checking dob

[donk4]

At homebush on saturday i raise the question for people riding with day license. That there is no check of date of births.There was a few rumlbe about older riders in the 17 age group Pretty hard when your 14 and riding against 16 and 17 year olds There needs to be better checking of day license

 

[noballz]

Since no one else has said anything I will have a go.

Now I understand how you must feel if say a 17 yr old raced as an under 15 or a 19 as an under 17. I know when I was that age I could easily have passed just on appearance alone.

However, the problem I see is with implementation. Most people dont carry ID to show how young they are , it is usually to show that they are over 18. The most likely form of ID that they would have would be their birth certificate and maybe passport, but who carries that with them. It wouldnt surprise me if when applying for an MTBA license it wasnt checked either.

The best way to do this would be to confirm their age with their parent/guardian, but if they are in on it, what can you do?

 

[mtbmamma]

It should be more of a problem of size. My son just turned 15 but is 6' and 93kgs and races in U17's and has done since the Nats late last year. Unfortunately its the same rule for all. He won't turn 17 until October 2008.

 

[Jon]

I would of thought that in a physical activity such as mtb that size is the deciding factor in younger kids .Obviously someone such as mtbmamma's son is not going to be able to compete equally with the likes of say Brad Kelly who is quite large and may be of similar size.But with the younger kids say under 19,then the ranking /classes could be based on size/weight. To avoid arguments with race officials there could be some kind of guage for height like at luna park (for the oldies ) .So basically if you cant provide ID to clarify age then you get classed by height. If you look older and still cant/wont provide id then you get classed as an 19+ rider .That would stop the olders riders trying to fudge the numbers and race a younger class.
Other than that ,a Leisure Suit Larry style age based quiz
cheers jon

 

[udi]

I'm not from NSW so forgive me posting here, but I think measuring height would be a pretty stupid way of analysing rider skill. Some of the fastest kids here are short little guys, of varying ages.

If you think people are faking their DOB, just enforce it by requiring proof of ID - not by measuring their heights.

 

[Jon]

I'm not from NSW so forgive me posting here, but I think measuring height would be a pretty stupid way of analysing rider skill. Some of the fastest kids here are short little guys, of varying ages.

If you think people are faking their DOB, just enforce it by requiring proof of ID - not by measuring their heights.

I was not talking about various skill levels as that is the whole idea of racing.I was merely replying to the first post and agreeing that for a small 14 yo to be competing against a larger 17yo that lies about their age is somewhat unfair.
Also the height guide would give more indication of physical strength than a piece of paper.
Its all really a moot point anyhow as the accepted way of easily classing riders is by age and then relying on the rider to be honest about their age, which from the first post clearly some are not.
cheers jon

 

[phantombdb]

Ages

This does not just happen in age events, it's the same with competitors swapping from masters and veterans to either elite or expert when it suits them (normally when there is a weaker field in these catorgories). In the end they are just fooling themselves. If its that important they can just go down to the trophy shop and buy their own and have it engraved stating that they are the "best"!!!!!
We all know who the real winners are. As long as these CHEATS don't discourage junior riders.
To keep it fair there ultimately should be a tranparent handicap system that keeps track of every competitors previous rides and sorts them appropriately

 

[thecat]

This does not just happen in age events, it's the same with competitors swapping from masters and veterans to either elite or expert when it suits them (normally when there is a weaker field in these catorgories).

There is no rule against moving "up" a category. A Masters rider is well within his/her rights to ride elite if they want as is an u15 rider if he/she thinks they are quick enough. I'm eligable to ride veterans but in the few club races I;ve entered I've riden in expert because it suited me more. NO rules against it and I can't see how it negatively affects anybody else.

If I swap back to vets in a later race it just stuffs up my series points. No skin off your nose.

As for kids and checking DOB, Do we really need to sight a birth certificate before issuing a day licence??? FFS their parents have to sign them in. The day licence is a legal document and includes date of birth info. IF it is falsely stated and you can prove it, do so on the day and action can be taken. Bringing it up after the fact on an internet forum not going to do much.

To keep it fair there ultimately should be a tranparent handicap system that keeps track of every competitors previous rides and sorts them appropriately

Excellent! we've been looking for someone to work out and manage rider handicaps at state races. Welcome aboard, glad you offered