Rose Festival Criterium & citizen event status

Eddie Arzouian

This course is good one. I enjoyed watching these races in 2003. Nice park. Nice place. Willy Coyle does a great job.

Can anybody tell me more about this Citizen Event status??? It still requires a UCI/CCA/OCA license. How is it different from a regular OCA race? How many races of this type are there? When did it start? Is it being done anywhere outside ON?

What do riders in the different races think of this format?


Rose Festival Criterium

After a one-week break, the St. Catharines Cycling Club is back in the organising saddle with the Rose Festival Criterium. The June 5th event, located in Welland, is considered one of Ontario's longest continuous races. The course remains with its traditional 2.2 km circuit weaving around and through picturesque Chippawa Park. However it is will follow last year's direction, finishing with a slight downhill.

Run as a Citizen Event, the Rose Festival will have 3 races that will be solely based on ability.

9 AM - Beginner - 50 minutes

10 AM - Sport (recommended ability of Master B/C/D and Women) - 50 minutes

11 AM - Open (recommended ability for Senior 1/2, Master A and experienced Junior M) - 90 minutes

Registration opens at 8 AM.

Citizen Permits and One-Event Racing Permits will be allowed to race the 9
AM and/or 10 AM races. Riders must have a UCI licence to race at 11 AM.
Senior 1/2 Women can race in the 11 AM race. Upgrade points will not be
awarded at the event.

Jimmy D

Last year the High Park Classic was in this format although there was a S1/2 race, open race and womens race, no biginners race. I think the idea of a beginners race is good to bring new racers in and not get shelled on the first few laps of a regular race format. The Oca has added the beginners race as of last year I believe to encourage new people into the sport that would not otherwise try it.

Could it be SCCC have gone this way to reduce costs, time and strain on Volunteers etc? 3 start times as opposed to 5 for the regular format. I would prefer the regular format over the Citizen event and it would allow for racers to get upgrade points as well.

I guess if you wanted an answer you could email the SCCC and ask Willie directly as to why they have chosen to change the format.

Eddie Arzouian

I'm sure reducing the numbers of starts is a factor in going that Citizen Event route. So, too, is making it easier for volunteers.

Pelotons are probably bigger as well, so that is more interesting.

All in all it sems like a good idea.

I don't know why point upgrades would not be awarded but on the other hand, as I have said before, in the real UCI-recognized categories the subdivisions do not exist anyway. Technically, you are either Espoirs, Elite or Master, the only criteria being age.

I do not necessarily approve of that but that's the way it is. Certainly having Master A with Elite makes sense to me.

I'm wondering if this idea came from the OCA or from somebody else?