Oregon high schools!
(Photo © J. Maus)
The Oregon Bicycle Racing Racing Association (OBRA) has announced details of the first-ever High School Cyclocross race series. The new series will consist of five races and will be run under the existing Junior Cyclocross Series, which is in its second year.
OBRA has named seven regional coordinators who are available to answer questions and to help organize High School teams. Prizes will be awarded to the top team, “Best Girl,” and “Best Boy” from throughout the state. The series begins in Eugene on September 25th and makes stops in Dayton, Hillsboro, Salem, and possibly Portland (exact venue is TBD).
OBRA director Kenji Sugahara says that the first year goals of this High School series will be to “get the ball rolling” and to hopefully establish “cyclocross clubs” in participating schools. He also hopes that the program will put cyclocross on the radar of principals and other key school administrators.
Cyclocross boosters in Bend have wasted no time getting started. Bend’s regional coordinator, Bill Warburton, hosted a meeting last week and has already scheduled their first practice session to take place at Summit High School in mid-August.
Portland based apparel company Castelli USA is one of the sponsors of the series and has offered to provide teams with jerseys at discounted pricing. Other sponsors that have stepped up to support junior and high school cyclocross racing are Pacific Power, Willamette Valley Cycling, Redline Bicycles, Sellwood Cycle Repair, Hammer Products, and Northwest Multisport.
For more information on OBRA’s High School Cyclocross series, contact Kenji Sugahara at kenji[at]obra[dot]org and (503) 278-5550. A website for the new program will be built soon.
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this is awesome; I wish we had this when I was in highschool
If you’d like to contact the Portland regional coordinator directly, that’s me. I can be reached at lkandra1977@yahoo.com
-Lindsay
This is great – I want to see the day we have bike touring clubs and race teams in schools across the country.
This should be hugely popular for the beer hand ups alone!
BTW – for those with younger potential ‘crossers in the family, it’s worth noting that the Junior Cyclocross Series has a category for ages 10-12. At most races this age group usually sits at the sidelines, too young to race, and too old to have fun with “Kiddie Cross”. Kudos to the organizers for creating a class for these kids.
Hey all. I will soon be sending out a proper request for donation for a local mentoring organization that I work with- looking for donated bikes for youth. 501c3 non profit- tax deductable. Donations for the most vulnerable youth in Portland. I actually have a kid in my program that would love to race cross- and is an extremely talented athlete, but doesn’t have a bike. Contact me direct. Most information to come in September.
Peace, Gregg
woodlawntrees@gmail.com