Attention NORBA / Team Racing
Wednesday, February 19, 2003

For Immediate Release – February 12, 2003 – Norwalk, CT

Team Competition Added To Connecticut and
New England Mountain Bike Racing Series

High School and College Categories Included in TEAM Competition

Smart Cycles of Norwalk, CT has organized and produced one of the longest running and most popular mountain bike race series in the country. Touted by USA Cycling as “The best regional racing series in the country”, the group of events moves into its 15th year as a legitimate state and regional championship series. Up until now, riders of all ages and abilities rode their mountain bikes for personal gain and challenge, but NO MORE!

“We have been asked to insert a team competition in the series a few times, and we have received a few proposals and suggested formats in past years”, said Alex Stanek, the Series organizer. “We always found a fault or five, though, with every one! So we finally sat down and produced a list of what we wanted to accomplish or accommodate with the Team Series”. The main points of that list follow:

· Encourage the concept of TEAM participation in a sport mostly known for individual racing
Encourage TEAMS to form with riders of all abilities and ages
· Provide a venue for existing High School, College, and Shop teams to compete against each other
· Integrate the TEAM competition into the already established program, keeping fees the same, and scoring systems the same
· Offer groups of riders the opportunity to choose and establish TEAM categories that they want
· Make establishing a team for series competition easy and affordable

Working to melt those characteristics together, the Series organizers have established TEAM COMPETITION to debut in the 2003 Series. The TEAM segment of the series is split into two simple categories…Scholastic and Non-Scholastic and into the 5 sub-categories listed below:

· High School Clubs and Teams
· College Clubs and Teams
· Youth Groups/YMCA/Similar
· Open (Shop Teams, Cycling Club Teams, Etc.)
· Women Only
· Men’s Clydesdales (Men over 200 pounds)
· Corporate/Recreational

The series also opens the chance for other groups to establish their own categories. For instance, if a group of riders aged 55 and over approaches the Series organizers about creating a Over 55 category, the Series will aim to accommodate!

Complete details on the TEAM Series Competition can be found at www.smartcycles.com/teams.htm

For more information please contact the Series Organizers:

Alex Stanek
Smart Cycles
303 Strawberry Hill Ave.
Norwalk, CT 06851
www.smartcycles.com
[email protected]
203-831-9144
203-831-9129 Fax

photos by Jonathan McElvery, Jack Milton, and BikeReg.com