Race officiating

I went out to the Summit Crit today to start learning the ropes about officiating. Also stepping up was Emily, Megan (trackie), a SPBRC fellow (I thought he was a promoter at first) and Maria Stewart. CJ Faulkner was there in the blue shirt, as he'd been through the drill last week. I've always respected race officials and the work they do, so I was not surprised by how difficult it can be to score a race. We are all of the opinion that every racer should officiate for a day. Then there would be no more folded, crinkled, upside down or otherwise incorrect numbers (all of which we saw today). Even if that were perfect, it's still a challenge to score a bunch of riders coming across the line at the same time and keep track of the lapped riders and two fields on the course at once. I've always been of the opinion that lapped riders should be pulled. Officials are really nice about that, even though it's a real pain to keep track of. Anyone that complains about pulling lapped riders should score a race! As it was, lapped riders caused a little mayhem when the field overtook them - it can certainly be dangerous.

Well anyone that's been racing a while has heard this rant before, so I'll desist. The nice thing though is being able to mingle with the racing crowd a bit. I'd sure rather be out there racing though!! I also learned how to watch a race a bit better. It can be pretty confusing as a spectator until you learn some tricks about what to watch for. Now I need to find a blue shirt...