March 30/00 9:36 am - Ontario News, Race Registrations, Industry News

Posted by Editor on 03/30/00
 

OCA High Performance Program for 2000

The OCA High Performance Committee is proud to announce the publication of the High Performance Program for 2000. It is available on the OCA website at OCA under the NEWS link.

I hope this gives all Ontario riders and coaches the preliminary information needed to help plan a successful season.

Glenn Meeuwisse
V.P. High Performance


Upcoming OMBI Course (Ontario Mountain Bike Instructor)

The next OMBI Level 1 course will be held April 29/30 at Humber College. This is a certification course for intermediate and experienced off-road cyclists who have a desire to teach the skills of mountain biking at a beginner level. OCA certification is a requirement for many institutions teaching learn-to-MTB clinics, and it is strongly encouraged for those people instructing within a local club or store group.

This is the last scheduled course before the race season gets into full swing. The next scheduled courses will be September 9/10 and then October 21/22, both at Seneca College, King City Campus.

During the summer, un-advertised Level 1 courses may be run specifically for requesting groups, such as stores, summer camps, etc. A limited number of student positions may be available to OCA members at these courses if the requesting group has drop-outs. The availability of these spaces will be on a last-minute basis.

Watch the OCA website and Canadian Cyclist news page for updates on courses and announcements of available positions at private courses.

Information on the courses can be had at the OCA website - there will be an FAQ page posted very soon. Course schedule and registration forms are available by fax or snail-mail from the OCA office.

Additional info can be had from daveseto@idirect.com.


Race Pre-registration Available

We now have online race registration available for three events - Paris-Ancaster (closes April 5th), the Springbank Road Race and Victoria's Bastion Square Festival. If you wish to pre-register online go to Race Registration


Springbank Road Race

The London Centennial Wheelers Cycling Club and the 2001 Alliance London Canada Summer Games Host Society are holding the "32nd Annual Springbank Road Race" in southwest London on Sunday, May 7, 2000. For the first time in its history, this race is being held outside Springbank Park. This event has been designated as an Ontario Cup points race and has been designed by three of London‚s former National Cycling Team Members. A website will be up shortly with full information.


Rock Shox News

ROCKSHOX, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSHX) - the leading developer of high performance mountain bike suspension - today announced that, in an effort to decrease costs, it plans to reduce its workforce and relocate and consolidate its two corporate offices to an active-lifestyle location in the Western United States.

RockShox' two corporate offices in San Jose and Santa Cruz will be relocated and consolidated into one new location to be determined in April 2000. The Company's Sales, Marketing, Research and Development, Information Technology, Finance and Human Resources departments are expected to be relocated this summer, enabling a reduction in RockShox' operating cost structure, before relocation charges. RockShox' manufacturing facility will remain in its current location in San Jose and its relocation will be evaluated over the next year.

"The new location for RockShox will be chosen next month, with the intention to have all operations under one roof within the next two years. The current location of our Company in the Silicon Valley does not lend itself well to the economic and lifestyle needs of our employees and our business," said Chief Executive Officer Bryan Kelln. "We plan to move to a community that better suits a healthy, active, and affordable environment for the people that work at RockShox, while providing more cost effective business solutions for our global customer base."

As part of its efforts to reduce costs and increase efficiency, RockShox also eliminated approximately 10% of its indirect workforce. This represents approximately 20 positions within the Company. One quarter of the reduction in personnel has resulted from attrition and elimination of certain positions. Severance packages have also been used to accomplish the downsizing in workforce.

Mr. Kelln continued, "In our view, scaling back our organization brings our resources in line with current and projected revenues. We have strategically evaluated our skill base to ensure a strong foundation for future growth in the mountain bike suspension market. We see a long-term path to profitability that requires decisive changes to our cost structure. Gains will be driven through relocation and increased efficiency in operations; growth through continued innovation in our product lines; and increased market share through improved customer satisfaction."

ROCKSHOX, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSHX) - the leading developer of high performance mountain bike suspension - today announced Chief Executive Officer Bryan Kelln has been named to the Company's board of directors, replacing George Napier and Paul Turner and reducing the board membership to six. Separately, two management appointments were made in an effort to increase RockShox' commitment to European operations and aftermarket sales.

RockShox has promoted Christoph Ritzler to Vice President of European Operations. Ritzler has been a member of the RockShox team for more than five years and was most recently European Business Manager. "We believe Christoph has done an excellent job of building our business in Europe, and we look forward to his increased role in the decision making efforts of our executive staff," said Bryan Kelln, Chief Executive Officer.

Reed Pike has been appointed Vice President, Aftermarket Channel. Pike is joining the Company following seven and a half years as Director of Quality with Specialized Bicycles in Morgan Hill, California. Kelln stated, "In our opinion Reed Pike has proven himself as an outstanding leader in the bicycle business. We expect that hisexperience will enable him to help create a level of performance in customer service that will well exceed the current marketplace standards."