• You must hold an “active” USAC road rider, official, or race director license residing in the state of Florida as per your USAC license to participate in this process. Riders must hold a road license which covers the disciplines of road, cyclocross, and track, the disciplines that the FBRA represents for USA Cycling in Florida.
• Your vote must be submitted from the email address that is registered with your account at USA Cycling to certify your vote.
• You may vote once for up to three (3) Nominees
• Please email your “VOTE” for the listed Nominees directly to slamp@usacycling.org with the subject labeled FBRA VOTE 2019. You must include your name, e-mail address, and USAC license number on your email vote. To certify your vote it must be sent from your e-mail address as listed in your USA Cycling account.
• Voting ends at 11:59pm on December 30, 2018
• Voting Results – Results will be provided by Dec 31.  Those elected will be informed and the results posted in an email to the membership and on the FBRA website.

The 3 newly elected members will serve for two years and join Jim Wright, Kaleigh Thornton, Steve Mlujeak & Vincent Cook who will be remaining for the second year of their two year term.

Nominees who accepted their nomination are John Tenney, Isabella Rojas, Jeffrey Vivo and Roy Foley.

Nominee Platforms:

John Tenney

“I’ve been a USAC member since 2012.

I’m supposed to tell you all the great reasons why I should be on the board.  Wish I could think of some real knockouts, but I can’t.

I’ve been on lots of boards, been chairman of a few, and organized a lot or races.  Does that make me qualified?  I don’t know.  I’ve never attended any of the FBRA board meetings.  If elected, I plan to observe and learn for a while, and see how things are in that world.

I would like to see more transparency if possible.  I believe more could be done with social media to keep people informed and get more feedback.

I’m also interested in promoting women’s cycling.  I see we have a junior program (which we need!) but nothing special for women.  I’m always disappointed at how small the women’s fields are at races.  There must be some way to encourage more women to come out to the races.  That’s one of my agenda items.  Another one will be looking at the possibility of getting a velodrome project going in Central FL.  I’m not sure if that fits in the scope of the FBRA but it is a long term goal of mine.

I know that’s not much to campaign on, but I’ve heard enough of empty campaign promises, haven’t you?  If elected, I do promise to listen.”

Isabella Rojas

TO ALL FLORIDA ROAD USA CYCLING LICENSE HOLDERS

Notice of Nominations and Elections Annual Process – the FBRA will be holding its Board of Directors Nominations and Elections beginning November 27, 2018 in accordance with the Association’s Bylaws Article 5.1.3. Please review the following process, participate, and ask any questions to ensure that you have a voice in selecting the individuals to best represent your Local Association. The FBRA belongs to every member holding a USA Cycling road (road, track, cyclocross), race director, coach, or official’s license and residing in Florida as shown on your USAC license.

As you consider your nomination or acceptance of a Board position, please consider the duties of each Board member. Directors should be willing to contribute to the workload of the association, which includes meetings, conference calls, drafting documents, formulating plans and programs, heading up committees, and many other duties.  It is important that board members are able to take on responsibilities including accounting for a nonprofit organization. It is the obligation of all directors to equitably represent all parts of the state and the disciplines of road, track and cyclocross that the FBRA represents.  All elected Board members must take and pass the USOC SafeSport Program and pass a criminal background check approved by USA Cycling.

The FBRA Board is comprised of 7 members that each serve for a two year term. This year there are 4 Board members remaining to serve the second year of their two year term – Vince Cook, Jim Wright, Kaleigh Thornton and Steve Mlujeak. There will need to be three Directors elected to the Board. These elections will be overseen by Stuart Lamp, the Southeast Regional Coordinator for USA Cycling. All nominations must be sent to slamp@usacycling.org.

Nominee Qualifications

•        A Nominee must hold a current USA Cycling road (road, track, cyclocross), race director, coaching, or official’s license and reside in Florida as shown on their USAC license.
•        A Nominee must be a natural person of at least 18 years of age, hold one of the above licenses in good standing, and who has never been convicted (including voluntary pleas or nolo contendere) of a felony or equivalent crime.
•      A Nominee cannot act as race director / organizer of a USA Cycling non-sanctioned competitive cycling related event.

Nominations – accepted from Nov 27 until Dec 4 at 11:59 PM.

•  Please email nominations to slamp@usacycling.org including the individual’s name, license number, and email address of your Nominee, as well as your name and license number. You may nominate up to 3 individuals. Please get acceptance of those that you nominate prior to submission.
• Nominees will be contacted and requested to submit a resume and platform.  Nominee acceptance and platform must be received by Dec. 4 at 11:59 AM to be placed on the ballot.
• The Board will be provided a list of all Nominees on Dec 5.
• All Nominees and their resumes will be posted for your consideration at the association’s website, and announced in an e-mail on Dec 5.

Election Voting - from Dec 17 until Dec 30 at 11:59 PM

• You must hold a current USAC licensed rider, official, or race director residing in the state of Florida as per your USAC license to participate in this process. Riders must hold a road license which covers the disciplines of road, cyclocross, and track, the disciplines that the FBRA represents for USA Cycling in Florida.
• Your vote must be submitted from the email address that is registered with your account at USA Cycling to certify your vote.
• You may vote once for up to three (3) Nominees
• Please email your “VOTE” for the listed Nominees directly to slamp@usacycling.org.
• Please include your name, e-mail address, and USAC license number on your email vote. Your vote must be sent from your e-mail address as listed on your USAC license in order to certify your vote.
• Voting Results – USA Cycling will provide the FBRA results by Dec 31.  Those elected will be informed and the results posted in an email to the membership and on the FBRA website.

Board Meeting and Election of Officers

• New Board positions become effective Jan 1, 2019.
• The Directors will elect their Officers at the annual Board Meeting, details on location and date to be decided.
• The new Board will communicate via email and online all decisions regarding the FBRA’s Rules & Regulations, Budget, Programs, and any other official business through email and posting on the myFBRA.org website.

Please contact your current FBRA Directors with any questions and/or suggestions.

• Applications are due by November 8, 2018
• Championships races will be announced no later than November 15, 2018
• Please submit your complete application or questions to: board@myfbra.org

  Click below to download the 2019 Florida State Championship Road Race Application

2019-FBRA-State-Road-Championship-Event-Application

With the 2018 Florida Cyclocross season quickly approaching, it’s time to open the bidding process for the State Championship race.
We are now accepting bids for the 2018 FL State Cyclocross Championship race.

The purpose of this grant is to award two slots, one male and one female, for athletes racing age 14 to 18 years, to attend the USAC Talent ID Camp at Furman University in Greenville, SC, on June 16-21, 2018. There is no monetary value for this award; it is a PAID slot provided by the FBRA to attend the camp.

The primary goal of the USAC Talent ID Camps is to recognize athletes who, at an early age, show signs of potential future success in cycling. Receiving instruction from some of USA Cycling’s finest coaches, the camps also provide the necessary framework to improve the athlete’s skillset, thus progressing their cycling development. Regional Talent ID Camps provide vital input towards selecting riders for international competition and/or a national camp. Did you know that professional riders Andrew Talansky and Taylor Phinney both attended USAC Talent ID Camps?

All Florida Junior Riders are required to submit an application for consideration. The application should include ALL of the following:

1. Name, address, racing age, USAC license #, telephone number including parents contact information.
2. A 2017/2018 racing resume.
3. A few paragraphs from the rider on why they should be awarded the grant.
4. Acknowledgement from parent/guardian they are able to assume all other expenses associated with the camp including but not limited to food, gas, travel and lodging.
5. Letters of recommendation from cycling coach.
6. Applications should be e-mailed to grants@myfbra.org. Be sure to include applicant name in the subject of the email along with – Talent ID Grant.

Furthermore, riders must meet the USAC Talent ID Camp Criteria:

To ensure the safety of all camp participants and to maximize the learning opportunities for all, there is a minimum standard of on-the-bike competency that all camp participants must satisfy. Road camps are available to athletes with a minimum race age of 14 and no older than racing age 18. Cross-country mountain bike camps will be limited to riders who are a minimum racing age of 14 years old and no older than racing age 18. Athletes that are automatically eligible to participate in the camps meet one or more of the following standards contingent on space being available in the camp:

1. Participated in the 2017 or prior Regional Camp program.
2. Carry a valid 2018 collegiate racing license (men, D, C, or B and women, C or B) and have a racing age no older than 18 in 2018. (Exception would be cross-country mountain bike camps)
3. Finish in the top five in a USA Cycling Road Development Race Series race (15/16 or 17/18 category) since February 1, 2017. Athletes 14 years old must qualify through the 15/16 category. Results in the 13/14 category will not be counted.
4. Finish in the top five in an AMBC race (Category 2, 15/16 or 17/18 category) since February 1, 2018. Athletes that are 14 years old must qualify through the 15/16 category. Results in the 13/14 category will not be counted.
5. Finish in the top 10 in the road race, time trial, or criterium event at the 2016 or 2017 Junior Road National Championships. 13/14, 15/16, and 17/18 results will be considered.
6. Finish in the top 10 in the cross-country at the 2017 Junior Mountain Bike National Championships in the 13/14, 15/16 or 17/18 age groups in category 2.
7. For road camps, athletes must carry a current USA Cycling racing license as a minimum Category 4 and be a minimum race age of 14.
8. For MTB camps, athletes must carry a current USA Cycling Racing license as a minimum Category 3 and be a minimum race age of 14.
9. Represented the United States in international competition in 2015.

If you do not meet the automatic qualification standards, you can petition the camp manager to be admitted into the camp.

All applications must be received by EOD Friday May 25th, 2018 and should be sent to: grants@myfbra.org

Applications will be reviewed by FBRA Board of Directors and awarded athletes will be announced on Friday June 1^st,2018 . The FBRA will also announce 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Alternates. This will be done in case the awarding athlete is not able to attend the camp due to scheduling or other areas out of their control; we will then award the camp slot to the next rider in line.

The Florida Bicycle Racing Association has received numerous requests over the past three years from riders across the state stating that too many State Championship Jerseys are being awarded at the State TT, Criterium, RR & CX championships. These riders felt that in some categories where only 1 or 2 riders competed that awarding a jersey was more of a participation award than an earned champions jersey. We have heard the same feedback from other riders each year.

In late 2017 the FBRA Board of Directors had a discussion regarding this matter and a motion was passed to create a “Threshold of Competition” rule with regards to championship jerseys. Effective for 2018, categories that have more than 3 racers competing will have a championship jersey awarded in addition to medals. For categories that have only 1-2 riders then only medals will be awarded. For those riders who have won a gold medal either in a single rider field or two rider field, they will have the opportunity to buy a jersey directly from the jersey manufacturer.

2018 Junior Team Grant Applications Being Accepted

The FBRA Junior Team Grant Program offers junior teams in the state of Florida the opportunity to receive some financial support for their program.  The intent of this grant program is to assist the development of juniors through team programs across the state. Grant application submission is open through March 15, 2018, and grants will be awarded by March 31, 2018. Clubs must have renewed their upcoming year’s license in order to be eligible.

Following are the general guidelines and attributes of what constitutes a road junior development club:

·         grant available only to licensed USA Cycling clubs

·         offers development of juniors to race in USAC road, cyclocross, and track events

·         club program must have a minimum of 3 USAC road or cyclocross 2017 licensed juniors to qualify

·         prefer club program headed up by a USA Cycling licensed coach, but not required

·         the director of the program must pass a criminal background check through USAC and take and pass the USOC Safesport Program

·         should have a written program plan for the development of juniors

·         hold regular junior training rides focused on developing junior skills and racing

·         may offer financial support for uniforms, loaner equipment, race support

·         regular communication with junior members

·         may offer discounted entry fees to races

·         receiving teams must place the myFBRA logo on team jersey and also list on team website and/or social media pages

Sample of recommended uses for financial support:

·         discounted team uniforms for juniors

·         loaner equipment for juniors

·         coaching support

·         team support at races, tents, wheels, etc.

Financial support will be prorated to clubs based on the 2017 total monies allocated, $3200.  Grant amounts will be decided based on the number of applications and the funds budgeted that are available for grants. A general guide will be as follows:

$100 per junior program

$100 if program has USAC licensed coach

$50 per USAC licensed junior that has raced 6 times or more in the current calendar year in USAC sanctioned road, cyclocross, or track events.

Clubs receiving grants for the previous year must submit an annual report outlining how the received funds were spent and junior development accomplishments.

Click below to download the 2018 Junior Team Grant Application.

 Junior-Grant-Application-Word

Please submit the Junior Grant Application to the FBRA Board at grants@myfbra.org

Votes have been tabulated and we are proud to announce the following nominees who have been elected to the 2018 FBRA Board of Directors:

Jim Wright

Vincent Cook

Kaleigh Thornton

Steve Mlujeak

The 4 newly elected members will serve for two years and join Carl Sundquist, Ryan Woodall and Josh Thornton who will be remaining for the second year of their two-year term.

• You must hold an “active” USAC road rider, official, or race director license residing in the state of Florida as per your USAC license to participate in this process. Riders must hold a road license which covers the disciplines of road, cyclocross, and track, the disciplines that the FBRA represents for USA Cycling in Florida.
• Your vote must be submitted from the email address that is registered with your account at USA Cycling to certify your vote.
• You may vote once for up to four (4) Nominees
• Please email your “VOTE” for the listed Nominees directly to slamp@usacycling.org with the subject labeled FBRA VOTE. You must include your name, e-mail address, and USAC license number on your email vote. To certify your vote it must be sent from your e-mail address as listed in your USA Cycling account.
• Voting ends at 11:59pm on December 22, 2017
• Voting Results – Results will be provided by Dec 29.  Those elected will be informed and the results posted in an email to the membership and on the FBRA website.

The 4 newly elected members will serve for two years and join Ryan Woodall, Joshua Thornton and Carl Sundquist who will be remaining for the second year of their two year term.

Nominees who accepted their nomination are Jim Wright, Vincent Cook, Kaleigh Thornton and Steve Mlujeak.

Jim Wright

I am seeking to serve a second two year term on the FBRA board of directors. 

After a twenty year amateur masters racing career ended for me in 2012 due to too many traumatic shoulder injuries, I looked for other ways to stay involved in the sport that I love so much.  I had served as a race promoter and race official and decided that being an official was where I would serve.  After a couple years I was asked to serve on the FBRA board so I ran and was elected.  Below is a list of things I have personally led and implemented as FBRA board member:

·         Traveled 60 miles to the nearest Hytera dealer to have the FBRA radios program “read” so that we could have officials’ personal owned radios programmed to communicate with the seven FBRA Hytera radios.  So now we have extra radios for wheel truck drivers, EMTs and LEOs working road races increasing safety and communication leading to a smoother running, safer event with fewer surprises.

·         Purchased Blue Tooth adapters for Florida moto refs so they can communicate hands free during criterium races.  This increases safety when officials stop for an accident and only have about 30 seconds to ascertain injuries and radio back the situation to the start finish area to stop the race or report “Course is all clear”.

·         Created Florida USAC officials Face Book page “closed group”.  It has good participation with over 100 threads on real world occurrences at races.  This helps develop all officials, even those in remote location of Florida.

·         Personally purchased a two motorcycle trailer cutting promoter costs for officials travel anytime I bring another official with me to a race.  This measure has saved promoters hundreds of dollars this year alone.

·         Started a “not to interfere” (NIB) neutral feed and service support ability at selected events when temperatures are high and allows me to cover breakaways in the most important races if we have enough officials present.  We used it twice this year and already it has saved the day for at least one rider.  In one late spring road race I fed numerous riders who had missed feeds on a course without uphill feed zone location.  In the State road race while officiating the Masters A race, I was lead moto and observed a rider in the breakaway had flatted his rear tire.   After a quick swap of a wheel that I was carrying on my motorcycle he was able to regain his position in the break after a tough, unassisted chase.  He stayed in the break the entire race and eventually placed second in his age group.

·         Worked the 2017 state road race and 2017 state TT at a significantly reduced pay to ensure a higher level of quality officiating was available at these important events.

I am committed to bring highest quality officiating possible to Florida racing where ever I can.  I have worked national championship races each of the last two years.  This is important because it helps riders here in Florida be prepared for the same level of officiating they may expect to see after they invest significant training and finances to travel to nationals.  I believe it’s important to have an official on the FBRA board and working as Chief official and Moto ref gives the board “eyes” to what is happening not only at the start finish areas but what’s going on “on the road” during races.

I’d appreciate your vote for me to serve on the FBRA board of directors for another two years.

Vincent Cook

My name is Vincent Cook and I am seeking re-election to the FBRA Board of Directors.

My experience with bicycle racing began over 30 years ago while attending college at George Mason University. I have been president of various USAC Clubs from the Mid-Atlantic region to Florida. I have experience racing in all disciplines from Road to BMX, Mountain Biking, Track and Cyclocross.

As a director on the Florida Bicycle Racing Association board, I delivered on my election promises to support junior and beginner cycling by introducing new grants to support both junior talent development as well as beginner racing. I also supported grants that developed new USA Cycling Officials. I fostered good communication and tried to cultivate new ideas whenever possible. I fully believe in a united Florida, not a divided one.

Since 2015, I assumed the duties of approving permits for the Florida racing calendar. As part of my responsibilities, I worked with promoters from across the state to assemble a racing calendar for Florida that had a variety of courses, disciplines and whenever possible free of conflicts. Florida is the 3^rd most populous state in the country and because of our beautiful weather we have the luxury and opportunity to race year round. I support more races among the various disciplines – as a state there are riders to support it.

Additionally, I have volunteered on USA Cycling working groups which included other Local Associations from across the country. These smaller group met once a month via conference call and talked about how to best support USA Cycling’s long term goals as well as how to overcome roadblocks. These ideas were then rolled up to our new CEO, Derek Bouchard-Hall. As an FBRA board member I believe I have supported USA Cycling’s key initiatives by helping grow the sport of cycling and encouraging rider participation at all level of events.  

Here is what I would like to see in the future:

Renewed support for juniors, beginners and womens classes. These riders are the future of our sport and deserve to have races that will allow them to progress and develop their cycling skills. Florida has been known to develop some of the top racers in the country and I’d like to continue to highlight that talent.

With the success of the FBRA Junior Talent ID Camp Grants, I would like to build on that by assembling an FBRA Junior Composite Team. This team would have riders from across the state come together under one coach and attend races like Joe Martin Stage Race and Tour of America’s Dairyland.

I would also like to see more Collegiate Cycling Teams re-established across the state. My love for cycling started here so it is dear to my heart. New clubs and riders are the genesis for our sport and are without a doubt the future of amateur bicycle racing.

Continued support of the Clean Ride Fund. I believe it is essential to provide a level playing field from which athletes of all ages and categories can compete.

I believe the depth of experience gives me a unique perspective that will continue to further the sport of bicycle racing while balancing the needs of the race promoters and racers.

Kaleigh Thornton

Hello, my name is Kaleigh Thornton and I am running for the FBRA Board to help make a difference for the cycling community in the state of Florida.

I am the wife of a former professional cyclist and mother of 2 boys who compete. I have traveled to many places within the US to provide cycling support for my family. I would love to see more family friendly cycling events in this state for everyone to attend. I have started my goal to make cycling events better in the state by co-owning a promotions company and putting on a 4 weekend racing series for four years.

I also received my USA Cycling official’s license to help make the events safe and fair for all the participants. I have received my helmet fitting certification from the FDOT. Within the last 3 years I have provided events within my community to give free helmets and bicycle lights and offer bicycle safety talks to children. 

I believe the FBRA board needs a female voice to speak for women within the sport. I would love the opportunity to be on the FBRA Board to bring my experience and passion to Florida Cycling.

Steve Mlujeak

My Name is Steve Mlujeak I am running for the Florida Bicycle Association board of directors.  I have been involved in the sport for over 25 years as a full time athlete and a coach, racing road, track, MT bike and Cyclocross.

I am the owner of Top Step Cycling, a full time level 2 USAC coach, team coach and director of the Interactive Metronome Development team, as well as coaching many private cyclist and multisport athletes.

I’m running for the board with the hope of improving safety at our USAC events establishing a safety committee to develop idea’s that can be put in place to ensure that  our open road races and other venues are as safe as possible for our competitors. As the director of a development, team with young athletes for the last 5 years, safety is a big concern of mine.  I would also like to be a voice for the Brian Piccolo Park Velodrome and junior development programs working with the FBRA and USAC to establish and build a long-term scholastic development program within the FBRA.

Thank you for considering me to represent you on the FBRA Board of directors