Vet Pro

[How Old !]

Me too, why 35+ James.By the sound of it you race 30/34, i'll give you 6or7 years and still give it a go. An alternative is to have an A and B final if 20+ riders enter on the day, to give some incentive to the 'James's'.
Any views.

im a 30 -34 rider from Qld no good but would much prefer to ride in a class of 9 or more and miss the final then ride for points.

I think vet pro should be 35 +.

WHY- this opinion is drawn from racing in sth Qld regulaly. if you look at the 30-34 class rarely has a final.
35-39 class always has a final.
40-44 class always has a final
45 + class always has more than 30-34 class

my opinion is based on a club perspective to maximise entrys at events. I think all riders 30 + who no longer believe they can compete at the top level should start thinking that way.

now i think about it i reckon aussie entry would reflect the above age class figures.       

Have to agree with Damo 35+ would definitaley get the 40+ guys more interested and there is a swag 40+ guys to add to the already big 35+ group (thats were the numbers are).

Sports are changing and athletes in general are staying competitive a lot older in life nowdays (training and recovering techniques have improved  etc).  Reckon the fast 30-34 guys are just sandbagging A pros anyway. Hee He.

How many 30-34 actually are there and how many potential 40+ riders to you have in Vic. May be worth considering.

Damo has got it right as far as QLD goes and I would certainly consider Vet Pro 35+ (being 42) if it were available in Qld. It would be very competitive.

I would expect a good 30 year rider should be aiming to win an A pro race not Vet.

Good luck anyway, its a good idea regardless of my dribble.

Cheers

[Gorey]

35+ is the way to go.
You have to look at the numbers that are capable of supporting the class.
Going by the total entry numbers  for master classes in percentage

2007 QLD State Champs
30-34 20"      6     14%    24"    13    17%
35-39 20"      15    36%   24"    29    37%
40-44 20"      14    33%   24"    23    29%
45-49 20"      7      17%   24"    13    17%

2007 Vic State Champs
30-34 20"      1     4%      24"    4     9%
35-39 20"      9     36%    24"    14   32%
40-44 20"      7     28%    24"    14   32%
45-49 20"      5     20%    24"    7     16%
50+    20"      3     12%    24"    5     11%

There are a lot of riders who won't nom if they have to race against riders who could be 10-20 years younger. There's no doubt that the 35+ & above classes support our race meetings day in day out look at the percentages above and lets face it when it's all done and dusted it's numbers we're after.
So with the "special events" like vet pro it seems logical that you should be offering a reward to those age classes who support the sport by actually competing.

[Factory]

well it's simple if you don't get to many 30+ riders all you older riders should have nothing to worry about keep it 30+ so the little numbers in 30+ can still have a class and all your 40+ riders will have more competition

[redlines4eva]

christ this is funny stuff... anyone  got a day job....  its BMX for old people  not the Olympics ....30 plus 40 plus  does it really matter the better ride win anyway.... just ride and be thankfull you still can ride   

[Warren]

christ this is funny stuff... anyone  got a day job....  its BMX for old people  not the Olympics ....30 plus 40 plus  does it really matter the better ride win anyway.... just ride and be thankfull you still can ride   

Oh my God !!!!! Wash your mouth out, dont you know that Vet Pro is the pinnacle of the sport, its just not yet recognised by the masses. You can quote me now when the Olympics come around again in 2012 it will be the Elite Masters only there and Senior Elite will be dropped. Damn 19+ punks think they can ride a bike, wasnt like that in my day, i remember when ............

[Curly]

I think the concepts you are talking about warrant further expansion as it's not just affecting the 30+ classes but the whole sport. If you have less than 16 riders in any class then combine age classes across the board as riding against the same people in every motto aint that exciting and does nothing for:
- improving rider skills through greater competition
- spectators watching the same people in the same motto time and time again
- race meets which drag on due to having 3-4 riders in mottos
You can always score the mottos based on rider ages when you have merged classes if you desire.

Bring on a general 30+ Class with a Vet Pro Open Wheel and Amatuer Open Wheel and that way people can race either or both and if there are enough competitors split it up with a 40+ class. Leave the 5 year bracketed age classes for the State and National events when you have the numbers to support it.

It's a shame a format that appeals to all riders hasn't been worked out. If BMX is to become anything more than a fringe sport with little growth prospects then it needs to make changes to add more excitement and interest in the sport.
For example, at Club events age classes are combined by ranking riders according to ability which makes for fun racing where everyone can compete at a challenging level. Yet this format does not seem to be adopted at open meets.

Because BMX is such a technically difficult sport like Tennis why keep grouping ages together because a 9 year old whose been riding for 4 years is going to be a damn sight faster than any new 9 year old. Grade riders on ability as it works in other sports and would make it more enjoyable for everyone.  Age is only one factor in BMX racing so why treat it purely on this basis. Looking at the dynamics that have made other sports successful would be a good start.

There's a lot of options which I think BMX has yet to explore.

AB

[bmxican_21]

South east Qld has got it wrong,I'm 32 started racing 4yrs ago ,had to race pro if i wanted full gates & finals,When I turned 30 i wanted to race vet pro.I enjoy coming to vic & racing,Up here i like racing some of the older guys but they have other ideas because only 1-2 guys miss out on new vet pro class(i'm one of them)
THey need to stop having a cry and ride when i turn 35 they will make vet pro in Qld $40+ LOL

[jbmc96]

Gorey, wait into the complete list for the vic state titles is up before putting numbers up for comparison.

[Trev Stamf]

I Think we are losing the thread here. Why make it 35+ or 40+, what is the point of cutting 2 classes from the total.
At World and National  level it is 30+ so i can't see any reason why we need to change it.
If guys don't want to ride against the fast 30's then race age, there are plenty to choose from.
This is Vet Pro, people who race any pro class are generally fast, why should a prospective Pro class be down graded by not allowing all of the 30+ riders a chance to enter.
There are too many classes already diluting the total rider count, classes that don't run finals,just to please a few trophy hunters. In my opinion if the best riders aren't in the class then you havn't earn't the title.
I am more concerned with what happens in Victoria, than what happens in queensland.
As i said earlier lets get every one racing the same class, all together to find out who is the best 30+ rider. There are a lot of 30+ riders that train and ride on a regular basis, why not give these guys a class that can reward them for their hard work, and commitment to their sport. Why should the sport be governed on the principle that every one who enters should get some reward, rather than earning that reward. After all we are proposing  Vet PRO. Not 30+ age class. No more bulldoggy doo-doo, let's just race.

[Ando 84]

I second what your saying Trev 

[chukka]

Well said Trev.
Let the 30+ guys race and if I'm not quick enough to beat them then that's tough and makes me train harder so it doesn't hppen again.

[pkaye]

Well said Trev  As I said earlier, I am only just getting back in and I am keen to race heaps of people not just the same 5-6 guys. I am not going to be winning anything too soon and may never win, but I still want to race as yes we are lucky to be able to do it. 30+ Vet Pro is a winner and if people don't like it, they can race age. 

[kranky]

Who here has competed at the masters games in BMX I have and what age is a masters game competitor thats right 30+
World titles 30+
Australian titles 30+
If you are a pro rider reaching the age where you know that you just can't match it with the young fellas you need somewhere to race .
If someone like bmxican 32 or myself 36 and a few others turned up day after day and took the age class money I'm sure we would soon have some enemies ,so 30+ is the go if you don't think your a pro rider ride age class.
Most of the fast vets in QLD will race pro open or A/AA until a title or major event comes around anyway so just leave well alone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


cheers thanks for reading my guff hope it makes sense....

[How Old !]

Converted
30+ Vet Pro it is

Wouldn't it be great if it could be made part of the Probikes National Series as well. - Now there's a thought.

Junior
Elite
Vet !!!!! ?

[Warren]

Oh my God !!!!! Wash your mouth out, dont you know that Vet Pro is the pinnacle of the sport, its just not yet recognised by the masses. You can quote me now when the Olympics come around again in 2012 it will be the Elite Masters only there and Senior Elite will be dropped. Damn 19+ punks think they can ride a bike, wasnt like that in my day, i remember when ............

How Old i have already predicted the Olmpics for Vet pro.  I can see where the sport is going wrong they are targetting young kids on these national sign on days and come and try days and really in fact should be looking at old farts who easily get their egos confused with their abilities to boost numbers in the sport.