worlds/ brazil info

[bmxmom156]

can someone explain to me how it happens that there are usa riders who were scheduled to race the worlds and didnt get to compete because of their airline ( varig) went bancrupt the day they were supposed to fly out there?

how does this happen? was this travel arrangement made privately on thier own or was it done via “team usa” thru the nbl’s travel agency( AT)?

it is very frustrating to watch ( i can only imagine living thru it) year after year folks spending all this money to get a chance to compete and riders training thier hearts out to get there only to have something like this happen.

it seems like every year there is a major snafoo in the planning aspect of this race and the mistakes made are never corrected for the next yr. for example-back in 01 when it was in ky the dirt never dried out( someone never covered it in the trucks in the parking lot) when someone dropped the ball with the ventillation system( not turning it on) ..- what a simple thing? then i just heard that after the nbl track builders finished the brazil track the locals ” altered” the jumps and turns( paved) supposedly i dont know the exact specifics but that put the practice off a day to repair what they did with thier “home made tools”//how can this be allowed to happen??

what is wrong with these people who are running this event?

would any other organized sport allow this to happen? think about it. how is the sport supposed to be an olympic event when we cant even get responsible track staff to do what they are supposed to do for the worlds?

can anyone remember a year when there wasnt a problem?? i know folks said in france there was all kinds of problems but what i want to know is what does it take to get the event off the way it is supposed to be run?? small problems are expected but from what i am hearing this is crazy? an unsanctioned pre race? who allows that? v bmx has some posts that explain all the fines that brazil has to pay because of these problems but what about the usa folks who have put all this time and money out to go there? i cant see why no one is responsible or in charge to avoid all of this?? hearing the travel nightmares wouldnt someone know ahead of time about that airlines? usually there is info out months before a company goes belly up.

anyway just venting here…. i feel for those guys over there its stressful enough to compete they dont need the added aggrivation of a poorly planned event. we are considering attending the canada event in 07 i hope to God they do a better job. maybe the uci should let the countries host the event based on proven track record??? is there a group of people in the nbl who are held responsible for the event start to finish every year? if so maybe its time to vote in some new organizers…

[BIGANT-DOG]

And i thought i was the “revolutionary” of this site.LOL I here what you are saying though. You would think that things wuld be more organized, but that is why things are gonna change around here. (NBL)

[bmxmom156]

there is nothing revolutionary about my post – i am saying this as i am sure there are many other parents out there who love the sport and work damn hard for thier money that they spend on it. we have traveled to other parts of the country for other sportingevents/ nationals that my son has competed in and i have never seen the incompetance( sorry about the spelling) that i have seen in bmx. its one thing to be a fluke mistake one year out of 10 but this is getting to be the norm and almost “expected” year after year. i know its not a perfect world and s*** happens but somehow this has to change if the sport is entering the olympic arena in 2008.

[RFarside]

bmxmon I have spent a lot of my own money trying to get to this year’s Worlds. Not counting the hours of training and racing leading up to the big race. And you know what I get for all of this is a $150.00 UCI license that I will never use, a Brazilian visa to hang on my wall, and tons of help and information from Gary Ellis from Adventure Travel. I recommend that no one should use this travel agent. O and I get a USA jersey and hat that I had to pay $150.00 for if they remember to bring it back for me.

Yes there has to be a big change and I don’t see it happening any time soon. The change has to be made at the top. It is time for Bob Tedesco to step down but he is going to ride this out till the 08 Olympics. So we will have 2 more years of this crap.

[rider1]

What did you expect? Anything the nbl does is a ballup. I cant wait to see what a mess China is in 08.

[RFarside]

Hopfully in 07 when the ABA gets in they will show these clowns how to run a race.

[rider1]

Oh by the way,the last time I raced the worlds was in 1989. I have to say it was a great event. The reason? IBMXF ran the race.

[bmiddaugh]

Is anyone gonna be at CJ this weekend?

[bmiddaugh]

I’m tired of having to “take shit”.
…oh..not from you guys and gals but in general and this thread just pisses me off more.
I’m sick of people in charge of important stuff being halfass about things.

[bmxmom156]

my intention was not to get anyone ticked off or whatever.. i started reading about the team usa going out and then the stories started about the screwups and travel( does anyone know how it was a coincidence that 200 racers were on the airlines that went under? and was it the travel agency used by the nbl?

i am all for supporting the team and all but i just got upset the more i read.

if anyone can shed some light on the subject please do….

[bmiddaugh]

so it is an annual occurance that there is major snafu’s at the uci worlds?

[bmxmom156]

dosnt seem that its unusual seems like its par for the course. that is not acceptable.

when we were at ky for the indoor worlds race we came into the arena and they were using some bobcats and other equip in an enclosed space without any ventillation( no ac/ no recycled air nothing) the dirt was wet and wasnt drying. but more importantly the bobcats were emitting some sort of emissions( co)that you could see floating in the air ( normally not visible) it was not a healthy situation. my husb works in hvac ( specializing in indoor air quality) so as you can imagine this went over like a fart in church.. he tried to speak to the maintanance people in charge concerning the air and its “unbreathability” and the responce was they didnt want to turn on the ac or air systems as the filters cost alot ( a whopping $75 each) and they were told not to turn it on yet… so as a secondary effect the dirt didnt dry ( no where for the moisture to evap to) so like i said this was not good… the riders when the practice did start and race had the softest track ever which didnt dry by race time. it was better but not worlds quality surface by any means…

this is what i am talking about when i get ticked off..it seems to be about money and incompetance… the volunteers are wonderful its the ones directing the show who are not held accountable. our riders deserve better.

when you dont correct your mistakes you are doomed to repeat them

[RFarside]

@bmxmom156 wrote:

does anyone know how it was a coincidence that 200 racers were on the airlines that went under? and was it the travel agency used by the nbl?

Adventure travel knew a moth ago that there was a very good chance that Varig airline was going under. So instead of switching there flight to another airline to be positive those riders would make it he left them on Varig. There were a lot of people scrambling to get flights out at the last minute. And yes the NBL recommended Adventure travel.

[RaidenHayden]

And as a an added news flash, both BobT, and Adventure Travel, will be selling ice to Eskimos soon as part of their expanded service, obviously, Bob T will not take a cut, as he is mister non-profit

[RFarside]

This is from BMX News.

Update: Suarez flight from Miami to New Jersey OVER BOOKED!!! Suarez might not be making it to Brazil.

Jonathan Suarez who has been stuck in Venezuela trying to get a flight to Brazil for the worlds. apparently Varig Airlines filed for bankruptcy and cancelled all flights.

The entire Venezuela BMX team with the exception of Jonathan “The Mosquito Suarezâ€ÂÂ￾ is stuck in Venezuela. Suarez managed to get a flight ($3,300) which will take him to Brazil but with the craziest connections. Suarez will fly from Venezuela to Miami then to New Jersey and from there to Brazil. He leaves Thursday in the early morning and does not arrive in Brazil until Friday
morning at 10 am roughly a 24 hour total travel time.

The UCI has changed the days for the Elite Men and Junior Men’s races from Saturday to Friday. Warm up for Elite begins at 12:30am giving Suarez only two and a half hours to get from the airport to the track and build his bike on the way.

Tough break for the rest of team Venezuela as they have some talented riders.

Big Thanks to MCS Bicycles for stepping in and helping Suarez cover the additional cost of the flight to get Suarez to race.

[Author]

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