Problems at Northbrook Velodrome?

I don’t really like to do this, but I feel I have to. I’m going to devote an entire post to talking about some problems at Chicago’s local velodrome, the Ed Rudolph Velodrome in Northbook, IL. I love that track, and I’m thankful that people in Chicago have access to a velodrome, but lately some interesting issues have arisen.


The problem, in a nutshell, is upgrades. For people who don’t know what I’m talking about, let me explain. Amateur bike racers in the USA are ranked according to their skill, experience and performances, with the beginner riders ranked as Category 5, and the best and most experienced riders ranked as Category 1. Usually, a Cat5 rider can only race with other Cat 5 riders, and so on. To progress from one category to another is called “to upgrade.” The USAC, the organization that runs cycling in the USA, has a set of guidelines outlining the different upgrade requirements. Here they are:

Track Upgrades
All track upgrades are processed by the Velodrome Managers using the following criteria (ATRA guidelines):

Cat. 5 to Cat. 4 Complete a Velodrome Class or 4 race days.
Cat. 4 to Cat. 3 5 race days and 20 points
Cat. 3 to Cat. 2 5 race days and 25 points
Cat. 2 to Cat. 1 5 race days and 30 points

Northbrook velodrome, however, has its own requirements, even though it’s a USAC sanctioned track. It requires that a rider complete not 4 but 10 events, either track clinics (basically velodrome classes) or race nights (with a maximum of 5 clinics). 10 events. That’s a lot. Why does Northbrook require so many events of its beginner riders? Are Chicago riders more dangerous than riders in other parts of the US? Is that why they need twice as much experience as the USAC deems necessary? Or is it because there are more and more riders heading to Northbrook to race track, thanks to the proliferation of track bikes on the streets of Chicago? Are there so many riders hitting the track that Northbrook is being overwhelmed? I don’t know.

But, there’s more. After each track event at Northbrook, an official has to sign your upgrade form to show that you attended, so you need 10 signatures on your form before you can upgrade. But, and here’s the kicker, the signature is given at the discretion of the official, meaning that an official doesn’t have to give you a signature. I suppose that sounds reasonable, so why is it a problem? At the Friday night Cat5 races (Cat5 riders are not allowed race any other night) it’s a problem because no one really knows what criteria the officials are using to judge whether a rider deserves a signature or not. After races last season, Cat5 riders were told that to get a signature a rider must have demonstrated an ability to hang with the Cat5 pack, and demonstrated an ability to ride safely.

That seems pretty straight-forward, right? If you can hang with the pack, and you ride safely, then you will get an upgrade signature. But, is it really that straight-forward in practice? What does “hanging with the 5s” even mean? Does is mean staying in the pack for every race? No one really knows. It’s up to the official on the night to make the call. Whether you get a signature is thus down to one person, the Friday night official. At the first night of Cat5 racing this season, a whole bunch of riders were denied signatures. One rider, who had come 8th in his first race, stayed with the pack in his second race, and then got lapped in his last race was denied a signature. He was told that he was too slow, even though he’d done well in two of the three races! When he pointed out that he’d only been dropped during the last race, the official responded by saying that the race “hadn’t even been that fast.” Charming. Another racer, who has apparently been to a lot of clinics and is a very safe, if not a very fast rider, was told by the official, in front of his kids, that he’s “too slow to race.” What a great attitude, and what a helpful, encouraging and respectful atmosphere for the first night of the season! Incredible.


It’s also an attitude that’s as arbitrary as it is rude. A Cat5 rider needs 10 signatures to upgrade, such that upgrades are supposed to be about a riders's performance over the season as a whole. Riders are not showing up to the first night of 5s racing and expecting to get an immediate upgrade to the 4s, so this whole thing of holding riders back doesn't take into account the way all riders improve and progress as the season continues. A rider is going to be faster and better on the last day of the season than he is on the first day of the season. Having one or two signatures denied early in the season might prevent an able rider from upgrading, even though by the end of the season he has demonstrated an ability to ride quickly and safely.

If Northbrook persist in demanding 10 events of their Cat5 riders then at the very least there should be a weighting system where good performances late in the season outweigh weak performances at the start of the season.

Oh, and did I mention that your signatures don’t carry over? Yep, that’s right. If you don’t get 10 signatures in the space of one season, then you have to start all over again the following year. 10 events might not sound like a lot, but it is, and when you take rain-outs into the equation, it can be really difficult for a rider to get to 10 events, quite aside from the seemingly arbitrary signature denials. Did I also mention that Northbrook just this year decided to no longer accept signatures from other tracks? So, if you miss a night at Northbrook, or you get denied a signature early in the season, you can no longer drive to another velodrome and race to get a signature. This makes it even more difficult to upgrade.

And finally, and this is probably my favourite fun-fact, we recently learned, through some unofficial channels, that the folks at Northbrook want us to know that Friday night races are serious, sanctioned races… but that they will also deny signatures to anyone who is too fast. No, for real. That’s what I heard. Seriously. Apparently, they want to judge how well you ride in a pack, so if you’re really fast and you go off the front, they’ll deny you. But, they also want you to take the racing seriously. What a strange and contradictory position! Either Friday is about racing, or it isn't. Make up your minds. If you only want to see if people can ride in a pack, then have upgrade officials go to the Monday and Tuesday clinics and judge riders based on their ability to ride in pack drills. If you want people to race, then let them race. But telling people that they won’t get an upgrade signature if they’re too fast just doesn’t make any sense, especially not when you’re telling people they should take the races seriously! I don't know if anyone has yet been denied a signature for being too fast, but there has only been one night of Cat5 racing, so the season is still young...

So, we come to the end of my rant. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many people who race there, Northbrook have made it entirely too hard to upgrade from Cat5 to Cat4. 10 events needed, no other track experience recognized, signatures denied for no good reason and often in a rude and insulting way.


Why is it like this? I’ve no idea. Maybe the problem lies with a velodrome management committee who seem unable to deal creatively with the growing popularity of track racing? Have they made it more difficult for people to upgrade from 5 to 4 in order to keep the size of the 4 field manageable? If so, this is just unfair. Instead of restricting access, how about putting on more race nights to deal with the increased demand? Instead of trying to cram all of the Pro/1/2/3/4 races into one night, why not split it up some more, and have a Pro/1/2/3 night and then a 4/5 night? That way more people could race, and there wouldn’t have to be such a strange and inhibiting upgrade procedure.

Anyway, this is not meant to take away from the incredible work done by the volunteers at Northbrook. Many, many people selflessly give their time and their effort to organize and run races at Northbrook. Without the work of those volunteers, there would be no track racing in Chicago. But, at some level, decisions have been made that seem to be more about making it hard for people to race track, and not about getting more people involved. That’s why a bunch of riders are now trying to set up a meeting with the committee to express our frustrations about the situation. Hopefully, it can all be worked out amicably. After all, it’s all about the love of track racing. Cat5 racers just want to be treated with a little more respect.

[edit] Just to note, I use "he" throughout the post to refer to Cat5 riders because there are no women Cat5s. Women's racing starts at Cat4.