Wednesday, June 11, 2008

New NORBA class system for 2009

It looks like they'll be getting away from the traditional beginner,sport,expert,semi-pro, pro system and going to a more simplified system like the roadies have. Nothing is official yet other than a change will happen but for now the plan is to have Cats 4,3,2,1 and pro with age dividers among the cats. The age dividers will be broader than the current age ranges (i.e. 30-39 instead of 30-34). The Pro category will have very strictly enforced entry restrictions to try to increase it's level of competitiveness and international profile. Some discussions are here and a DH focused one here. I just hope the new system doesn't screw local pros, i.e. Bart who can hang with the big dogs but don't have time to hit all of the national races.

2 comments:

StupidBike said...

Changing words to numbers really changes nothing anywho, the ICUP marches to its own beat anyway. The biggest issue is getting people to move up, but peer pressure works wonders.

Andy H. said...

Peer pressure must have really kicked in before DV. Seemed like a mass exudus up to sport and expert. Now we just need to rustle up some noobs to refill beginner. Crappy weather aside it's been a great season for ICUP.