Oregon to Get Two Junior Series for 2010

With all of the opportunities for Juniors in Oregon, scenes like this in Roubaix could await them. © Joe Sales

How can you tell if ’cross is here to stay? Look at how the Junior fields are treated. With that in mind, we here at Cyclocross Magazine were ecstatic to see the following press release pop up on the OBRA listserv. With two Junior-specific series, a five dollar entry fee and some serious prizes to accompany bragging rights, Oregon Juniors will be gaining the experience and incentive that will keep them coming back for years. Looks like the country’s (and, arguably, the world’s) biggest cyclocross scene, in terms of participation, is in no danger of petering out any time soon.

From John Wilson
On behalf of our generous sponsors:

Pacific Power
Willamette Valley Cycling
The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association
Redline Bicycles
Castelli
Sellwood Cycle Repair
Hammer Products
Northwest Multisports

We are pleased to announce the 2010 Oregon Junior Cyclocross Series and the Oregon High School Cyclocross Series.

The JCS is back for its second year and promises to be bigger and better. The same great schwag, awards, racing action plus expanded race venues reaching out to a town near you! The JCS is a best six out of eight race series. Riders must participate in five or more races for series awards / grand prize awards.

New for this year is a High School CCX Series. This series rides on top of the JCS. It is a best four out of five race series. Must participate in three or more races for series awards / grand prize awards. The HS Series is configured so all HS participants can simultaneously race the JCS. Two series and two sets of titles/schwag on the line for the price of one $5 Entry/event. These are OBRA events. All rules apply. Helmets required. Junior memberships available for $5. http://obra.org or Day of Race.

Within a week or so we will have a new dedicated to Junior Racing web page up on the OBRA site (Thanks Cheryl Willson). Keep an eye out for this (but we will send out a reminder to everyone once it’s up). This site will provide all the series info plus track race / series results. It will also provide all the contact info and context for the High School teams.

JCS Awards:

We have great awards, medals and cool swag five deep in each JCS category, plus great Grand Prizes. Series Champion Jerseys from Castelli for each JCS category. Equal awards for Girls and Boys. Grand Prizes will be based on a lottery system factoring in race participation and finish position in the series.

High School Awards:

HS Categories: Team, Best Girl, Best Boy. Series Champion Jerseys for top team, best girl, best boy. Medals three deep. Parents please get the word out to all the kids you know who may be interested. If you are interested in creating or joining a High School team, contact one of the following regional coordinators.

Portland/Vancouver
Lindsay Kandra
[email protected]

Hood River
Jeff Lorenzen
[email protected]

Bend
Bill Warburton
[email protected]

Salem
Omer Kem
[email protected]

Eugene/Corvallis
John Wilson
[email protected]
[email protected]

Southern Oregon
Glen Gann
[email protected]

Coast
Elliot Crowder
[email protected]

The JCS will follow the identical format as last year. Here is some more information on the high school series.

Goals for the first year:

1. Get the ball rolling. Start putting the structure together for high school competition.

2. Get kids/parents to start cyclocross clubs in each of their schools.

3. Introduce cyclocross to high school administrators and other key people in schools.

4. Pull together high school kids so they can compete directly against each other.

High School Scoring:

Top three finishers in each race receive points.

Best 4 out of 5 races.

Must participate in 3 races to qualify for series awards.

Double points for the championships.

HS Categories:

Team

Male (no age distinction)

Female (no age distinction)

Jerseys:

Castelli has generously offered to provide teams with jerseys at preferred pricing rates. You may use other vendors. More info on this once the web page is up but the deadline for artwork is August 6^th to ensure a September 15 delivery just a week prior to the first HS race. Castelli will provide a choice of templates to help create your team jersey or you may provide yourown artwork.

Schedule:

Categories and Start order (all will race together in one 30 minute, midday race, Juniors only, no adults on the course).

If you have more questions please feel free to contact me:

John Wilson
Willamette Valley Cycling Team / Pacific Power Blue Sky
JCS and HSCS Series Director
541-760-1331

Special thanks to: Jeff Lorenzen, Jeff McNamee, Sal Collura and Brad Ross for opening their arms and welcoming Junior racing into their awesome Cyclocross races and race venues!

Get your game on! Spread the word. Get your kids ready. Assemble your High School Team (Don’t let my Corvallis team run away with the series in its inaugural year). Get out to those short track races and fine tune those CCX Skills (Free in Salem for Juniors)! It is going to be a great CCX season for Juniors this year in Oregon!