The 2018 racing season is almost upon us
and there are a number of things you will need to consider for the coming year.
Please read carefully below;
Event
(One Day) Licences and Member renewals
For Open Road Racing the Event Licence (or
One Day Licence) has been scrapped so please ensure you have renewed in good
time before the first race of the year in March. We will begin posting licences
in the first week of January and the system is open now for renewals so there
is plenty of time to get it sorted. Please note that the turnaround time for
postage can take up to 2 weeks. If you do not have your licence at sign-on you
will be refused entry by the Commissaires.
If your club has yet to affiliate or meet
the minimum requirements for an affiliated club (i.e. 6 registered members to
include Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer), your licence will be held back from
postage until the club meets these regulations. We encourage riders to download
our mobile app which will show you your licence, renewal and postage status,
and also let you know whether your club has affiliated fully. The ruling this
year is that if you don’t have a licence and back numbers on race day you
cannot take part.
If you receive enough points to upgrade during
the season and are waiting on the new licence and back numbers to arrive, you
can show the licence on the App at race day. A Commissaire will give you
temporary numbers for a small deposit at sign-on. Upon receipt of the new back numbers
and licence card please return the old ones to the office as they are now void.
Event licences are still available for
Off-Road Cross Country, Downhill, Enduro, Cyclo-Cross, TT’s, BMX and Leisure
events all year round barring National and Provincial Championships. They are
not available for any Track events.
National
Championships Eligibility (Masters and IRL Nationality)
We have a number of Masters National
Championships for which riders need to have the correct Rider Category in order
to enter.
M30
Men
If you turn 30 in the calendar year or are
in your thirties and wish to take part in some of our Masters 30 Championships,
please ensure you select M30 when you renew your membership. You may still take
part in Senior championships where no equivalent M30 championship takes place.
Make sure you have a UCI category of Elite selected with M30 to take part in
Senior Champs
M40 Men
If you turn 40 in the calendar year or have
yet to switch from Senior, please make sure you select M40 when you renew your
membership, to take part in any M40 championships. If you wish to ride the Rás,
International Track GP or any Elite UCI events you may do so with the
combination of M40 and Elite UCI Category.
M50
& M60 Men
These are automatically selected for you
once you reach the qualifying age
Masters
Women
There are no specific Masters Women rider
categories however once a female rider turns 40 in the calendar year she is
eligible for the Masters Women prize in the National Road Race and TT
Championships
IRL
Nationality
To take part in any National Championship
you must have IRL as your Nationality. If you are born in Northern Ireland and
have GBR as your Nationality you may apply to switch nationality. We have to
send such applications off to the UCI to be verified. Please note that once you
make the switch you cannot change back. Get in touch with the office if this
applies to you.
A3
National Championships
M40, M50 & M60 licence holders are not eligible for the A3 Senior championships. Only Riders with Senior or M30 Rider Categories can take part
Road
Racing Points, Upgrades & Downgrades
Following the AGM there have been some
changes to the upgrade thresholds for the Full Competition categories;
A4 to A3 = 13 points
A4 riders carry their points forward each
year
A3 to A2 = 15 points
A3 riders carry their points forward each
year
A2 to A1 = 15 points
A2 rider’s points are halved upon renewal
A1 rider’s points are zeroed each year
JR (A3) to JR (A2) = 60 points for first year Juniors and 30 points for second year Juniors
JR (A4) to JR (A3) = 13 points
JR rider’s points are zeroed each year and
they start back at JR (A3)
If an A1 or A2 rider has failed to score 6
points in a previous season he may apply for a downgrade with 5 points on their
licence. You must apply to the National Grading Officer at grading@cyclingireland.ie before
the 28th February each year
Please see Chapters T2 & T3 of the Cycling Ireland Technical Rules for further info
Insurance
Did you know that if you have an accident in a race or out training you are covered for personal accident and third party liability via your membership? Please see http://www.cyclingireland.ie/page/membership/insurance for further info
Useful Links
http://www.offroadcyclingireland.ie/