Failure Once Again Snatched From The Jaws Of Success

Here is another example of the total ineptitude and failure the Canadian cycling Association to provide leadership and assistance to the sport:

From www.CanadianCyclist.com


February 26.09 2:20pm EST - Tour de Kootenays Cancelled

Posted by Editoress on 2/26/09.​

Tour de Kootenays Cancelled

The Tour de Kootenay stage race that was scheduled to take place in BC's interior this summer has been cancelled. Bob Hennessy, the executive director of the race, blames the Nelson office of the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) for imposing requirements that would be too costly to implement. Organizers appealed to the Premier of BC to intervene, but received no response.

Hennessy wrote in a letter to Nelson MoTI District Technician Hugh Eberle: "it is clear to me (as I am sure it will be to anyone who acquaints themselves with the particulars of our application) that you, your staff colleagues and supervisor at the Nelson office of MoTI will take any steps, however unreasonable, impose any requirements, however costly, to frustrate the realization of the Tour de Kootenays."

In the local Castlegar News, Hennessy went further:

Hennessy believes the civil servants are opposed to it because too much traffic will be backed up on highway six in the valley.

Hennessy is frustrated with MoTI because he does not believe the MoTI truly understood the implications of canceling the event.

"If Canadians win points at our race Canada can field more teams at the next Olympics," he said.

Adding, "mid level civil servants in a town of 9,000 people have stopped an event which is equivalent, in the cycling world, to the Tour of California," he said.

(Editor's Note: 'equivalent to the Tour of California' is clearly an exaggeration...)

Read the Castlegar News story Here.


A pro-active national association could and should have stepped in and worked with the provincial association and the organizer to get this race done.

Instead another event falls by the wayside because of incompetence and a lack of support for the sport’s national governing body.


FAILURE ONCE AGAIN SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF SUCCESS.

 

Definitely a bummer for those of us locally. I hope something comes along to fill the vacuum left by the several races already cancelled this year in the province...

 

Tony,

Unfortunately with the current mindset and players at the CCA I see very little hope of things improving.

We have pencil pushers with little no experience in the sport who think nice chats with Sport Canada are more important than races and teams on the road.

Twice now the Board of Directors have hired Chief Executive Officers with absolutely no experience in the sport of cycling to run the sport for the country.

Absolute absurdity.

 

Is it true John Tolkamp is now the president of CCA? He's a racer from the lower mainland of BC, so perhaps he'll do something to assist us cyclists???

 

Ya, well you still have an idiot like Bil Kinash on the Board of Directors, the guy who hired people with no cycling background to try to run the sport they knew nothing about. They guy who walked away from a $15,000,000 infusion into the sport with nothing.


Tolkamp went along with that at the time so don't expect much change.

The blind leading the blind.

 

Did you apply for the recent job opening, old friend?

Have a good day and best of luck.

 

Expect me to always speak truth to power, regardless of lost personal gain.

 

Wtf does that mean? Did you apply or not?

 

So if I decide to "organize" a stage race in a small town with poor infrastructure, and can't see that costly traffic control measures are required, and won't have sponsorship lined up to cover the cost, I can and I should count on CCA to come and rescue? Sounds good...can I keep the profits to myself?

I will support any candidate for CCA ED position who can do this. Any other support would be extra.

 

If a major cycling race is being organized by anyone in Canada the CCA has a vested interest in seeing that it gets some assitance if required. There are not that many major races, especially road races, being organized.


The CCA is a political body and it should be using its national influence to assist with political issues where and when it can.

 

There's the cost of traffic control, then there's exorbitantly costly - basically extorting the race organizers and racers themselves. That was the situation as I understand it in Nelson, BC and why this new stage race was cancelled before even really getting started...The town 'won the battle but lost the war' considering the additional revenue race visitors would have provided...

 

Oh sorry Ed--can you answer me? Did you apply for the job? Did they interview you?

Have a nice day

 

Gee, Uboat, I'm not really sure why you think it is any of your business?

 

Because you go on and on about problems at the CCA. Why not apply for the job? Oh, maybe you did. And they laughed?