2008 COPPER CUP POINT SERIES
Changes for 2008 include:
1. Track
points counted in track category
2.
3. Adjustment of point scale
4.
Separate cyclocross awards
5.
Team time trial points count toward team points earned
The
ABRA point system – The Copper Cup - awards points for race results for most of
the
CATEGORIES based on USCF Categories:
Junior Men 10-12 Senior
Men Cat Pro 1,2 Senior Women Cat 1,2 Team
Competition
Junior Men 13-14 Senior
Men Cat 3 Senior
Women Cat 3 Tandem
Competition
Junior Men 15-16 Senior
Men Cat 4 Senior
Women Cat 4
Junior Men 17-18 Senior
Men Cat 5 Master
Women 30-34
Junior Women* Master
Men 30-34 Master Women 35-39 Cyclocross
only:
Master Men 35-39 Master Women 40-44 Open Men
Master Men 40-44 Master Women 45-49 Open
Women
Master Men 45-49 Master Women 50-54 Master
Men 30+
Master Men 50-54 Master Women 55-59
Master Men 55-59 Master Women 60-64
Master Men 60-64 Master Women 65+
Master Men 65+
Junior Women, and Master
Men/Women (65+) will be broken down further by age group if entries warrant.
ELIGIBILITY
Copper
Cup points are given to members of ABRA teams only, or to racers who have
joined ABRA on an individual basis.
Points earned prior to joining ABRA do not count. Points earned after switching to a non-ABRA
team in the middle of a racing season do not count. Points can be earned by members of a non-ABRA
team or racing as “unattached” if they pay a $5 fee per year to ABRA (pay to
ABRA Treasurer).
Only
USCF annual license holders can accumulate points – riders with one-day
licenses earning points will not accumulate points toward the Copper Cup
awards. Riders purchasing an annual
license after completing races with a one-day license will not retroactively be
awarded points earned while racing on a one-day license – points are
accumulated from the date of purchase of an annual license.
POINT SCALES – for all categories
|
# in Cat |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
10th |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
|
|
1 - 5 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
6 - 15 |
10 |
8 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
16 - 40 |
20 |
15 |
12 |
10 |
9 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
41 + |
40 |
35 |
33 |
30 |
28 |
24 |
22 |
20 |
18 |
16 |
15 |
14 |
13 |
12 |
10 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
|
Points
are awarded for each race on the ABRA calendar that is a permitted USCF road
event, with the exception of weekly training series races. Races that count towards points include all
USA Cycling disciplines of road –time trials, criteriums, and road races – as
well as track races permitted in
Arizona
State Championship Races (track, road race, time trial, criterium, hill climb,
and cyclocross) are awarded double points for each race.
POINTS ARE AWARDED AS FOLLOWS:
The
following is a synopsis, with examples, of how points are awarded based on the
configuration of the fields and the prize lists offered by the promoter.
One large age-group field with one payout available:
Points
are awarded for each paying field in a race.
For example, if a stage race is listed as having a 35+ category only,
but awards a special trophy to the first 45+ or 55+ racer, the 45+ or 55+ racer
does not receive extra points. If the
racer is 46 years old and finishes 3rd in a stage (with 12 racers), then he
receives 6 points in the 45-49 category.
He does NOT receive 10 points as the first 45+ rider across the line. He is awarded points in his age category
based upon the paying field (in this case, the 35+ field). Races that include all encompassing age
groups (35+, 45+, 30+, etc.) will have each placing rider’s points split out
and put into the appropriate 5 year age category.
Example: Race listed as 35+ men only
1st – 35 year old racer – 10 pts in
35-39 Copper Cup category
2nd – 40 year old racer – 8 pts in
40-44 Copper Cup category
3rd – 46 year old racer – 6 points in
45-49 Copper Cup category
4th – 57 year old racer – 4 points in
the 55-59 Copper Cup category
A mixed category with several payouts available:
If
there are 2 separate fields listed on the flyer (even if they race together)
that are paid separately, then the points are awarded in the 2 separate
categories. For example, in a Women’s
Cat 4/Women 35+ race where there are 2 separate prize lists, then the points
would be awarded as follows:
Example: Race listed as Women Cat 4/Women 35+ with
payouts $200/$100 (field size = 10)
1st
– Cat 4 racer – 10 points in Senior Women Cat 4 Copper Cup Category
2nd – Cat 4 racer – 8 points in
Senior Women Cat 4 Copper Cup Category
3rd – Cat 4 racer – 6 points in
Senior Women Cat 4 Copper Cup Category
4th – 35+ racer – age 35 – 10 points
in Women 35-39 Copper Cup Category
5th – Cat 4 racer – 4 points in
Senior Women Cat 4 Copper Cup Category
6th – 35+ racer – age 41 – 8 points
in Women 40-44 Copper Cup Category
EXCEPTION TO THIS FIELD SIZE RULE: For the Mt. Graham Hill Climb Championship,
even though all racers start together, the field size for each category is the
individual field size, not the total number of riders.
Example: 150 riders (in all categories) start the
race.
Only 2 Cat 1-2 Women start and finish the race. Their CC points earned would be based on the
field size of 2, not on the total field size of 150 riders.
Non-ABRA racers do not accrue points:
Racers
who do not belong to an ABRA team in good standing (as defined by the Policies
and Procedures referenced previously), do not accrue points, but they displace
the points for members of ABRA teams.
One-day licensees also can displace points.
Example: Men Cat 3, field size = 11
1st
– Men Cat 3 - ABRA team – 10 points in Men
Cat 3 Copper Cup category
2nd – Men Cat 3 –
3rd – Men Cat 3 - ABRA
team – 6 points in Men Cat 3 Copper Cup category
TRACK POINTS
In 2008, all track points earned will be counted in
the rider’s track category, not their road category. So if a rider is a Cat 4 on the track, but a
Cat 2 on the road, then any points earned in Cat 4 track races will appear in
the Cat 4 Copper Cup category listing.
CYCLOCROSS
For 2008, there will be a separate Copper Cup
competition for cyclocross races. Since
the cyclocross season runs from (approximately) October through December, the
awards will be announced in late January of 2009. For 2008, there will be only three
categories: Men Open, Master Men (30+)
and Women Open. If entries warrant, more
categories may be added in future years.
The state cyclocross championships will count for double points.
UPGRADING/DOWNGRADING
A
rider upgrading to a higher USCF category within a season takes ½ of his/her
points from the lower category, up to 30 points maximum, to the new category
competition. Points are carried over only on the first upgrade. If, for
example, a rider starts as a Cat 4, he takes 30 points to the Cat 3
category. If he then upgrades to a Cat 2
in the same season, he will not take any of his points to the Cat 2 category –
he will start from scratch in the Cat 2 category.
If a
rider is downgraded, he/she will retain his/her earned points in the upper
category, but they will not be transferred to the lower category.
TEAM COMPETITION
A
team competition was established in 2005 for the team whose riders earn the
most points throughout the season. This
is a “traveling trophy” which will be passed on to the next year’s winner. The team competition will encompass all ABRA
points earned by team members, regardless of category.
If a
rider changes teams mid-season, the rider’s points earned with his/her old team
remain with the old team (for the team competition only). Any points earned with the new team will be
counted toward the new team’s points (for the team competition only).
Teams
with riders that upgrade midseason neither gain nor lose points in the process.
Team points are not subject to the carryover restrictions of the individual
competition. All points earned by the rider prior to the upgrade are preserved.
Points earned after the upgrade are accumulated in the normal fashion.
For
2008, this team award will be split into two categories:
(A) Teams with
20 or more annually licensed riders as of
(B) Teams with
19 or less annually licensed riders as of
TANDEM
COMPETITION
Points
will only be accumulated by the same two tandem riders (ie if rider A earns
points with rider B in the tandem category in one race, then rider A earns
points with rider C in a different race, each pair will earn points separately
in the Tandem category). For the purpose
of team points, each rider on a tandem will earn ½ of the points to be applied
to their respective team points.
Although there is not a team time trial category for
Copper Cup awards, any points earned in TTT competition will be placed in the
team (large or small team) category only, and will not count toward individual
awards. In order for these points to be
earned, the team must be a four person team, and all team members must belong
to the same USCF team. (As per USCF rules, the finishing time is taken on the
third rider, so all four riders so not need to finish in order for the team to
earn team Copper Cup points if they place).
TIEBREAKER PROCEDURE
If two or more individuals are tied for the
Overall lead in their ABRA Copper Cup category at the end of the racing season,
the tie will be broken by the last race on the calendar in which a rider
competed. For example, if Sarah and Jill
are tied, but both competed in the last race, and Jill beat Sarah, then Jill
wins the title. If Sarah did not compete
in the last race of the season, but Jill did, then Jill wins. The “last race” will be defined as the one in
which either of the riders who are tied competed; in other words, the “last
race” does not have to be a literal interpretation.
OTHER CLARIFICATIONS:
For
GC and Omnium points – Stage #2 the # of starters is based on the # of
finishers in Stage #1. Stage #3 is based
on the # of finishers in Stage #2.
GC/Omnium points are based on the # of starters for Stage #1. (exception
to these starting numbers is IF the pointkeeper can get the actual # of
starters on each stage, then those numbers will be used. The GC/Omnium points will still be based on
the # of starters for Stage #1), and will use the regular Copper Cup point scale
for the number of starters.
Any
rider whose team name is recorded as “unattached” or is indicated as a member
of an incorrect team must notify the pointkeeper of the correct team name.
YEAR END AWARDS:
In order to be eligible to receive a year-end Copper
Cup award, a rider must compete in at least three ABRA races in that division
during the year. The rider must compete
in them, and does not necessarily have to place (or earn points).
For example, if rider X wants to be eligible for the
Copper Cup award for Women 35-39, she must compete in at least 3 races
throughout the year in that category.
For example, she could compete in the State Criterium, a Picacho time
trial, and the State Hill Climb, all in that category.
Or she could compete in the Women’s 35+ category and
have it count as a start. In other
words, the
person normally riding a 35-39 category will be given credit for any start in a
masters group that includes his/her age group.
Riders winning the season-long Copper Cup series
for their category will receive a jersey, to be paid for by ABRA. The winners do not have to be present
at the year-end planning meeting to receive their jersey.
PROMOTER’S RESPONSIBILITY
It
is the Promoter’s responsibility, in order to ensure accurate recording of
points, to provide the following on the results sent to ABRA for posting on the
Web site:
For each race: Number
of starters
For
each place within a race: Name of
racer
Team
of racer
Age
of racer
For races with more than one
category:
The
above information
And The category of each racer
Promoters/officials must list
if categories were combined due to lack of entries if it is different from the
published flyer.
Example:
In a women’s
POINTKEEPER’S RESPONSIBILITIES
The
ABRA/Copper Cup pointkeeper will try to ensure that point totals are up-to-date
and accurate. However, the pointkeeper
can only work with information that is provided by the promoters. If the promoter provides incorrect results or
chooses not to provide the field size or team names, the racers are subject to
receiving point totals based on the information provided. The ABRA/Copper Cup pointkeeper is not
responsible for tracking down missing or incorrect results. If a racer wishes to have his/her points
corrected (based upon information not provided by the promoter), then he/she
must have the race promoter send the ABRA/Copper Cup point keeper the corrected
results.
Racers
can receive copies of any/all of the point calculation sheets used by the
ABRA/Copper Cup pointkeeper at any time.
Racers
should note, as per USCF rules, promoting clubs have three weeks to turn
in results/paperwork/funds to the USCF after their event. Racers should be cognizant of this
requirement before getting agitated that results and/or Copper Cup points are
not posted within a few days after the event, and should be patient.
CHANGES IN COPPER CUP STRUCTURE
No substantive
changes will be allowed in the Copper Cup point structure after the first race
of the season, unless it is a change to correct a previously unknown and/or
emergency situation. Such a change will
require a majority vote of the ABRA club representatives to go into effect.