Time for change - one step at a time

[hayleyearth]

Voted and following.

[Frosty]

Email sent to the regional chairperson - yesterday afternoon.

 

Hurdle/Obstacle No.1 reached - waiting for a reply to confirm a date to discuss the way forward. No details were included in the mail, except to say "a follow on from the initial discussions earlier this year".

 

 

I have never said it will be easy, and that everything will be fixed overnight, and I don't expect anything less. By sharing the progress, and posting as it happens (or as close to it), will give others an opportunity to see how deep this rabbit hole goes.

[MrDLR]

This is a great initiative and I hope it goes well let me know if there is anything I can help with. I have a few ideas of how to increase participation but it will take some time.

[Frosty]

This is a great initiative and I hope it goes well let me know if there is anything I can help with. I have a few ideas of how to increase participation but it will take some time.

Please feel free to share any and all ideas. Just by doing that you are helping.

 

Help doesn't just mean physically doing something - not even I have time for that. It's getting the message across that change is required and then ensuring the change happens - obviously sooner than later.

[Andrew Steer]

Good luck Gerald, following with interest   
Will help if/where I can...

[Eon du Plessis]

Okay, so how do we get buy-in from all the timing companies to get them to expose their results for storage in a central database? If CGC makes it compulsory for timing companies to do so in order to operate at an event, you're golden. Is that feasible though?

 

Seeding calculation from thereon out isn't particularly challenging, as far as I can see.

[City Cycling Athletic Club]

the first step is to educate the cyclist - i always read - csa this and csa that - csa is national body like your companies head office - the province (Gauteng) is the regional head office and the region (gauteng S , E, N W) is the branch. iow the region is the extension of CSA , if you want to moan , dont moan at CSA moan at the local CSA. its like blaming HO because you ran out of tea and coffee at the branch.

WRTrace officials, they are (should be) affiliated to the regional and provincial body - they are paid for their services, if dont perform or perform like tinpot dictators then report them. imo most of them are bullies drunk on their own importance - stand up to them. the Oganiser of the event has total control of what happens at the event not the officials.

PPA - better the devil you know than the devil you dont - PPA don't do races - period - they have no interest in racing , they do fun rides run to their fun ride rules - no back up vehicles, you want water? stop your bike at a water point - no-one on the PPA committee or in their office has raced a bike - and they don't take too kindly to advice. i have been a ppa member for over 25 years their events have dwindled from a 'fun ride' every weekend from Sept - May to maybe one a month from Sept to Feb - this year there were only 3 events leading up to the Argus in the new year. on the other hand the local CSA 'branch' has commenced with its autumn/winter series of 22 races. why? PPA events are money raisers for the organisers who donate the profits to a charity - if the event doesnt make enough profit - good bye event. the ppa are well run (on the surface) but very much 'old boys club' attitude to cycling and its official structures. 
  

[Dgas]

the first step is to educate the cyclist - i always read - csa this and csa that - csa is national body like your companies head office - the province (Gauteng) is the regional head office and the region (gauteng S , E, N W) is the branch. iow the region is the extension of CSA , if you want to moan , dont moan at CSA moan at the local CSA. its like blaming HO because you ran out of tea and coffee at the branch.

WRTrace officials, they are (should be) affiliated to the regional and provincial body - they are paid for their services, if dont perform or perform like tinpot dictators then report them. imo most of them are bullies drunk on their own importance - stand up to them. the Oganiser of the event has total control of what happens at the event not the officials.

PPA - better the devil you know than the devil you dont - PPA don't do races - period - they have no interest in racing , they do fun rides run to their fun ride rules - no back up vehicles, you want water? stop your bike at a water point - no-one on the PPA committee or in their office has raced a bike - and they don't take too kindly to advice. i have been a ppa member for over 25 years their events have dwindled from a 'fun ride' every weekend from Sept - May to maybe one a month from Sept to Feb - this year there were only 3 events leading up to the Argus in the new year. on the other hand the local CSA 'branch' has commenced with its autumn/winter series of 22 races. why? PPA events are money raisers for the organisers who donate the profits to a charity - if the event doesnt make enough profit - good bye event. the ppa are well run (on the surface) but very much 'old boys club' attitude to cycling and its official structures. 

  

 

I am assuming that you are in the Western Cape, I left there 5 years ago, at that point the PPA was running a number of cycle races and it seemed well organized. Gauteng does have quite a few races run by different people and in which the CSA does not seem to play any part.

 

Problem that I have with the CSA or Gauteng Cycling for that matter, is that I pay them fees, in the form of licence and entry fees, and I do not seem to be getting anything for my money. The only event this year that I am aware of that was organized by Gauteng Cycling, was the Gauteng champs, which was a badly organized and poorly attended and is more or less meanigless. All the races that I have raced are organized by a private company (ASG) who seem to do it for profit, or a club (Germiston Wheelers) who seem to do it in support of a charity. What exactly do I need CSA for? They do  not seem to do a great deal for me.

[Frosty]

Okay, so how do we get buy-in from all the timing companies to get them to expose their results for storage in a central database? If CGC makes it compulsory for timing companies to do so in order to operate at an event, you're golden. Is that feasible though?

 

Seeding calculation from thereon out isn't particularly challenging, as far as I can see.

Not the timing companies but the race organiser that must submit the times.

 

The timing company is a service provider and is under no obligation to release anything. Place subject to approval pending official results being received" on the organiser's application for the following year and you'll soon see if they plan to submit results.

 

If I don't get results from the timing company, then they don't get paid. Simple SLA takes care of that.

[Eon du Plessis]

Not the timing companies but the race organiser that must submit the times.

 

The timing company is a service provider and is under no obligation to release anything. Place subject to approval pending official results being received" on the organiser's application for the following year and you'll soon see if they plan to submit results.

 

If I don't get results from the timing company, then they don't get paid. Simple SLA takes care of that.

Okay, cool bananas. So is there a way of getting in touch with the various race organisers to try and get them to help out with this?

Happy to help collate and process the data. I have access to software developers that can write a Web UI for us. The math, I can sort out myself or get sorted by PhD statisticians.

[City Cycling Athletic Club]

I am assuming that you are in the Western Cape, I left there 5 years ago, at that point the PPA was running a number of cycle races and it seemed well organized. Gauteng does have quite a few races run by different people and in which the CSA does not seem to play any part.

 

Problem that I have with the CSA or Gauteng Cycling for that matter, is that I pay them fees, in the form of licence and entry fees, and I do not seem to be getting anything for my money. The only event this year that I am aware of that was organized by Gauteng Cycling, was the Gauteng champs, which was a badly organized and poorly attended and is more or less meanigless. All the races that I have raced are organized by a private company (ASG) who seem to do it for profit, or a club (Germiston Wheelers) who seem to do it in support of a charity. What exactly do I need CSA for? They do  not seem to do a great deal for me.

if your club / provincial region are not organising or coordinating races then vote them out. Gauteng seems to be in a mess and this is such a pity.

[Mr Giant]

if your club / provincial region are not organising or coordinating races then vote them out. Gauteng seems to be in a mess and this is such a pity.

Well said Andy!

 

Many races in Gauteng are run by private individuals who are looking to make a profit, nothing is ever put back into the sport.

 

On the note around license fees, I really do not see the point granted that you are issued with a racing license....So what? There are not that many races to begin with so I firmly believe that good money is thrown after bad.

 

The only body active in the sport is PPA. Why do we need CSA? Not like they are investing in the youth of tomorrow!

[Lurch the stalker]

if your club / provincial region are not organising or coordinating races then vote them out. Gauteng seems to be in a mess and this is such a pity.

The question is, who voted them in?

Did it happen at an AGM that we didn't attend or did they get hired? (Which then begs a whole new question about who interviewed them...)

[Frosty]

Who voted them in...?

 

1. The clubs that attended the AGM. There is a history (not sure how far back) but clubs were entitled to votes based on the size of the club.

 

Now it is NOT mandatory to belong to a club, so technically everyone is entitled to their say, but I'm not sure the current crop would agree with that statement.

 

2. Some are self-appointed, when the regions were formed.

 

Question is, if they are voted out, who is voted in and what is their mandate?

 

Today is day 6 since my first mail was sent and as of yet there hasn't been a single reply.

[Eon du Plessis]

Who do they account to? Department of sports?

[Frosty]

Good question