Many aspects of the historic CTC structure of District Associations and Sections have not kept up with modern company and charity law, and the club structure has now been updated to bring it into line with modern requirements. As well as this legal tidying up, a number of other changes have been introduced, including a rebranding of the familiar (to members) "District Associations" into CTC Local Groups. Without getting into the merits or otherwise of this change, without DAs, there could be no DA Tourist Competition. "CTC Local Group Tourist Competiton" is a bit of a mouthful, so we are now simply the "Tourist Competition".
The events guide still shows most events as being organised by DAs. Is that correct?
Each existing DA and Section will have to decide what to call itself in the new structure. Clearly, this will take time, and for 2008 we have stuck largely with the old DA names. However, if a local group wants its events publicised with their new name, please contact us and we will make the changes in the events listing. For 2009 onwards, the name used by the Local Group when entering events for the competition will be used.
How will the new structure affect "home" and "away" rides?
A good question! There are clearly many aspects to the new structure where the full consequences have yet to become apparent. For 2008, we will maintain "home" and "away" on the basis of the old DA boundaries. This will be reviewed at the end of the year once the new structure has had time to bed down.
What are the main changes to the scoring system for 2008?
The number of scoring events has been increased from 10 to 12 (Cycle magazine missed out this bit!).
There is less emphasis on competitive events. The score for an average mid-field competitive event is now the same as for other events, and the point deduction for repeated events is also the same.
There is more credit for riding a variety of events, rather than concentrating on one type.
Why have these changes been made?
As the popularity of the DATC has increased, more riders are competing for the top places. Riding programmes were understandably being planned to maximise the point score, and with the advantage that competitive events had in the old scoring system, five of a rider's ten scoring events could be in the same category. The DATC was conceived to encourage a variety of riding, and this was not always being achieved.
What are the advantages of the new scoring system?
By increasing the number of scoring events to 12, and reducing the advantage of competitive events, we have aimed to reward variety in a cycling programme. To achieve maximum points, a rider still needs two finishes in the top 10% of a competitive field, but they also need to ride ten other events.
Have the ride classifications been changed?
To compensate for the relatively low number of category "d" rides, the lower limit for this category has been reduced from 200 miles to 300 km.
Doesn't the scoring system advantage those riders with active local groups?
Yes, but so did the old one. CTC activity is not uniform across the UK, so there will always be members who have much easier access to local groups and events than others. That's just life!
Has the tie-breaker calculation changed?
No, but we have taken the opportunity to explain the calculation method more clearly. It has always been done this way, but the brief description in the old rules was open to more than one interpretation.
