If you haven't seen Dick's post on the forum, we're now accepting entries for the 2015 Orwell League. The registration deadline is Saturday February 28, so if want to take part, be sure to get your entry in before then.

You can pay your entry fee along with your 2015 club membership fee or, if you've already joined for the year, you can make a separate payment of the €30 league fee.

 

What's the club league?

The club league is a series of races for Orwell members run mostly on Thursday evenings during the spring and summer months. The league is one of the best routes into racing. The races are run on quiet circuits, involve smaller bunches and it gives newcomers a chance to find their feet in a less intimidating environment. It's a great competition and has a nice, sociable atmosphere since a lot of club members will ride out and back from races together. The race programme is fairly varied and we have a mix of criteriums, road races and time trials.

 

Entry requirements

There's a couple of very important steps you'll need to take in order to take part:

  1. Get your entry in before February 28.
  2. Have a Cycling Ireland Limited Competition or Open Competition Licence. If you've already got a Non-Competition Licence, you can change you licence online at the Cycling Ireland website and paying the difference in fees. If you have an IVCA Licence, that will cover you too.
  3. Complete the compulsory marshalling training course (more details below). This applies to all racers, both new and returning. Marshal two races. All league members will need to marshal two races and, if they can't make an allotted night, organise a replacement.

 

New for 2015

  • Marshal training: We'll be running a marshalling training course before the league gets going. Attendance is mandatory. We are running it twice, on March 12th and 19th. This means anyone who can't make one date should be able to attend on the other.
  • Racing two nights a week: This is just for Rounds 2, 3 and 4. Following the opening time trial we usually run the next three rounds as criteriums in Corkagh Park. The shorter evenings in April meant races tended to be quite short, so this year we'll be running the Limit/Semi-Limit race on Wednesday night and the Scratch/Semi-Scratch race on Thursday night.
  • New Circuits: We hope to trial two new circuits in the Blessington area in 2015. If they work, they may become regular fixtures on the calendar. Two Sally Gap races. By popular demand we plan to have have not one, but two faces finishing on top of the Sally Gap this year (weather permitting). For the second race, expect to cover some punishing terrain before you even turn on to the Gap.

 

Marshalling

This is very important to note, since sometimes newcomers don't realise what's involved. The league is run by a team of volunteers from the club, but the races can't be run unless every league participant does their bit and marshals two races. By signing up to the league, you're agreeing to fulfill two night's marshalling. Not showing up causes serious problems for your clubmates. Races either get cancelled or someone else has to give up their race to replace you.

If you can't make an allotted night, you can use the club forum to organise a swap with someone else. Most of the time, you'll find someone else looking to change. If you can't find a replacement, then you'll to ask a friend to do you a favour and fill in. If something comes up at short notice, please do try to text or email the race organisers and let them know you're not going to be there.

If you miss a marshalling slot, you'll be suspended from the league and have to apply to the committee for readmission.

 

Newcomers

If you're new to racing and considering doing the league, Dick will be running an Introduction to Club League Racing session in Corkagh Park on Saturday February 7th at 11am.

If anyone has any questions about the league, you can ask in the forum thread, or email a committee member.