Homeschoolers Not Welcome at Spur MTB League

[Zeffer]

My 2cents.

 

I think its got something to do with the Schools Act and insurance. I suspect that is one of the means of whereby the organizers save a lot of money. By hosting the races on school grounds, not having to sanction (yes!) and not having to take out insurance. If you now include riders from outside what the act defines as a 'school' then you place yourself as organizer at risk.

 

I agree this is unfair but the basis might be sound.

[Dogs]

You make decisions in life and there are consequences in doing so.  In my opinion this is one of them.

[V12man]

What kind of a comment is that??

Ultra sarcastic.

[gtr1]

I am amazed that there are still people out there supporting the spur brand. Amazing!

Boycott Spur............don't ride their sponsored races .......

[Gen]

My 2cents.

 

I think its got something to do with the Schools Act and insurance. I suspect that is one of the means of whereby the organizers save a lot of money. By hosting the races on school grounds, not having to sanction (yes!) and not having to take out insurance. If you now include riders from outside what the act defines as a 'school' then you place yourself as organizer at risk.

 

I agree this is unfair but the basis might be sound.

Nah..

 

If it was the case is wouldnt just be in Gauteng.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Aurora]

When I was at school (finished in 2008) we had a schools series in KZN called the Mongoose Schools Series.

 

We had riders that were home schooled racing against us, this didn't matter because we just wanted to win no matter who we raced against. Riders received points, and I think so did schools so we were ranked in 2 different ways.

 

That was one of the most tightly contested series at this level with riders like Alan Hatherly, Rourke Croeser, Travis Walker, Candice Neethling, etc (Yes, some of these also went to normal schools) all racing. Us "normal school" kids generally didn't have much of a chance against these guys but we gave it our best shot. This also had nothing to do with where or how we went to school, they just trained a lot harder then we did and focused on winning 100%! There was none of this unfair BS that floats around today by parents who want their little darling to be standing on the podium. We were beaten by a much better rider on the day, suck it up and try again next time.

 

To me, if the kid is doing a schooling system at that age level of any sort and it can be proved, that kid should be allowed to compete in the schools league - surely?

 

The schools league to me is a great proving ground for the up and coming athletes to show what they are made of, yes there is the SA XC cup series but that is not as accessible for some as it travels around the country and financially some wont be able to make 80% of the races. The schools series is a great breeding ground for talent.

 

Just find a way to get the home schooled kids ranked and scored accordingly. Give them their own section or don't score them at all but just let them race at least.

 

Let them race!

[Skott5]

It seems Bizarre, and like some parents interfering so that their precious kids can  soak up the glory.

 

I can understand that home schooled kids shouldn't be allowed to accumulate points for a regular school - sure.

But to not let them compete at all as individual entries and race as independents ... Bizarre.   

[Wil6]

Boycott Spur............don't ride their sponsored races .......

I really hope this was a sarcastic comment. With the rate of races losing main sponsorship, it's tough as it is out there for races to continue. Who will take their place?

[Francois Du Rand]

What is odd to me though is that when I did home schooling (finished 2010), my parents had to register at the Dept of Education and we had a physical school name and everything even though it was just me and my sister. So my guess is if the right channels had been followed to register they can't deny entry because you are registered as a school by the Dept of Education

 

Back then my parents had to belong to all sorts of governing bodies and with regards to sport we were told that we were allowed to participate any sport provided we met the requirements. I remember a few schools that got taken to court because home schooled kids were denied entry due to being home schooled, and in all these cases the school lost because it was deemed unfair discrimination.

 

My whole point with this is, homeschool kids are seen as sub grade citizens. I had the biggest fight of my life to get into university after even writing government matric, simply due to the fact that I was homeschooled. I got called by the Head of Department that I had a "academic disadvantage" because I was homeschooled, yet I achieved the highest marks in the department once I finished......

 

Being a previously homeschooled kid I see this as sickening because we always hear the BS that we have more time on our hands. If your parents did their part as they should, we rarely finished before other kids came out of school. So from my side I say Spur must wake up.

[lechatnoir]

Ultra sarcastic.

 

Flipping stunning comment V12! me gusta

[FLYIT]

Morning all

 

So my opinion on this is as follows.

In life we are required to make decisions ,each of these comes with consequences.

If you choose to homeschool your child it is your decision.but there will be consequences.

The League is a Schools league , its as simple as that “a schools league” absolutely no grey area.

When you make the choice to remove your child from the School system then unfortunately you exclude them from certain areas of participation.

Yes you , not The sponsor , not the organizer, not the CSA or anybody else , only You.

Your decision-your consequence-live with it.

Live within your reality . Do not expect the world to change rules to accommodate your decisions, thats not how it works.

 

Respect Rules .

 

In this country we seem to be creating a culture of entitlement. People seem to feel they have a right to anything they please but no it does not work like that .

If you fall outside the rule , respect it and move on .

Dont blame the world , LIFE IS ABOUT CHOICES.

By all means encourage your daughters participation but in an arena were she meets the qualifying criteria.

Thanks and hope you all have a good day.

[scotty]

Another thing to keep in mind about Gauteng specifically - the number of participants at these races. They had to split the province in 3 sub groups this year because the tracks cannot physically accommodate 200+ kids racing on a +-4km lap. 

Shouldn't be a problem she will be in front, this kid can on her MTB can out ride adults on their road bikes.

[Slowbee]

Morning all

 

So my opinion on this is as follows.

In life we are required to make decisions ,each of these comes with consequences.

If you choose to homeschool your child it is your decision.but there will be consequences.

The League is a Schools league , its as simple as that “a schools league” absolutely no grey area.

When you make the choice to remove your child from the School system then unfortunately you exclude them from certain areas of participation.

Yes you , not The sponsor , not the organizer, not the CSA or anybody else , only You.

Your decision-your consequence-live with it.

Live within your reality . Do not expect the world to change rules to accommodate your decisions, thats not how it works.

 

Respect Rules .

 

In this country we seem to be creating a culture of entitlement. People seem to feel they have a right to anything they please but no it does not work like that .

If you fall outside the rule , respect it and move on .

Dont blame the world , LIFE IS ABOUT CHOICES.

By all means encourage your daughters participation but in an arena were she meets the qualifying criteria.

Thanks and hope you all have a good day.

So home school kids are not in a school ? Or dont go to school ?

[Eldron]

Here are some of the rules - it all sounds reasonable and fair - no need to be putting Spur out of business and scuttling the league just yet...

 

• Under the schools act, home-schools are not defined as a school and therefore cannot represent a school in the League
• Home-school riders are permitted to participate in the following regions as per the agreed regional bylaws due to historical reasons and re-alignment of League structures: Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth, East London), Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State, Southern Cape, Western Cape, Kwazulu Natal, Northern Cape
• Home-school riders may not represent a school and/or wear the school kit even if registered for sport at the school
• All riders that are not representing a bona fide school will be seen as “ghost riders” and will not be seeded, awarded points or qualify to podium
• A rider that is participating at a regional event where their school is not part of the provincial district must inform the registration crew of this and will be seen as a “ghost rider” and will not be allocated schools points, be seeded or qualify to podium

[V12man]

So home school kids are not in a school ? Or dont go to school ?

Legally - home schooled kids are part of the school system... they are not excluded.

[Traveler]

To quote from the Spur School Series website: "Each region’s events is currently run either by a local cycling club with an appointed regional coordinator or event organizer who became involved because of their children participating at some point of because of a love for the sport. These dedicated regional coordinators spend countless hours passionately plotting, planning and executing Spur MTB League events over and above their day-time jobs. Without them, the League would not have seen the growth that we now see."

 

It is probably pointless brow beating such a dysfunctional sponsor as Spur for any reason. They are just the title sponsor, the rules certainly come from SASC. So rather give SA School Cycling a beating, you might just get more reaction from them; since Gauteng has their own set of rules it cannot be a decision made by the sponsor....

 

Since it is Gauteng only, your fight must sit with the management of Gauteng of SASC? http://www.saschoolscycling.co.za/

 

While we are on that point, why are primary school kids also excluded as from 2018 at the Gauteng events? Last year they could still participate with the higher age groups, but did not qualify for points and seeding.