Ride Sanctioning Guidelines
For rides previously on the schedule, in November, the Sanctioning Coordinator will give notice to the ride manager of the proposed ride date for the next ride season. Generally, rides will be given the same weekend as the past year. If these dates do not work, it is up to the ride manager to notify the sanctioning coordinator immediately.
The current year’s schedule will be the precedent for the succeeding year using Memorial Day and Labor Day as the scheduling anchors.
Annual scheduling by the sanctioning coordinator must take a variety of factors into consideration, including holidays, scheduled national championships, ride lengths, the changing calendar, and personal ride manager situations. Sanctioning and scheduling of rides should be conducted in a fair and equitable manner. Ride managers are encouraged to work out “one time only” changes with other ride managers. The UMECRA Sanctioning Coordinator as well as the UMECRA Board of Directors are also encouraged to accept “one time only” changes that have been worked out equitably between ride managers without setting a scheduling precedence. “Open” weekends should be carefully considered before they are assigned as ride dates, as those weekends are not always available from year to year.
Sanctioning votes by the Board can be taken via email. Members without email will be contacted by the UMECRA President.
New rides should contact the sanctioning coordinator with a proposed new ride and date(s) as soon as possible. The sanctioning coordinator will fit them into the schedule using the UMECRA and AERC sanctioning rules if appropriate. Generally speaking, rides within UMECRA taking place on the same date should be at least 300 miles apart.
Two or more rides held on a regular schedule in alternate years shall be considered a single ride for purposes of determining precedence and delegate voting. The Board and the sanctioning coordinator must be informed in writing that rides their rides will rotate.
100 Mile Rides. The Board hopes that there be 3 weekends before or after an existing 100 mile ride within 400 miles radius of the existing 100 mile ride. The 100 mile ride must be offered on a consistent basis to be considered an existing 100 mile ride. A ride offering a 100 mile ride on either even or odd years will be considered offering the existing ride on a consistent basis. Ride managers wishing to add a 100 mile ride to their schedule should consider contacting the existing 100 mile ride manager and working out an alternating schedule. Any agreement arrived upon should be put in writing and submitted to the UMECRA Board and the sanctioning coordinator for future reference – Board does not need to approve this agreement.
Ride Cancellations:
Scheduled rides may have to be cancelled for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the following: trail conditions, trail availability, weather, ride manager health and family deaths. In the event of a forced cancellation, the ride manager is asked to:
1. Report the cancellation to the UMECRA President, Vice President, Secretary or Sanctioning Coordinator as soon as possible.
2. Notify the UMECRA Newsletter Editor and the UMECRA Website Editor in writing as soon as possible.
3. Notify the AERC office as soon as possible if applicable.
4. Ride managers who are forced to cancel their ride shall not receive a refund on sanctioning fees, but they may receive a refund on their insurance fees if sufficient notice was received. Fees for “additional insureds” will not be refunded. Ride managers of cancelled rides shall retain voting rights for one year.
5. Ride managers who are forced to cancel their ride two years in a row will be asked by the UMECRA President to give up their ride date (unless significant reasons are presented to retain that date.) Ride managers cancelling two years in a row shall forfeit their ride’s voting eligibility for the second year.
Reporting
Ride managers are strongly encouraged to present their ride results to the points keeper electronically.
Every rider who starts will be reported according to divisions (heavyweight, lightweight and junior). Riders who have signed up as AERC featherweights, lightweights or middleweights must be assigned to either UMECRA lightweight or heavyweight divisions. DO NOT list UMECRA weight divisions on AERC report forms. The AERC weight division must be determined at the time of entry.
Ride results must be submitted in the format prescribed by the points keeper. Failure to do so shall result in the results being returned to the manager for correction.
Ride managers are reminded that AERC results must be submitted separately and in accordance with their reporting guidelines and fees.