In a release, ABA CEO BA Anderson was quoted as saying “Over 13,000 downloads of the application occurred during the 90 days of beta testing and the feedback was incredible. With technology advancing at a rapid pace, we want to stay in the forefront.”

The ABA has been serving up moto sheets via Wi-Fi at their nationals for some time, and this takes it to the next level.

BA Added: “I am sure we will be adding even more features to the app to meet the needs of our members.”

The new ABA iPhone App includes news releases, schedules, track directory with directions, points, a current rulebook, and a direct link to moto sheets at national events. It is available now as a free download, from the iTunes app store.

The second annual Powder Puff Picnic will be held this Friday, September 3 as part of the NBL Grand Nationals in Louisville, KY. Last year’s event was a runaway success, with over 100 girls in attendance, getting autographs from their favorite lady pros, and muching down on Grands grub.

Founder/Organizer, Lisa Motley, told “News” that the roster of pros includes Dominique Daniels, Felicia Stancil*, Carley Young, Kyla Reed, Ashley Lynch, Tiffany Bontorno, with all confirming they’ll be there. Allie Dragoo, Amanda Carr, and Jamie Lilly are also “scheduled to appear.” As part of the event, Pro-Gate is sponsoring a gate clinic just adjacent to the picnic area, which will start, just as the picnic is ending.

*No, Felicia has not gone and done it…no pro card for her yet. But you don’t have to squint and tilt your head much to see that a Felicia Stancil autograph today will be a top pro signature someday soon. Then you can say: “I knew her when…”

When asked about her motivation in creating the first picnic last year, Lisa said: “I started the PPP to create an opportunity for girls in our sport, racing or not, to interact with each other in a casual, noncompetitive, environment. Our approach is to invite as many non-riders and moms as possible to the picnic, hoping that the enviroment makes it easier for them to ask questions. For the girls who already race, a conversation with Elite Woman might be that special connection that keeps them interested in BMX for life.”

The Powder Puff Picnic is a “girls only” event, open to all ages (racers and non-racers alike). It will be held near the staging area…look for the “Pro-Gate” area, and you’re there. A limited number of commemorative T-Shirts will be available on-site, so you can get all your autographs in wearable fashion.

History Lesson: If you’re asking yourself “why ‘Powder Puff’ Picnic?” For the first dozen-or-so years of BMX racing, the girls classes were called “Powder Puff,” as in “11-Under Powder Puff.” At the Jag World Championships in 1979, the class was 11-Under and 12-Over. By 1982, there were six Powder Puff classes (7-Under, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-24, 25-Over). The winner of the 12-13 class at that 1982 Worlds was none other than Lisa Vonderahe (whom you now know as Lisa Motley).

Donations of food, drink or dessert are welcomed. For more information email lisamotley@hotmail.com

—Mike Carruth

Got a release from Dan’s Comp that long-time friend of BMX News, Scott Towne, will be their new Marketing and Media coordinator. He will also be heading up the Freestyle and Dirt teams.

Scott has literally grown up in the bike business. His dad, Vern, had Vern’s Sport & Cycle in Plainwell, MI, which was one of the earliest BMX shops in the region. Scott later worked with us at Hi-Torque Publications on BMX Plus! and American Freestyler Magazines before jumping over to work with Steve Giberson at Super BMX and Freestyle in the late 80s. Most recently, Scott was a travelin’ man for Etnies, as one of the top reps, and returned to the magazine game for Dig BMX Magazine.

Of his new post, Scott said “I am a BMX lifer and this new position makes sense for me on so many different levels. I’m excited to be devoting my attention 100% to BMX and the opportunity to work for Dan’s Comp in this capacity is a dream come true.”

We wish him the best of luck, and look forward to seeing him at upcoming events like Interbike.

Since the news broke on Sunday morning at 10AM Eastern Time, the VintageBMX.com message board has been the defacto town square for discussion on the changes. All points of view have shown up to the discussion, with some foretelling the imminent demise of the NBL within months, and others saying “Watch out ABA!,” and literally every shade of grey in between.

Much of what was reported in the Sunday article was also in Aragon’s slide deck for the Webinar. He did fill in some additional detail about the costs of the three levels of membership, and what is included in each:

LOCAL: All-You-Can-Ride local racing at any outdoor track in the Nation with no entry fees. There may be indoor fees to cover the added cost of indoor facilities depending on track. There may also be trophy fees depending on track. Includes both 20” and Cruisers! Includes access to Pre-races at Nationals and Entry into the President’s Cup.

CHALLENGER = All the benefits of the LOCAL membership PLUS All-You-Can-Ride Challenge Championship Series racing with no entry fees (Editor’s note: The “Challenge Championship Series” is the new name for the NBL Regional series). Includes both 20” and Cruisers! Includes the Challenge Championship and All Challenge Championship Entries.

CHAMPION = All the benefits of LOCAL and CHALLENGER membership PLUS All-You-Can-Ride National Series racing. Includes both 20” and Cruisers!

The pricing matrix of how much all this will cost was also brought into sharper focus, with multi-member discounts for families (called “Single, Duo, Trio and Quattro” for households with one, two, three or four or more members, respectively). They also announced attractive discount to sign up for the new membership (or convert your existing membership) by January 1, 2011.

One attendee asked if households could mix & match membership levels, and still qualify for the multiple membership discount. “No, each member must be on the same level of the plan.” Said Aragon.

Gary then moved into laying out the NBLs proposal for how tracks will be compensated under the new system.

NBL will pay the track $5.95 per entry at local races (so if someone rides cruiser and 20″ they get $11.90). No pay for opens. Track can charge a “Trophy fee” and can also charge for practices at their discretion. Indoor tracks can charge a facilities charge to defray the extra costs associated with running the facility. In addition to the $5.95, the NBL will pay 25 cents per local entry into a state fund, which will be turned over to the state organization to help fund the state series.

Tracks can also hold special “fundraising” races for which they can charge an entry fee.

BMXNEWS asked the question which has been a hallmark of the detractors to this plan: “If, for a local membership, you are taking in $10.26 per month, and people are racing two bikes, three times per month, which equals $35.70 paid out to the track, how is that sustainable?” The answer given was that “actuarial math” was being used to factor these calculations, and Aragon assured the attendees that these numbers had been run, and run comprehensively before announcing the plan.

The NBL also announced a Performance-based incentive for tracks who book larger races next year than their average headcount in the 2010 season. Tracks running five races above their 2010 average will receive a bonus of $250, 10 races above average will earn $300, and 15 races above average will earn a $500 bonus. Local tracks will also receive a commission/bonus for signing up new members. This amount will range from $5.00 for a single “Local” membership, to $72 for a “Quattro” pack of “Champion” memberships.

It was also discussed that Teams would be eligible for discount, bulk-pak, memberships. “News” had some questions on how, exactly, this will work, and has submitted those to Mr. Aragon for further explanation.

The discussion then turned to Proficiencies and Moveups.

Gary explained that, because of the connotation that the term “Novice” carries (as a person with little experience in a given endeavor), the class would be renamed to better suit those who race it. Novice will now become “Challenger” Class.

In addition, the Super-Ex class (which is the lower Pro class in the 2010 NBL) will be renamed A-Elite, and the top pro classes for men and women will be renamed AA-Elite.

The term “SuperX” will be retasked to a new class that was described by Aragon to be the NBL’s “Youth Development” class (for riders 14-16 years of age, based on birth year). He continued to say that USA Cycling has acknowledged NBL’s program, and they are “working on access for NBL riders to the Olympic Training Center.” Riders in the SuperX class will petition the Director Of Competition (DOC) to request entry into the class, and from that point on, they will race the three-age-combined SuperX class instead of their single-age expert class.

As previously reported, all riders finish the year in the proficiency they started in, unless they specifically petition for a reclassification up or down. An attendee asked how long a reclassification petition might take to be considered, and the answer was “About a week.”

Proficiency move-ups will now be decided, not by wins, but by “Gate Drops.” This way, everyone in a rookie class is gaining moveup credits for every race they ride–something that seems to be quite popular, in the face of the storied, “7-year rookie” A total of 40 gate drops and a minimum of one year racing is required for a move from Rookie to Challenger. Challenger to Expert Moveups are a bit more complex, with two years, 100 gate drops, AND the rider being in the 90th percentile of his class. It still was a unclear to “News” what sample would be used to determine a given rider’s percentile (would it be all riders that age, all national riders of that age, all same-aged riders at a given rider’s local track, etc.).

NATIONAL SERIES

A great deal of time was spent, in the 2 and a half hour webinar talking about the National series, and what its new form would be.

For 2011, there will be 20 national weekends. Of the 20 weekends, they will be divided, five each, into the following race types:

5 – Super ProAm
5 – ProAm
5 – Mixed Doubles
5 – Team Spectaculars

The concept of a ProAm National may, at first, seem a little awkward (or downright objectionable) for longtime BMXers. We are used to a “ProAm” being a race where pros and amateurs race, elbow to elbow, for a monetary prize. That is NOT what this is.

In the 2011 NBL National series context, a ProAm (or Super ProAm) is a VIRTUAL Team Sheet where all riders participate, regardless of age, proficiency, gender or wheel size. Riders are automatically entered, and are assigned, at random, to a grouping of other amateurs and ONE pro. These groupings will then be posted on the motoboards, so people can see who else is on their team for that day. The concept, according to Aragon, is to get people talking to other people at the track. If you have a 12 Challenger, a AA Elite, a 45 Cruiser, a 12 year old girl and a 14 Expert on your ProAm team for that day, you’re going to be watching their races, and cheering them on…because if they do well, your team could win the purse for the day.

For the five Super ProAm races, the purse is $4,000. The pro on the team will be awarded a “lion’s share” portion of the purse, and the amateurs on the team will split the remaining amount. Elites will be paid in money, and amateurs will be paid in US Savings Bonds. The Five Pro Ams will have a $2,000 purse.

A “Mixed Doubles” race is the same format as the ProAm, except that girl racers are used in place of Elites (There will not be a Pro Open at the Mixed Double races).

A Team Spectacular is a regular National weekend with a $2000 Team purse per day. It was not clear as we post this if the $2000 would be for just the Factory Team division, or if it would be split with the Bike Shop Team.

The crown jewels of the new NBL National series are intended to be the five NBL “NationsTour” races. On four weekends (plus the Grands), the Tour will pay out an Elite purse in excess of $40,000, with $8,000 going to the Elite winner and $4800 going to the Elite Women winner. Elite-A and Masters winners will each get $1800. Elite-AA riders will pay a $300 entry fee, but no separate NBL membership fee is required. Elite-A and Masters riders will pay an $80 entry fee (at non-NationsTour races, the entry fee will be $75 for all Elite classes).

In the “National Championship Series,” riders must still have six scores to qualify. Rookie classes will be offered at the National Championship Series races, but Rookies will not be plated. Some of the qualification and scoring details:

Challenger Class (Novices)

Four (4) of the Six (6) races must be NBL National Championship Series races and two (2) may be NBL Challenge Championship Series races. In addition, a rider must have three (3) local, races to qualify.

Riders will be scored based upon the best six (6) total scores; two (2) Challenge Championship Series race may be used for calculating points.

Experts

Four (4) of the Six (6) races must be NBL National Championship Series races and two (2) may be an NBL Challenge Championship Series races.

Riders will be scored based upon the best six (6) total scores and one (1) may be an NBL Challenge Championship Series race.

SuperX (Youth Development 14-16yr olds, by birth year)

Six (6) races must be NBL National Championship Series races and NO NBL Challenge Championship Series races will be used for qualifications.

Riders will be scored based upon the best six (6) total scores and NO NBL Challenge Championship Series race will be used for calculating points.

REGIONAL SERIES

The Regional Series is now known as the Challenge Championship Series, and will be 20 races total. In all, 16 of the races will be held simultaneously in four regions on the same day. Rookies will be plated in the Challenge Series. Some Qualification and Scoring details, lifted from the Slide Deck:

Qualifications:
Each rider must have a total of ten (10) race entries with a minimum of one (1) NBL Challenge Championship Series and five (5) local, single-point races to qualify.

Any other race, ie. local, state, Challenge, or National Championship Series, can be used for the remaining 4 races to qualify.

Riders will receive quad points for one of their Challenge Championship Series entries and triple points for one of the National Championship Series entries. The pre-race at each series will remain a triple local point race. The Regional Championship will continue to count as a qualifying races for the National Championship Series for that current season’s Grands.

Scoring:
Riders will be scored based upon the best six (6) total scores; however, only one (1) double point, (1) triple point and one (1) quad point race in calculating their score.

“OVERALL AMATEUR AWARD”

Based on a total points calculation, NBL will award an overall Amateur Champion at the Grands on Sunday (2011). It was not clear if ALL points (local, regional and national) would be used to determine this winner, or if only National Series points would be used.

TEAM SCORING

Teams will now be scored using the international standard” for team scoring, which counts motos, mains, bonus points for quarters and semis, and Grands Bonus points.

SUMMARY

Overall, the response in the Webinar was quite positive, and acceptance seems to be growing as these radical changes sink in to the party faithful. Still, many are adopting a “wait & see” posture, and others (mostly in the West where there are few-to-no NBL tracks) are meeting the news of these changes with a shrug.

The Vintage discussion is still at full flame (over 950 replies and 45,000 views), and specific discussions have ben started for things like teams, and State Series questions/concerns. Come on over and join in the fun!

—Mike Carruth

In her cruiser main, she got out clean, and had the pull down the first straight on Hannah Sarten from New Zealand. Sarten took control of the race in the first turn, but Harriet mounted an impressive charge out of the second turn, and some rockin in the rhythm put HBS back on the box for the cruiser podium. Both mains held some killer racing, and we definitely want to congratulate Harriett on her double– tardy, though it may be.

Check out both of Harriet’s main laps on bmx-videos.com

—Mike Carruth

A BMX News tipster in the Phoenix area sent in this link to a radio segment that Dom Daniels did recently with local sports personality Kevin McCabe. In the 12 minute segment, Dom talks about how she got into BMX (funny story about rolling up to Chandler BMX with a motorcycle), starting school at Grand Canyon University, and her plans for the future. It’s always great when BMXers get some mainstream media attention, and we were very pleased with the way Dom handled her self on-air. Great job, Dom! Classes start at GCU this week, and we’ll be seeing her in Louisville in a couple weeks to defend her NBL title.

Listen to the Podcast version of the show

The NBL will announce today, at a press conference held at its Prunedale Last Chance Qualifier, that it is making sweeping changes to the way it operates, starting after the Grands. BMXNEWS got an advance copy of the remarks, and brings the scoop to you one hour before the official announcement.

These changes cover everything from how moveup points are awarded, to the Elite Series, to the very idea of what an NBL membership is.

Here are some early details:

MEMBERSHIPS

The most profound change for 2011 is the way NBL will deal with memberships.

Instead of paying an annual membership fee, and then entry fees at each race, the NBL will now charge a per-month membership fee of between $10.26 and $40.93 per month, but all entry fees will be included.

There will be three tiers of memberships (tentatively called “Local,” “Challenger” and “Champion”). The rider decides which to sign up for, based on the type of racing s/he wants to do. If you are mostly racing locals, you pay a one-time sign up fee of $25, then $10.26 per month (a total of $148.12 for the first year). With that payment, you can race an unlimited number of local races, anywhere in the NBL system. You can still race nationals with a local membership, on an ala carte basis, by paying a $60 per race entry fee.

To race the National series, you will pay a $35 one-time sign up fee, and $40.93 per month ($526.16 for the first year). That includes an unlimited number of race entries of any kind (locals, regionals and nationals).

One membership is good for 20″ and Cruiser, so for $40.93 per month, you can race either, or both. There are discounts for multiple family members, or if you want to handle your annual membership in one payment instead of monthly.

Your existing NBL membership will need to be converted to the new system. And while there will not be any NBL National racing between the Grands and Christmas, there will probably be Regionals in October. Riders signing up for those regionals will be the first members to make the conversion. The second wave of riders will be converting at the Christmas Classic, which is the first national featuring the new format. Local racing will be last to convert, with any riders signing up to race locals required to convert to the new membership on or after January 1, 2011.

Members will receive $5 credit for every month left on their existing membership. That credit will go toward offsetting the sign-up fee for the new membership, or toward offsetting the monthly payments, if the credit exceeds the signup fee.

The membership will be a 12-month “contract,” meaning that members will have to commit to paying for all 12 months. If you decide to upgrade your membership from Local to National, you will pay the difference in the sign up fee ($10), and will be required to start your contract year over again.

A 30-day trial membership will still exist, and will be priced at $25. That $25 will be applied to the sign-up fee if/when the member upgrades. The Bring A Buddy program is back, and members will be awarded one month of free membership, up to 12 months, for each new member they sign up.

TRACKS

Tracks will no longer pay any fees to the NBL (no race report fees, no insurance fees, etc). Instead, tracks will be paid by the NBL for each rider at their races.

Paid practice will also be a thing of the past, for better or worse. Tracks can run practice, but they cannot charge for it–but since they are not going to be paid to run it, it is doubtful you’ll see many non-race-day practice sessions.

Tracks will be permitted to charge a small additional fee for riders who want a trophy at a local race. Indoor tracks will also be permitted to charge a supplemental fee to support the added expense of operating the facility.

CLASSES AND PROFICIENCIES

The NBL will add 40 (you read it right, four-zero) new classes to their program for 2011.

While the full list is still being finalized, the proposal BMXNEWS obtained calls for a newly-created Girls Expert class (5-7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17-18, 19-25, 26-34, 35-40, and 41-over). The plan also calls for a 30-over Rookie class for both 20″ and cruiser. The NBL will also bring in many individual-age cruiser classes for the boys (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16).

The Novice class will be reneamed “Challenger” class in the new year (so the common amateur proficiencies will be Rookie, Challenger and Expert).

There will also be a fourth proficiency added called “Super-X” (not to be confused with the SuperEx of previous years which was basically A Pro). The new Super-X class will be a birth-year class for 14-16 year olds, and is being promoted as a “Jr. Development” class. Unlike ABA’s Jr. Devo, which is akin to an open class, this is a plated class unto itself. Riders racing the Super-X class will not race their normal expert class in addition to this one. The class will exist for both Boys and Girls.

The class formerly known as SuperEx will now be known as Elite A, and the Elite class will be known as Elite AA. The rules behind qualifying for Elite A and Elite AA are coming together, and are a little more complex than we have time to talk about here.

MOVE-UPS

One thing that is bound to cause a stir is the new policy that says whatever proficiency you start the season in, you will finish the season in that proficiency. Exception given to those who petition the Director of Competition specifically for a self-move-up. Self moveups are frozen as of 30 days prior to the Grands.

Moveup points will change from the long-standing “number-of-qualifying-wins” to a particular number of “gate drops,” and other factors. For rookies, one year of experience and 40 gate drops will require a move up the day after the Grands. The way we understand it, if the rider has fewer than 40, he will stay rookie for another year, unless s/he petitions the Director of Competition specifically for a self-move-up.

Once you get to “Challenger Class” (Novice), the formula that decides how you move up to expert gets very complex, and will be almost impossible to calculate without help from the NBL office. The formula is: A minimum of 100 gate drops and a minimum of 24 months total participation. A rider who has met these minimum requirements will be moved to Expert if they are in the 90th Percentile in their class.

Any gate drop in competition will count toward the moveup tally. This includes motos, quarters, semis and mains…but not practice.

The Director of Competition must personally approve any moveup from Expert to Super-X, or to either of the Elite classes.

NATIONAL SERIES

What was formerly known as the “Elite Series” will now, according to NBL CEO Gary Aragon, be spun off into a separate league, called the “NBL NationsTour.” The NationsTour will feature four events during the season, plus the finals, which will be held in conjunction with the Grands.

The NationsTour will feature a supercross-style Friday Time Trial and Saturday racing format. The total purse for each series race will top $40,000, with the top Elite AA hoisting a check for $8,000, and the top Elite Woman taking home $4,800. Even masters will be rewarded handsomely, with an $1800 check for first.

The Championship Payouts will be double, with $16,000 going to the top Elite AA, and $9600 going to the top Elite Woman.

Unlike the amateur program, there will be no NBL membership required to race the NationsTour, and riders will pay an entry fee to race (probably around $300).

In addition, the NationsTour events will also feature an amateur racing program patterned after the UCI worlds format of birthyear and wheel size (no proficiencies).

The NBL National series will now be called “NBL National Championship Series” and will consist of approximately 35 races, on 20 weekends. The races will be divides into four different types of races (Super ProAM, ProAm, Team Spectacular and Mixed Doubles). We will go into more detail on these in a later report, as they are quite complex, with many layers to each.

Rookies will no longer be plated at the national level, but will be plated at the Regional level.

REGIONAL SERIES

The “Regional” series is being replaced by the “NBL Challenge Championship Series.” At press time, this series will consist of 20 events, with 16 of them held on the same days in each of four regions. Four additional events will be spread out on the calendar. In addition to a Challenge Championship in each region, there will also be an “All-Challenge Championship” to replace the US Open on Friday of the Grands. The winner of this race in each class (Rookie included) will receive a Gold number plate which they can run at any NBL race (nationals included).

Novices (Challenger class riders) will be able to use TWO regional scores toward their six needed national scores. They must also have three local races to qualify. Experts also need six scores, and can only use one regional score as part of the six.

MAGAZINE
As you have probably heard earlier this month, the NBL Magazine will be making a comeback. Rechristened as “N” Magazine, the first issue is expected to make its debut at the Grands. The NBL promises a “lifestyle publication” which covers “Life in the (BMX) Nation, rather than standings.”

SUMMARY
No doubt this is a lot for NBL members to get their heads around. The NBL will be filling in a lot of the broad strokes outlined here in the coming days and weeks. It probably bears saying that there is bound to be some tweaking
to some of the terminology and exact mechanics.

But we wanted to get you the early scoop on these important developments. We’ll be talking about it over on the VIntage forum, so come join the discussion.

It’s a great interview that give us a rare insight into both the serious and the playful side of this amazing athlete.

Listen Now
link

Thanks to Dale Holmes for helping us get the interview set up, and to Stuart Harrison at HRP Designs for supporting the Announcers Tower series.

Ever wonder what happens with your entry fees once you pass them through the window? Well, if you’re a Jr. Development rider, here’s a peek. ABA just announced that, in its first year of operation, the Jr. Development series contributed $35,000 to USA Cycling to further support the BMX program. Here’s an excerpt from the release:

“We believe that this program has contributed significantly to the development of our young athletes, and are pleased to be able to make this contribution to USA Cycling,” stated ABA CEO, BA Anderson.

Through local races and its national series, the ABA had more than 200 young men and women compete in Junior Development races. The USA Cycling BMX Junior Development Program (JDP) Series is designed to take our next generation of young, talented athletes to the highest level of BMX racing. The goal of the program is to prepare this group by providing unprecedented access to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. The program is open to all riders, 15 and 16 years of age, using the UCI BMX calendar (August 1 to July 31 of each year).

“The partnership and support from the ABA has helped to ensure that Americans will remain on top of the sport of BMX for years to come,” said USA Cycling Chief Executive Officer Steve Johnson. “With support from organizations like the ABA and Intense BMX the USA Cycling Junior Development Program will continue to thrive and cultivate the next crop of Olympic and World Champions.”

With the second year of JDP now underway, we look forward to continued coverage of the amazing progress the athletes are making, and also to seeing the first “graduating class” of the program get their first real-deal laps at the Chula Vista SX next month.

Sending out some BMXNEWS.COM “Get Well Soon” vibes today to Factory Redline’s Carly Dyar. The reigning National Number One Girls Cruiser had a freak accident earlier this week while practicing on her home track, Chandler BMX. Carly told News:

I was at Chandler BMX and landed on my side after the wind blew me sideways over one of the jumps. I have a bruised lung and a cut on my kidney and they held me overnight to make sure the lung didn’t collapse because of the bleeding. I also messed up something in my shoulder that they can’t find in an x-ray so on Monday i have to go get an MRI and they are thinking it is the rotator cuff.

They told me to do light activities for a couple weeks so that everything can heal and I can start riding again healthy. Depending on the MRI, it will tell me how long I’m out for.

We wish Carly the inside line on a fast recovery!