to, 3-4 additional students who think they may join the team and race. This team is D2 as it is unlikely that all the potential students will join and race. Even if they all did, the most would be 15 members, which is within the "bubble" of 12-15 riders.

Please contact League Director Kate Rau if you have any questions or need guidance on determining your team status.

2017 Rules Update and Highlights

The primary intent of rules is to ensure a safe and welcoming atmosphere for all participants. Providing a format that is predictable, consistent and transparent supports a community environment that fosters a positive sporting attitude regardless of the level of competitiveness and promotes the core principles of building strong minds, bodies, and characters in a welcoming inclusive environment that respectfully treats all members equally.

A summary of the 2017 Rule updates are HERE.

NEW changes include:

2.11 Leave no Trace - updated to add Yellow Level Consequence for intentional littering

First offense: Warning

Subsequent offenses; 5-minute penalty

Rule 2.22 Eligibility - NEW Rule

At a minimum, all student-athletes who participate in any Colorado League event must meet the academic and conduct criteria established by their respective school districts and schools for participation in interscholastic athletics. Coaches may establish reasonable participation and/or lettering criteria stricter than the school’s or school district’s criteria unless prohibited by the school or school district from doing so. Coaches may also establish reasonable rules applicable to the functioning of the team. Any participation criteria or other rules which are stricter than or in addition to those established by the school or school district must be effectively communicated to the team members at the beginning of and periodically throughout the season.

Updates communicated earlier include:

Be sure you and your riders are familiar with the rules.

Highlights

Positive Sporting Behavior is the Golden Rule!
Respectful

Protect Your Gray Matter - Helmets Required
All riders, coaches, and spectators must wear a helmet any time they are riding a bike in the venue, on a pre-ride, or racing.

Hydration in Staging
De-hydration is the most common reason racers visit onsite medical staff. All racers will be required to carry at least 1 full water bottle or hydration pack with them during racing. Race officials and staging volunteers will be checking for this. Please remind your team to hydrate before race day and throughout the weekend.

Passing/Being Passed - Do it with Class!
Passing and being passed is part of racing. Let's do it with class! It's never ok to intentionally block, hit, elbow, shove, lean, or prevent the rider behind you from passing - no matter what category. See NICA Rule 6.18 below.

Passer - identify yourself as not in their category and ask politely to pass. Remember to thank and encourage the rider you are passing.

Rider being Passed - if you are being passed by someone who identifies themselves as not in your field, you don't need to stop, but move over to and let them know "I'm moving right" or "I'm moving left". It's just good sportsmanship to let a rider NOT in your category to pass.

Mechanicals
What happens when a rider has a mechanical during the race? Remember to prepare your riders for trail side fixes and if the need assistance there is a 5-minutes are added to your race time. Often times, it is much quicker for them to accept assistance and get back in the action. There is Neutral mechanical support available throughout the weekend.

Time Limits and Pulled Racers
The race schedule lists the time that racers will not be allowed to start their last lap. These time limits are imposed to ensure a safe and rewarding experience for all. In the event a racer is pulled, they still receive points.

Race Weekend Volunteer Team Assignments

Teams are assigned to "host" a race weekend. We ask teams to contribute at least 1 volunteer per 4 athletes for each race AND 2 volunteers per 4 race athletes to your "host" race. A list of the 2016 Team Volunteer Assignments season is HERE.

Below is a list of the teams assigned to step "out of the saddle" and rally for Race #1 in Frisco.

Calendar

November 4th Annual Shift Primal Art Party Fundraiser, Denver, CO

2017 Race Schedule:
Race #1 August 26 (North) -27 (South) Frisco Peninsula
Race #2 - South September 10 - Colorado Mountain College, Leadville
Race #2 - North September 10 Emerald Mountain, Steamboat Springs
Race #3 September 23 (North) - 24 (South), Granby Ranch
Race #4 October 7 (South) - 8 (North) McMurry Ranch, Nathrop
Race #5 October 22 State Championships, Eagle

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