Northern California Velodrome Association

Hi,

 

I’ve been spending a fair amount of time communicating with people to find out their thoughts on the current culture at the Velodrome and how we can in some way effect a change for the better. There are many views on how racing used to be, formats of race nights, number of races being offered, prize money or lack thereof, along with a multitude of other items. The one thing that really matters is everyones views and thoughts matter as the Hellyer community is truly a family. We all come to the track, train and race, but for the most part we spend countless hours on the infield interacting with each other sharing a good part of our lives together. This is what I love about Hellyer!

 

In the last few board meetings, and I use the word board meeting loosely as we’re really only members of the Hellyer community whom volunteer a little time to help the entire family, we’ve been looking for ways to truly effect change. Some of the main issues that came up were related to upgrade points, lack of prize money on Friday Nights, lack of diversity in racing, poor attendance, racing nights having lost their lustre and *fun* feeling. Fortunately many of these issues are easy to fix. Here are some of the changes that have taken place:

 

1. USA Cycling has agreed to allow the Northern California Velodrome Association to become a USA Cycling club. I submitted the application, it was approved in a matter of hours and the online tools are now available for us to permit races at Hellyer without having to locate individual race promoters.

 

2. We’re in the process of completing our first race permits for Tuesday and Friday Nights so all Hellyer race nights offer upgrade points and are listed on the USA Cycling, NCNCA and NCVA calendars.

 

3. The Hellyer Velodrome Challenge has gone USA Cycling. The permit is in process, but be assured USA Cycling is working with us on this to be sure we can put on this event. Entry fees stay the same, upgrade points are available and we look forward to a great three days of racing.

 

4. Greater diversity in racing. We’re always looking to improve the calendar, this is where you can help. Let us know what you want to see for racing! I’ll be creating an online survey and send to the list to get a general idea, but comments from you help greatly in deciding on how to structure racing.

 

5. The NCVA has committed $300 in cash to each USA Cycling Friday Night Race. This is in addition to funds collected from that race night put towards prizes. It’s my estimate Friday Night races will have on average $500 in cash handed out to racers on the podium. The more racers contesting the races, the better the payout, including more and higher cash primes throughout the night.

 

But none of this means anything if we’re unable to get the word out… It takes every person in our family to spread the message to their teammates, club members, friends (or foes), family members, neighbors co-workers, fellow students and fellow racers. Encourage them to come out to Hellyer to enjoy the many programs offered, from the juniors programs to women’s team pursuit, racing weeknights or to make Friday Nights fun and exciting, sprinting or endurance events, or a beginners session on Saturday morning introducing new people to the track.

 

So it’s up to all of us, spread the word at every opportunity, shake the trees, go grass roots, yell from the mountain tops and let’s get people back to Hellyer!!!

 

See you at the track.

 

Steve Jones