for the record... i'm looking forward to racing seniors but as i've pointed out we're not all made of money so paying full price for only 6 months worth of racing licence is stupid (particularly when you don't ride any other discipline). and the fact that you'll then be renewing licence and BCF member out of sync just becomes a ball-ache.

still reckon there should be no prizes or trophies for novices and they should be awarded a licence! sounds fair?

yeah fully agree.

some "novices" last weekend actually spoke as though they were going to continue riding novice again next year too!!!

think you benefit more by moving up anyway- have to push yourself to compete with the fast guys...

don't get me wrong... i do feel like a fraud! think they need to tighten up on the novice entry criteria

I'm definitely staying in novice, wayy too slow for masters!!

Doseage, the man is right... and the only reason why the master cat is so fast is because people don't move up.

i reckon larger categories would make for much better racing- race different people all the time, occasionally some quicker riders could be then taken out early by other quick riders and guaranteed quarter finals every time.

sod it... i'm going to sell my sister to fund a race licence

i dont class myself as fast atall but i know at least half of the people in novive 17+ are faster than me so it seems an apropriate catagory for me. however i raced this year in novice 12-16 so where do i go next year?

If you want to improve then the only way to do that is to go into Juniors (your cat.) and ride/race against people that are faster than yourself.........yeah you might not do so great to start off with, but the learning curve would be massive and you will soon be climbing up through the ranks if you stick at it.

I think giving the winner of Novice a race licence instead of a prize would be spot-on plus it will encourage/make them to race in their respective cats.

Hatch

Ah, but talking about it on here is a good way to test the water as to the response that would be received if that way forward was taken by the organisers. We've seen fairly broad support on here, which means we're not too wide of the mark, and adds weight to the argument. As it is a hard argument to counter, as ultimately it will help the sport develop. The best way to get faster is to ride against faster people. Rather than the current situation where people stay in Novice too long, it'd be nice to see this evolve into one where people aspire to progress from Novice and to be competitive in their rightful category (rather than being like "Hooray, I won in Novice. Oh wait, this is my 3rd year in this cat, and most people here haven't even done 3 races yet...but nevermind, I still won!")

So, the way forward: Ideally somebody who knows the guys in charge and has their respect should propose this idea and see what they say.

side note: Hatch, saw you at chicksands, looking quick! The bike looks lovely I'll have to bring my blender up there for a play ASAP!