NORBA Nationals: Entry fees take another hike . . .

[Beast]

Just got done taking a peek at www.norbanationals.com and we've got another entry fee hike for this season. Semi's are now $5-$10 more per event (depending on location). DH is floating around the $53 mark and slalom/mx are $58! I'm saving my dollars (except for the in state - snowmass) and taking a trip to whistler . . . :rolleyes:

[Mike Buell]

Oh snap! Is the rate hike for the prize money they are supposivly gonna have? At least us semi-pro's can gain a little money back for podiums in the mountain states cup. Whistler is also a very good idea. Also is norba hinting something with the MX/DS rate increase, maybe better tracks perhaps? Night Beast.

Brian Buell

[frznnomad]

maybee i dont know about norba though. everything has deffinatly gone downhill with them in the past 3 to 4 years. i mean they used to be the events to go to and now everyone is looking to there local races and non norba santioned races for there fun and prize money. well hopefully with the pay increase we will see better courses and more prize money for the winners. although we could also loose a bunch of people not willing to pay for the bad courses and lack of money. ohh well hopefully it will all cancel out and everyone will win.

[manimal]

is that for every class or just for the pro/expert levels? that's a ridiculous amount for us weekend warrior sport racers.
sugar mtn better do A LOT of fixin' up to warrant that price hike

[Pip3r]

atleast the MX/Slalom is cheaper than the DH, that wasnt the case at Mt Snow. Which is totally logical, considering they had to like, put down 4 piles of dirt for the slalom.

[Red Bull]

atleast the MX/Slalom is cheaper than the DH, that wasnt the case at Mt Snow. Which is totally logical, considering they had to like, put down 4 piles of dirt for the slalom.
Im gunna have to correct you brian, that was sand. :rolleyes:

[bballe336]

Wasn't mount snow 65 bucks for the DH?

[bikenweed]

Wait, how much is a World Cup? That's right, they can't be anymore than $46... NORBA is retarded. Move to Europe.

[gangstamaxx]

Honesty I don't care. For a weekend of riding and fun and some great competition and riding it is all worth it IMO.

[shagwell]

Wait, how much is a World Cup? That's right, they can't be anymore than $46... NORBA is retarded. Move to Europe.

our uk nationals will cost us £54 this year for expert/elites, thats what $90?!

but then i suppose you guys spend alot more than we do getting to your races, then again with our fuel at almost £1.00 a litre i dont know?

price increases are all well and good if youre getting something extra for your money, if youre not, it sucks.

[Bikerpunk241]

Oh snap! Is the rate hike for the prize money they are supposivly gonna have? At least us semi-pro's can gain a little money back for podiums in the mountain states cup. Whistler is also a very good idea. Also is norba hinting something with the MX/DS rate increase, maybe better tracks perhaps? Night Beast.

Brian Buell

All the info I've seen says that there will be prize money at five (Count 'em, 5) races, and there's only evidence that it will be paid out to XC Pros. Add these hikes in prices, and NORBA's gonna be beating people away with sticks due to over enrollment in classes :rolleyes:

[dhbuilder]

do you think those money hungry clowns at usa cycling will ever get any snap?

it's long past the point where racing their "traveling regional circus" is more aggravating than it's worth for the average weekend rider.

the same amount of $$$ can be spent elsewhere roadtripping. and you'll get many many more runs in for your buck.

it seems like it's not going to attract any amatuers other than the same locals in the region. so it's not likely that you'll be competing against "fresh meat" like you used to.

the first d.h. national i raced had riders from all over the country in the ex. 45+ class. it was great.

the last one i went to had just a few regional riders.

[profro]

sugar mtn better do A LOT of fixin' up to warrant that price hike

Don't expect much. Just go and have fun, but get ready for disappointment.

[dhbuilder]

Don't expect much. Just go and have fun, but get ready for disappointment.

i bet butch would like to build a more challenging course.

but he's hamstrung by the powers that be.

[stiksandstones]

Amazing...that is like charging someone to eat turd.

[Jeremy R]

Amazing...that is like charging someone to eat turd.

Taco Bell found a way to make money at it, why not Norba.
Well, at least Taco Bell is cheap.

[SK6]

Taco Bell found a way to make money at it, why not Norba.
Well, at least Taco Bell is cheap.

And has an intrinsic value...:blah:

It's like anything else, they think they, (NORBA) has the corner on the market right now, and it shows. Whats nice is the fact that there are many races being organized regionally by a conglomeration of all types of people and businesses.

This in essence is the revolution, and unless NORBA rethinks their strategy, they will slowly fizzle away. It seems to me the pro's pay more to race then thay actually make, and amatures or weekend warriors really have no motivation to pay all those fees for nothing.

Now, while weekend warriors may not seem so important, you have a catch 22. Without amatures and weekend warriors, businesses and resorts lose more money then they make. This in turn makes them decide not to hold a NORBA event.

The second thing is that if I speend $400.00 on an entire weekend, (lodging, gas and food alone) and miss 2 days of work, we can eaily see that the average person may lose a total of anywhere from 600 to 1000 dollars total. And for what, to race and place well, for nothing? People can decide not to pay fees to ride at a place that they can ride for considerably less then that on any other given weekend...

Just my 2 cents.

[dhbuilder]

well said.