Members,

I am honored to serve you this year, alongside a fantastic group of committed Board members and staff, as we work together to showcase what the best of NYC bike racing can be.

Having been part of the Board for several years since 2013, I honestly can’t remember a time when we’ve had as cohesive a team. While not without our anxiety inducing moments as we prepared for membership open, a full season of Club Racing in Central Park, and our marquee early season event, #GrantsTombCrit (have you registered yet?), the excitement we have for 2019 as a group is palpable. I hope this will translate into great race experiences for all of you.

I welcome any feedback throughout the year on ways we can improve, especially if those ideas come with concrete actionable steps to get there, and even more so if you are willing to pitch in to help! Please never hesitate to say hi in person at an event, or send a note to president[at]crca.net. The full Board’s contact info is available here.

In addition to making operational and sustainability improvements for the Club, a personal goal of mine, with full backing of the Board, is to renew emphasis on an essential principle to our Club’s mission: that CRCA should be a safe and welcoming space for all racers. To start with, the Board has adopted the following Statement on Inclusivity, and we are working toward using more inclusive language in our communications. While the guiding principles underlying this Statement are not new - they are already codified in USA Cycling Rules & Policy - we thought it important to amplify them again here, as every racer should be or become familiar with them.

CRCA Statement on Inclusivity

The CRCA Board is committed to fostering a community in which all individuals are welcome and treated with respect and dignity. To that end, we have adopted the following:

• Century Road Club Association and all of its events are a safe and inclusive space for all.

• Discrimination or harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, or any other characteristic protected by law will not be tolerated at our events.

• As our events are sanctioned by USA Cycling, we currently operate under the existing USAC Category systems and naming conventions. However, we remind racers that within that framework, the following principles apply:

  • “Men’s fields” are open to all racers: men, women and non-binary racers.

  • “Women’s fields” are open to all cis women, trans women and non-binary racers who self-select to race in the Women’s field.

  • Non-elite athletes (Categories 5, 4 & 3) may self select the field, within their USAC Category, that best fits with their gender identity, or that they feel is most athletically and socially appropriate for competitive purposes.

  • Elite athletes (Categories 2 & 1) may participate in the gendered field that they feel is most athletically appropriate, as determined by USAC’s Policy on Transgender Athletic Participation.

  • Women’s license holders may enter any Men’s field for which they are eligible by age & category.

  • Women’s license holders may enter lower M category fields as follows: (i) Category 4, 3 & 2 Women’s license holders may enter M fields that are up to one category lower than their own category, and (ii) Category 1 Women’s license holders may enter M fields up to two categories lower. For example, a W3 may enter a M3 or M4 race and a W1 may enter into a M1, M2 or M3 race.

  • Women’s license holders may enter M age group fields as follows: (i) W1 & W2 may enter Men’s Masters fields up to 10 years above their racing age, and (ii) W3 & W4 may enter Men’s Masters fields up to 20 years above their racing age.

  If you’re interested in incorporating better language in your day-to-day life, and learning why language matters when trying to foster an inclusive environment, this is a great resource. I encourage each of you to hold yourselves and your teammates and friends accountable to be as welcoming as possible, and to treat every person you encounter at a CRCA event with respect. We each have a role to play in the experiences racers have in our sport, and whether they join in or stay. Let’s make our contribution a positive one.

  Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you out there!

  Lucia