You would think it would be a low cost investment on a university’s behalf given that, as long as we’re not talking about track cycling, there’s no need for an upfront investment in a facility or to have a separate field or to find real estate on campus. Somewhat related to that but on the flipside, given that training and competition would take place largely off campus property, especially in the case of public roads, does that open up the university to additional risk in the form of injuries, liability, litigation and what kind of insurance would be required?
Many international students come over to the NCAA system for Olympic sports because of the highly developed NCAA infrastructure and support provided to the student athlete. And given that cycling development in the US appears to be particularly weak in this 18-23 age range, this would seem like a no brainier.
Absolutely agree! The liability aspect is where things get tricky, but I think it's something the NCAA is more than capable of handling. The intricacies of the USA Gymnastics/NCAA partnership are still something I'm trying to figure out. From what I understand, most NCAA events are sanctioned by USAG which includes insurance and safety regulations, but when it comes to NCAA championships it seems like the NCAA takes the lead. I would be interested in speaking to someone from one or both of the parties to understand the balance better.
The way I see it, football is also a very dangerous sport and the NCAA handles that liability with ease. But I do understand there is some nuance with cycling because of training happening on open roads. More to come on this topic!
To add onto my comment, USAC already sanctions all collegiate races at the club and varsity levels, so I don't see how the NCAA coming in would add any additional burden on that front.
You would think it would be a low cost investment on a university’s behalf given that, as long as we’re not talking about track cycling, there’s no need for an upfront investment in a facility or to have a separate field or to find real estate on campus. Somewhat related to that but on the flipside, given that training and competition would take place largely off campus property, especially in the case of public roads, does that open up the university to additional risk in the form of injuries, liability, litigation and what kind of insurance would be required?
Many international students come over to the NCAA system for Olympic sports because of the highly developed NCAA infrastructure and support provided to the student athlete. And given that cycling development in the US appears to be particularly weak in this 18-23 age range, this would seem like a no brainier.
Absolutely agree! The liability aspect is where things get tricky, but I think it's something the NCAA is more than capable of handling. The intricacies of the USA Gymnastics/NCAA partnership are still something I'm trying to figure out. From what I understand, most NCAA events are sanctioned by USAG which includes insurance and safety regulations, but when it comes to NCAA championships it seems like the NCAA takes the lead. I would be interested in speaking to someone from one or both of the parties to understand the balance better.
The way I see it, football is also a very dangerous sport and the NCAA handles that liability with ease. But I do understand there is some nuance with cycling because of training happening on open roads. More to come on this topic!
To add onto my comment, USAC already sanctions all collegiate races at the club and varsity levels, so I don't see how the NCAA coming in would add any additional burden on that front.