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1924
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In BMX and other sports like Little League, all organizations and events fall under one sactioning body. All events have the same rules, and there is a national tracking system.
When i raced BMX asa a kid they had a system in place that tracked all you races adnd if you won enough races or had enough top 3 finishes you would get bumped up a skill level. It was effective at preventing sandbagging, there was a national numbering system.
With all the talk of sandbagging in moto, and the differences in rules, how comes more tracks and promoter dont use AMA sanctioning?
When i raced BMX asa a kid they had a system in place that tracked all you races adnd if you won enough races or had enough top 3 finishes you would get bumped up a skill level. It was effective at preventing sandbagging, there was a national numbering system.
With all the talk of sandbagging in moto, and the differences in rules, how comes more tracks and promoter dont use AMA sanctioning?
Sandbagging is alive and well in USA BMX which is what the ABA calls itself now. In fact the sandbaggers chasing a National Championship Title in the beginner class is killing the local racing scene. Can't have little Johnny using up his wins towards advancement at a local race. Even when the local hotshot beginner does race it's always comical how he somehow slips a pedal or hits the gate in the main so he doesn't win.
AMA is more prevalent in the Eastern US. Not so much out here in the West. Unless it a qualifier for Lorretta's or Mammoth. The AMA does nothing to stop sandbagging. They have an advancement policy in place using points earned during a racing season. It's a joke. There's C class riders who live at training facilities. They pick which races they want to race in advancement classes, usually the bigger amateur Nationals. When they get close to being moved up they switch to non advancement classes.
I'm not hating on the players. They're not breaking any rules. I wish I would've paid a little more attention to how the game is played when my Son started racing. I always figured it was best to advance in classes as quick as possible.
The Shop
Well done Sir.
The real problem is with USA BMX. They want to maximize cash flow which I understand. They're a business and that's what businesses are supposed to do. Their business model seems to be more classes means more racers which means more money. Having a National Championship for the beginner class is crazy. Allowing anyone to race a National Event without having to qualify is also not good for local racing. They should follow the lead of how the World Championships are ran. Age classes only, no skill levels. That forces riders to hone their skills at the local level instead of striving to be the USA BMX National Beginner Class Champion. Since USA BMX is the only game in town since they took over the NBL any rule change is not likely to happen.
Part of a riders success in this sport is consistency throughout the season and the way amateur racing is set up currently doesn't allow for this.
Have a percentage of each entry fee be allocated to supporting the Amateur MXD team.
Look at who the promoters are for Loretta's and the Pro Mx national series and you'll have your answer.
Even if you don't race any AMA sanctioned events, being an AMA member has it's advantages. Good discounts on goods and services. The roadside assistance is reason enough to join. Use it one time and it pays for the cost of membership. All vehicles in the home of the member are covered whether they're registered to the member or not.
I was an AMA member for about 10 years a long time ago, started spending the AMA membership money on lap dances......got way more benefit from the lap dances....true story..
I'm not actually a member. My Son is a member. The only reason I signed him up was because it was required for a race he wanted to attend. He was only 14 at the time. Months after the race our trucks water pump went out. Called AMA roadside assistance and gave them his membership number. Even though he wasn't old enough to drive or own a truck no questions asked and they sent a tow truck right away. His Mother has used it for a dead battery/jumpstart and my Son wasn't even in the vehicle with her. I've renewed his membership for the last 2 years for that reason alone.
As far as sandbagging, that happens everywhere, in every sport. Realistically, you have to not let it bother you, because those kind of people will always be there.
Not to mention the insurance a track has to carry which is absurdly expensive on top of what they normally carry. And then they have to have a ems bus there standing by and in some spots, that's just not reasonable.
Answer is money
Pit Row
Hell even on practice days the local tracks we ride have emt's on hand. They ride around on quads or in the case of one track a early 70's station wagon with a big red cross on the window.
In California we have never had a huge AMA presence until recent changes to Mammoth becoming an AMA race. It was CMC, GFI, CRC, CMMC, R.E.M. Memberships that everyone had. Why have an AMA card too if the only AMA race was Loretta qualifiers and you weren't going to Loretta's.
From a promoter side, at least back when I promoted races, the extra cost for the sanctioning fees, AMA specific insurance, AMA referee, and then for the riders to be/become AMA members before racing was a hinderance. So we would need to get more riders to race to cover the extra costs while making it more expensive for them to race, while getting no portion of that added dollar amount directly back to us. All of my "outlaw" races had insurance, Medics, flaggers, we ran hundreds of races over the years.
I remember when we had to get an AMA amateur sanction because we were given an Area Qualifer without asking for one after hosting a Pro National, and doing a phone call with the AMA. At this point we had already promoted our first AMA pro national, and they wanted to know remedial stuff and determine if we were capable of hosting a race with 200+ riders. Then I had to take a fairly long online seminar on race promotion and safety. Pay a promoter sanction fee, and then pay the AMA their membership fees, and if I remember correctly another percentage of entries went to them as well, or maybe I'm confusing the fee for the rider to be eligible to qualify. It's been awhile. But I remember writing a large check to the AMA the Monday after the race.
We were AMA sanctioned one year.
Given the size of our sport, in a perfect world that actually tracked advancement, "B" should be the biggest class. Imagine what that would be like...
Post a reply to: Why no unified sactioning for local races?