January 29/99 9:37 am - Feedback Needed, Cycling Centres, MTB Hall of Fame

Posted by Editor on 01/29/99
 

Request for Feedback

We need some feedback from you, our readers, about a new project we are working on. I think most of you are aware of the high cost of travelling by air with your bike, usually $50-$70 each way. If we were able to put together a deal with an airline to give people who carried a 'Canadian Cyclist Card' free bike transport would you be interested in paying, say, $30 per year for the card? Would you be more likely to travel with that airline? What other sorts of discounts would you like to see added to the card?

Please post your comments on the Forums.


Three New National Development Cycling Centres
(courtesy CCA)

Ottawa - January 1999 - The Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) is pleased to announce three new National Development Cycling Centres: Hardwood Hills, Ontario; Calgary, Alberta; Winnipeg, Manitoba. The goal of these centres is to facilitate the development and recruitment of younger athletes in their respective regions and eventually to increase the pool of talented athletes for the national team.

These centres have all be selected as they meet the objectives and conditions of the National Development Cycling Centres program as outlined by the CCA.

Hardwood Hills, renowned for its mountain biking, is located just north of one of Canada‚s largest cities, Toronto, Ontario. Hardwood Hills has successfully hosted numerous Canada Cup events as well as the 1997 Tim Hortons National Mountain Bike Championships which attracted 1,153 athletes from across the country. What some may not know about Hardwood Hills is that they are planning to build a BMX track in 1999, to compliment their extensive mountain bike trail system. One of their long term goals is to create a velodrome in a few years. The Hardwood Hills National Development Cycling Centre will be run under the leadership of Training Centre Coach Glenn Meeuwisse. A Development Team, that will meet to race and train, will focus on cadet, junior and espoir riders this summer.

The Calgary Development Cycling Centre is based at the University of Calgary and is affiliated with the National Sports Centre of Calgary. This centre benefits from the leading edge sports science support of Dr. David Smith who worked with the extremely successful speed skating athletes leading up to the 1998 Olympics. Currently, this centre‚s main focus is sprint athletes lead by double Commonwealth Games gold medallist Tanya Dubnicoff. Athletes at this centre have access to training for three cycling disciplines: track, road and mountain bike. The biggest full time junior cycling program for all track, mountain bike, road and BMX cycling disciplines as well as triathlon athletes is currently run from this centre. National Team Assistant Coach Kurt Innes is the leader of this centre with assistance from Dan Proulx.

The Winnipeg Development Cycling Centre is developing and evolving from the legacy of the upcoming Pan American Games scheduled for July 24th - August 8th this summer. The velodrome which will be built for the games and moved to a new location in Winnipeg following the games will be the heart of the centre. The focus of this centre will be on track and mountain bike cycling. Training Centre coach Gary Pallett is the leader of this centre.

For more information please contact Pierre Hutsebaut at racing@canadian-cycling.com or by phone at 613-748-5629.


Mountain Bike Hall of Fame Seeks 1999 Nominations

The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum is seeking nominations for the 1999 induction ballot. Nominees can be individuals or organizations who have made significant contributions to the sport of mountain biking.

Nominations must be a minimum of 250 words. Include in the narrative, why you think this individual or group belongs in the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. List specific examples of their contributions. Tell us where and during what time frame they were active. At the present time what is their involvement in mountain biking?

The six nomination categories are Advocacy, Industry, Journalism, Pioneers, Promotion, and Racing History. The Hall of Fame asks that a nominee have a history of 10 years as an active mountain biker.

Please include the nominee‚s current address and phone number so we can obtain complete biographical information about the candidate, as this will enable proper representation on our ballot.

There are eleven nominees from the 1998 ballot who will roll over and automatically be placed on the 1999 ballot. They are listed here alphabetically; Dwain Abramowski, Steve Boehmke, Alan Bonds, Gary Crandall, Pat Follet and Tom Spiegal, Laird Knight, James McLean, Gregg Morin, Jim Sullivan and Steve Tilford.


Deadline for nominations is April 15th, 1999!

For More Info;
Kay Peterson-Cook, P.O. Box 845, Crested Butte, CO. 81224
800-454-4505
E-MAIL: mbikehof@crestedbutte.net

Editor's Note: We have stated before that there is a complete lack of Canadian content in the MTB Hall, so get your nominations in now.