Being a race organizer

[Eric8-A]

I was wondering what it would take to be a race organizer because it seems interesting. Is there some education required? And if so, What? I'm still a freshman in college and Im thinking of majoring in public communications. Would studies in that field help to become an organizer? Or is there simply no studies recquired?

Any help?

 

[brianf7]

I was wondering what it would take to be a race organizer because it seems interesting. Is there some education required? And if so, What? I'm still a freshman in college and Im thinking of majoring in public communications. Would studies in that field help to become an organizer? Or is there simply no studies recquired?

Any help?

Organising races even at club level is hard work for 11 months prior you need to know traffic organising sponsorships permits to name a few things then the big job is to organise manpower such as traffic controlers Police and marshals also UCI officials they all cost money you may also have to arange drug testing.
It all comes from the total cash flow.

Most of all you need big$$$$ behind you and big sponsors you may have to pay appearence money if you want star riders.
It goes on and On and ON. Good luck

 

[BroDeal]

Drug testing? Appearance money? You think he wants to set up a competitor to the Tour of California?

Your best best these days is to go for a Gran Fondo style event. These are the future of "racing" in the U.S. There are not that many people who want to toe the line in a real race. Most of the people who try quickly find out that it is way harder than they expected. But there are grundles of pretend racers who would do a mass start event to see how they stack up against other pretend racers, to live out their fantasies, and to justify the lifestyle they pretend to lead. That type of person is who is buying all the high end gear in the U.S. It's not real racers. There are not enough of them. It is the "cycling is the new golf" crowd who are dumping money into the sport, and most of them don't race, never have raced, and never will race. Make an event that caters to that segment of the cycling community, and you've got something.

With the possibility of several thousand participants, there is the financial incentive to make it worthwhile. The large number of participants allow anyone to show up and test themselves without fear of getting shelled in the first ten minutes. People get bragging rights for doing better than their friends. And if someone does horribly then there is always the next year when he can aim to do better. A similar dynamic works for 100 mile mountain bike races.

 

[SlowBikeRacer]

Start off by volunteering at a bunch of races of the type you want to promote. Work everything... Registration, marshalling, setup, follow car, officiat, sponsorship..
After few years, then you will be ready to try promoting a small race.

 

[rgmerk]

If you're a teenager interested in a career in promoting cyling events, interested in a career in sports promotion, a degree in marketing might well be a good place to start, as well as some work experience with a professional sports organization in your local area (not necessarily cycling).\

Oh, and help out with your local cycling club at amateur races to get a sense of what's involved (even putting on Sunday morning crits is a bigger logistical feat than you might think).

 

[Eric8-A]

Thanks to all who have replied. And I put in cycling events to keep the vibe of the website if you might say. But I'd be good doing any sporting event: marathons, triathlons and of course cycling.

 

[JayKosta]

You will have to get involved with all these aspects:
1) the location, permission to use it for the event. Most places don't allow 'races' in public areas without special permission.
2) insurance.
3) safety, crowd control, access to the course, etc.
4) the sport's sanctioning org if an 'official' event.
5) faciltites for the competitors, parking, water, bathrooms, etc.
6) sponsorship if finances are a concern.
7) Publicity is critical to getting participants and audience.

I think that it is also critical to estimate at least 3X the amount of time needed to do the work - everything takes much longer than you think it should!

My suggestion is to start by getting involved with local clubs.
See what they do for events, and get acquainted with the people who are the do'ers for the group - you will need their help.
Run some of their existing events to see how you like it - that way you have their past experience to guide you.
Then make a proposal about YOU running something that is just "1 notch" higher than their current events.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[fatandfast]

I was wondering what it would take to be a race organizer because it seems interesting. Is there some education required? And if so, What? I'm still a freshman in college and Im thinking of majoring in public communications. Would studies in that field help to become an organizer? Or is there simply no studies recquired?

Any help?

MGE in San Diego has been in the race business for 30+ years(on and off road). The USAC has a packet for race organization. If you follow the steps it's only super hard instead of impossible. Road races are an act of God. Porta-potties, police and local permits are a big part of the work. The mandate that every club put on one race per year has been skirted by lots of rule changes. If you are in S.Cal there are loads of great clubs that put on races all over...The insurance is available through the USAC..the officials are another big cost..and a good number is 10-15% percent of the volunteers will have a reason to either not show up or be unable to work until the race concludes. All the event minimums(prize lists, categories,race surfaces, number of officials you must have) are on the USAC website.*once you start you will see why Riverside County and Bennelli Park, San Dimas are so popular. The Manhattan Beach Gran Prix is an example of how it's done.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Friendly Advice

No study required! You'll learn on the low-paying job. You need 'people skills' to do well. If you can make new friends at a party, then your odds of putting on a successful event are much better. The local politics are a big part of a successful event.

Why would you want to get sanctioning from a federation that hasn't grown membership in at least a decade?

You aren't doing one event and then you are done. You are thinking about doing it annually. Why would you want to stay with a federation where the only growth is either cannibalizing another promoter or being blessed by UCI/USAC? See Deiter Drake's Battenkill event for the typical knee capping of a well run event by USAC.

Event liability insurance is widely available. Timing chip systems are available too. You will still need to front the money for event insurance and temporary exclusive access to local infrastructure.

My free advice is to do a primitive roads timed event. (dirt roads/gravel roads) It will attract casual dirt and 'cross rider and attract road enthusiasts looking for something a little tougher. Make it sufficiently tough a weekend warrior will have fun and come back next year, but not a death march. Local political costs are cheap compared to closing streets for a crit or triathlon, or something like it.

 

[DirtyWorks]

But there are TONS of pretend racers who would do a mass start event to see how they stack up against other pretend racers, to live out their fantasies, and to justify the lifestyle they pretend to lead. That type of person is who is buying all the high end gear in the U.S. It's not real racers. There are not enough of them. It is the "cycling is the new golf" crowd who are dumping money into the sport, and most of them don't race, never have raced, and never will race. Make an event that caters to that segment of the cycling community, and you've got something.

+1 He's right without being critical of USAC. If only I were so savvy!

 

[fatandfast]

+1 He's right without being critical of USAC. If only I were so savvy!

Funny thing about all of this I remember guys getting super aggravated about starting with the front group at some mass start events in Mexico (over 2000 riders) It only takes 5 minutes at 30mph for the Rapha poster boys to be blown out the back. If the USAC was smart they would have a couple of races w 200 field limits..with out of contention riders pulled..it would be a mile or so until 100 guys would be DQ'd and the per lap rate would be close to 30 bucks for 5000ft of racing..the Gran Fondo movement is a savvy act

 

[BroDeal]

Funny thing about all of this I remember guys getting super aggravated about starting with the front group at some mass start events in Mexico (over 2000 riders) It only takes 5 minutes at 30mph for the Rapha poster boys to be blown out the back. If the USAC was smart they would have a couple of races w 200 field limits..with out of contention riders pulled..it would be a mile or so until 100 guys would be DQ'd and the per lap rate would be close to 30 bucks for 5000ft of racing..the Gran Fondo movement is a savvy act

Having guys get DQed is exactly what needs to be avoided. To grow the sport, there needs to be what I will term semi-competitive events, something in between a century and a USAC race. I will use the example of 100 mile MTB races. Only a handful of people do such an event with the hope of winning, or even getting in the top ten. People race against themselves. They race against their best time. They race to get under a certain even hour mark. They race to get a better time than friends or acquaintences. Anyone can race them and get a mid-field placing if they are in reasonably good--not great--condition.

Triathlon operates similarily. Plus the heavy concentration on age groups allows people to compare themselves to others near their age. For the most part there is no masters tri race apart from the regular race. People finish their race, look up the results, and see how they did in their age group. They walk away happy if they finished near the top of their group. If they did not do well, they can feel better if they place higher the next year.

What is more, the large number of participants could make large mass start events economicly viable. Charge $100 - 200 to a several thousand people. Right now races are mostly put on by dedicated enthusiasts who do it for the love of the sport. The promoters come and go with the amount of free time that they have. There is no money in it, so the structure is inevitably unstable. Holding races with one or two hundred participants will never give the type of return to guarantee event sustainability. We need to go larger, and the only way to do that is to target cyclists outside the traditional hardcore racer.

 

[Eventman]

Event Management

Eric, This is one of the most difficult projects you will take on. Start by running a couple of Crits, find a good venue with good roads, then talk to the municipality have them form a fund raising committee. Talk to the police about security and find out what public works resources they will offer such as barricade and plastic jersey barrier, it works great. Road races are a what we need but that is an animal all of its own. What you have to go through with 1 municipality, you will have to go through many. A Stage Race you will need an army of people. It is why most of them only last a couple of years because volunteers get burned out. Mostly from politics. After you have all of the particulars together, you then apply for your USAC permit and make sure you clear the date with your local association.

I wish you the best of luck.

Tom

 

[fatandfast]

another avenue is call your district rep and let him or her know that you want to put on a race. There are lots of small clubs that need to hold a race and sometimes you can combine forces.

As brodeal pointed out there are lots of people that want categories..lots and lots of categories!!!When you flesh up a plan you may be faced with tough choices..womens races are a really hard one. If you try and have a Jr, cat5 and 1,2,3,4 womens race you will get hurt bad..even if you try and offer USAC min prize list.

Harder is better and safer..so when you pick your course if there is a chunk of steep pavement or someplace you can put in some kind of low speed u-turn option in it helps everybody..it will string the race way out (making it easier to score)it makes chase primes easier.. when you are trying to inspire people but foremost it makes it way safer.

Big office park crits w turns that you can pedal through make it so there are 75 or the 100 starters left to sprint it out..they always(50%) do a high speed body or face rub on the pavement.

Depending on where you live EMTs and police will be one of your biggest expenses ..you are going to choke when you see how much they charge to pick up and deliver portable toilets ..or you could just use Sagebrush Safari as an example..super cool race w no pavement problems

 

[trailrunner]

I was the race director for my club for a couple of years. I'm assuming you are interested in doing an amateur race, at least for a start. Putting on the race isn't hard, but it's not easy either. There are a lot of administrative details to think about, and organization and preparation are key. For my club's races, the biggest challenge was dealing with government officials to get road permits, special event permits, and to line up police support. Each year I did the race, the process was different, and each year, the instructions they gave were conflicting, misleading, and wrong. I wanted to strangle the bureaucrats, but since it was their approval I needed, every time I got frustrated with them, I had to swallow my true feelings and say "oh, OK, sure, I'll be happy to do that." But I think this is probably a very local thing: hopefully your government agencies will be easier to work with. The other big challenge is finding a suitable race course. Doing a true road race is difficult because it ties up the road for long periods of time, and even coordinating a rolling blockade is not easy and requires even more police support (which you will be paying for). You should also come armed with a thick skin, because you will get complaints from all sides - whiney prissy racers, people who can't use their roads because of a bunch of *%#$ bike racers, and so one. In the few years I did the our race, I had some memorable moments, such as: 1) being threatened with a lawsuit from one of the largest property management companies in the country; 2) watching an ambulance drive onto the course in front of the pack on a downhill during a women's race; 3) having some choppers (motorcycles) ignore the road marshal and drive the wrong way down our course; 4) one year holding the race on the *hottest* day of the year (and I was out there for 12 or 14 hours); 5) having one guy sign up and show up for the cat 3 race without ever having done a bike race before (he chose the cat 3 race because the cat 5 and cat 4/5 races were already full). Compared to all this, the usual assortment of crashes, last-minute registrations, and racers whining about their 34th placing long after the protest period has ended, will seem trivial.

 

[stackout]

I spent over 10 years working in public policy and management consulting before I decided to run away from the real world and play with bikes for a living. I agree with the statement on Grand Fondos, Tours, etc, as being the best opportunity to actually make a living. Sanctioned road racing is a very tough row to hoe, its a very small market, with extremely demanding clientele, the expectation of large cash purses, and very high overhead. The real money is in multi-sport and running, but it is harder to break into because there are so many very large and successful companies that dominate the calendar in most areas. Ultimately, like any business, you need to find a way to differentiate yourself - I aspire to deliver really cool courses and really exceptional customer service so as to deliver a unique and rewarding experience. As to professional training, intern/volunteer with as many events as you can to make sure you actually like the work, and, as I tell all college students, focus your college curriculum on as writing-intensive a course of study as possible. Being comfortable with public speaking, and learning the basics of accounting will help a lot, but do not base your major on it.

 

[Eric8-A]

I spent over 10 years working in public policy and management consulting before I decided to run away from the real world and play with bikes for a living. I agree with the statement on Grand Fondos, Tours, etc, as being the best opportunity to actually make a living. Sanctioned road racing is a very tough row to hoe, its a very small market, with extremely demanding clientele, the expectation of large cash purses, and very high overhead. The real money is in multi-sport and running, but it is harder to break into because there are so many very large and successful companies that dominate the calendar in most areas. Ultimately, like any business, you need to find a way to differentiate yourself - I aspire to deliver really cool courses and really exceptional customer service so as to deliver a unique and rewarding experience. As to professional training, intern/volunteer with as many events as you can to make sure you actually like the work, and, as I tell all college students, focus your college curriculum on as writing-intensive a course of study as possible. Being comfortable with public speaking, and learning the basics of accounting will help a lot, but do not base your major on it.

Well I plan to major in public communications which has something to do with what you mentioned. I didn't go into that because I wanted to organize sporting events, I did it because I feel that what I can get out of that (PUblic speaking and writing in particular) is what I'm best at. I was on the debate team at my high school as filler, but was given great compliments from teachers and other guests in attendance, and I have alaways gotten good praise for my writing.