Dh race

hey i want to hold a race possibly next year sometime on my track, i have been building it for about 8 months now and its quite good. just something cheap and chilled out with fairly good prizes, i'm not really looking to make money but just for a first race something that people will come to and people will like.

For starters what you guys like in a downhill track cause i have plenty of time to build, then how long it should be (in minutes). and what resources you need like camping, food, types of drinks, parking and shuttle?

cause my track goes from a the top of a hill and the road that goes to the start (my house) is u shaped and the track goes strait down from the top of one side of the you the top of the other (sorry its pretty hard to explain) i can get a school minibus to shuttle like 20 riders at a time i was thinking about say 20 bucks a trip on the bus per bus load so if you get 20 people thats 1 dollar each. i also have a next door neighbor who is a nurse and a friends dad who will probably be hosting it with me who is a doctor for injuries and a step dad who can drive the bus.

the problem is that at the bottom of the hill their is a creek (which you can easily walk across with out getting wet but to get to the road is a ten minute walk uphill on a fire road?

so here is a template to use if you want:

types of food:
kinds of drinks:
food and drink shop:
prices for those:
entry fee:
shuttle costs:
parking, how far away can it be:
camping:
track time:
technical or flowy:
what season:
prizes:
sponsors:
track suggestions:
how many people you think will go:
any extra ideas:
should i have a helmet cam run through of the track in a trailer sought of thing and put it on youtube and have a link for people to follow wherever i advertise it:

thats about it and i hope to be hosting a race next year sometime!!!
 

ozmanick

Likes Dirt
first of all post some pics or footage of the track so we can have a look. Um yeah the 10 walk up hill will suck.
Food: Go original and have a barbie
Drinks: Have water jugs or cordial jugs on a table
Price for barbie should be included in a entry/racing fee
A good track time would be 5 min AVERAGE.
 

master@dh

Likes Dirt
probs better off having some sort of open day dude. ive seen what goes on behind a race and its alot more complecated than u think. we held a open day at a track we build in my mates backyard. everyone had an awesome day. and we made a rather swell profit :D
 

T-Rex

Template denier
Running a DH race if you haven't done it before, and if you are not affiliated with the MTBA (ie you are not a club) might be a bit much for you first up. As others have said, there's a bit involved in running a race, plus the insurance side of things. You don't want to be holding an event without insurance cover.

Why don't you invite some of the guys from the Gold Coast club (including the guys who organise the races) for a casual ride day, pick their brains and get their opinions on your track. You might even get them to run a race for you at your track, that would solve a lot of problems for you.
 
yeah my brother and his friends who ride xc have made a club and wanted to have a xc race and i though why not if there going to sought out all the insurance and stuff but and then i can just help orginise this track that i have built. and my brothers friend is sponsered by for the riders so we were going to get them to help with it and stuff.

i was mainly thinking a barbie with vego stuff for those people but have a side stall if people want like cans and other things. so yeah getting the goldcoast club would be good i just have to complete the track first. and what is a open track day or whatever you said and what are the costs for someone riding it like? and should i still have food and stuff?
 

ozmanick

Likes Dirt
an open track day is just when you open the track to the public and have a shuttle going up and down and you don't have to supply anything except water i guess.
 

FINX74

Likes Dirt
And there off.....

If your charging them anything to ride then you will need insurance. Have you thought about the timing equipment yet ? There is a few days in organizing something like this especially if you don't normally hold events there. What about Parking and toilets?
 

T-Rex

Template denier
. and what is a open track day or whatever you said and what are the costs for someone riding it like? and should i still have food and stuff?
Check the link in my sig for how we are running a track day at Ourimbah this weekend.

If you guys have already formed a club, that's great, assuming you have got your MTBA affiliation in place that's your insurance sorted.

The other thing you could do to learn how races are run is to go to one and work (ie don't even take your bike), help with registration in the morning and timing at the finish line in the afternoon, this will teach you a lot about acutally running the event on the day.

And I wouldn't be too cut up about having to push out at the finish of your track. Del Rio has a similar push from the shuttle drop off point to the start. If you have a good enough track people will put up with that no probs.
 

thecat

NSWMTB, Central Tableland MBC
A good track time would be 5 min AVERAGE.
5min?

not too many DH trails in OZ with that sort of length and those that do go 3min+ are generally considered flat and pedaly.
1.5 - 3 min is good depending on the terrain

And I wouldn't be too cut up about having to push out at the finish of your track.
You will need to consider how to get first aid and timing into the finish area though.


So things you will need to consider.

1: Track, sounds like you have it sorted

2: Transport, mini buses are good. How many you book will depend on how many riders you expect and how long the turn around is. You'll also need to consider trailers or flat bed trucks for the bikes. No point stuffing 20 riders into a bus if they have nowhere to put their bikes. Alternatively you could go self shuttle where riders need to get themselves to the top. This is a bit of a pain but it is a cheap option. Note you can't allow self shuttle if you are providing buses

3. Timing, Cheap way is to have two stop watches at are syncronised at the start of the day and then use the lap buttons. Top one gives a start time, bottom one gives a finish time. This is cheap but slow as you have to wait till the end of the day and then compute them.

4. First aid. This is a must and they will need a good communication system.

5. Room. do you have enough area to get people in and parked

6. Costs. Work out what transport, timing, first aid and BBQ will cost and work out the entry fee based on that

It might be worth DLing a copy of MTBA's guide to event management

and the tec Regs
 
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T-Rex

Template denier
You will need to consider how to get first aid and timing into the finish area though.

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Ah yes, the Newton's Nation track.... a good example, we had to get a really big guy out with a busted collar bone from the finish to the first aid buggy parked maybe half a K away, it took a while. Lucky he could walk, it would have been hard work stretchering him.

This is a very good point about access for first aid and spectators. Make sure you don't run your track down a steep sided gully for example, where the only way in and out is on the track. If someone goes down and can't be moved from a position like that, your entire day's racing stops.

Since we are getting a bit more detailed now, you will also need radios for the start/finish and the first aid. You can do your timing in an Excel spreadsheet on a laptop at the finish line for instant results, using the two stopwatch method thecat describes. The start guy radios the finish guy the rider's start timeand number, which he enters into the spreadsheet, then he enters the guy's finish time, and the spreadsheet displays the overall time. If you want a copy of a spreadsheet already set up, PM me and I will email it to you.

Another reason to buddy up with other clubs is that they might lend you a trailer to help you get going.
 
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thanks so i have these are the things that i already own/can use.

1. minibus
2. trailer
3. docter
4. nurse
5. radios
6. step dad used to work for the olypics who knows about timing
7. stretcher for spinal injuries
8. a hospital about 15min drive
9. 1 slightly sloped hill that can be used for parking about 300m away from start line
10. a oval that has 1 night camping allowed but is owned by the council.
11. a good area for resting that i can put a shade cloth over.
12. my mum can cook a barby and stuff
13. an airhorn for the start.
14. local town has a helicopter for recuing people
15. the creek below has small pools of water so you can rest in them.
16. 3 swimming holes about 10 min drive and a pool about 15min drive
17. a dam with a jump into it that people can jump a bike into (bike supplied)

thats about it. thanks for the good ideas and i will probably work at the next race i can get to. and once the track is built i might have an open track day so people can see the track and i can get a review from people on what they want more of and less of before i hold a race.
 
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