What is The UCI Paracycling Commission?
I have just returned from my latest UCI Paracycling Commission meeting. And thought it would be a good idea to explain a little about what the Commission does and how I came to be a member of it.
Back in 2017 at the Paracycling Road World Championships, I was elected as one of 2 representatives (one male, one female) for Paracycling to be on the UCI Athletes Commission. The Athletes Commission is made up of 2 representatives from each of the 10 different UCI cycling disciplines (Road, Track, Cyclocross, Paracycling, BMX, etc). It’s a 4-year term and we meet once or twice a year to discuss issues that affect all cyclists across all our disciplines and to engage with the management of the UCI – providing input from the point of view of the athletes.
In addition to the Athletes Commission, the UCI also has individual Commissions representing each of the cycling disciplines. These Commissions are appointed by the Management Committee and usually made of up senior people with relevant experience in that discipline. And each Commission will have a member of The UCI Management Committee as the ‘head’ of the Commission.
In the case of Paracycling, the Commission (7 official members plus a few “unofficial members”) is made up of senior UCI staff who work with Paracycling, and several senior people from different cycling federations who do lots of work for Paracycling. In addition, we have a representative who is a former cyclist and is also now on the Board of the IPC (International Paralympic Committee). And lastly, they always appoint one of the two elected athlete representative from the Athletes Commission to sit on the Commission and speak for the athletes. That’s where I come in.
Phew! Got it all?
Much like the Athletes Commission, the Paracycling Commission meets at least twice a year. We meet all over the world - often in conjunction with major Paracycling races (as many of the Commission are already there working, or in my case, riding). For instance, our first meeting was after the Paracycling Track World Championships in Rio in March. Our next meeting will likely be after a World Cup race in May. Or it can be a simple meeting (like yesterday) where we all fly into an airport and meet at a nearby hotel.
So – what does the Commission actually do? For me, this is the exciting part. We oversee almost every aspect of Paracycling! As a group, we help shape the current and future shape of the sport. We discuss any and all topics relating to Paracycling, and ways to continue to help the sport grow and improve. We discuss rule changes, upcoming (major) events, equipment rules, course selections, race distances, new events, classification issues, and lots of other items I can’t even think of right now.
As a full member of the Commission, I am able to submit proposals with new ideas for approval. Sometimes they can be for a rule change, or they can be for the addition of new events. I recently submitted some ideas for some new events on the track, which have been met favourably. The proposals will then have to be submitted to the UCI Management Committee for final approval at which point they will become official events or rules.
Everything we do int he Commission is done 'democratically'. Everyone is free and encouraged to not only bring ideas and issues forward, but to participate in discussions as each point is covered. We do not 'vote' per se on proposals, but rather come to an agreed consensus. Only in the case of a very divisive issue would a formal vote be needed – and even then the proposal would still need approval from the Management Committee.
Everything we do int he Commission is done 'democratically'. Everyone is free and encouraged to not only bring ideas and issues forward, but to participate in discussions as each point is covered. We do not 'vote' per se on proposals, but rather come to an agreed consensus. Only in the case of a very divisive issue would a formal vote be needed – and even then the proposal would still need approval from the Management Committee.
One of the major issues we are currently discussing, and will continue to discuss for the next few years is over the system of factoring used int he Paralympic Games for some Paracycling events. It’s a major issue because in 2024 the Paralympic Games will cease to have ‘factored’ events.
An example of a factored event on the track is the 1km TT for categories C1-C3. Essentially athletes from the different categories all do the race – and their time is factored against the times of other athletes in the different categories. Because a C1 rider is much slower than a C3 rider, the C3 rider’s time is multiplied by a factor of (approximately 93%). This is based on years and years of data, comparing the times of the riders in different categories to work out what the factors should be.
In a normal UCI World Championships we do not use factors. We simply race against people in our own category for medals. However, in the Paralympic Games, there are a limited number of medal events awarded to Paracycling. So we have to decide which events will feature combined categories (with a factor applied) or which will be stand-alone events. There are even some events that combine categories with NO factoring – which is completely unfair and unreasonable in my opinion. Some examples of this are: there is a C1-3 factored 1KM TT on the track, individual medals for each category in the Individual Pursuit, and 1 set of medals for the C1-3 road race (meaning only the top 3 across the finish line get medals, regardless of their category, whereas in a World Championships, the top 3 in EACH category across the line get medals).
That’s the background info and explains where Paracycling is right now in terms of medals, factoring and the 2020 Paralympic Games. And as mentioned, in 2024 there will be NO factored events. On the surface this sounds like a great thing, right? It would be, except the IPC is not awarding us any extra medals. Which essentially means we either need to cut events, run events as combined (with no factors) or get creative.
So the Commission is now getting creative. Part of our job is to try and come up with solutions to the problem. How can we continue to have races in the 2024 Games that allow athletes reasonable chances to win medals in different events, without cutting the existing events? The answer is…. you can’t. But we are working towards solutions that will make as many people as happy as possible! It’s going to be a long process but it’s exciting to be a part of it.
As the athlete representative for Paracycling, I also see it as part of the job to liaise with the athletes. I try my best to provide as much information as I can to athletes, and to be there to answer any questions or concerns they have. My fellow athletes are always welcome to contact me with their questions and concerns. I will always bring those concerns forward to the Commission if appropriate or answer myself if I can. The free-flow of information in both directions is an important aspect of keeping riders informed, happy and a part of growing the sport for the future.
It is a real honour to not only represent my fellow athletes on the Commission, but also to be able to bring forward my own ideas. It’s gratifying to see the impact I may have on making the sport better for both the current and next generation of riders. I want to make sure I leave the sport better than when I found it. And I believe my fellow Commission members feel much the same way. We are all in it to try and keep the sport as strong as possible. It is a dedicated and passionate group of people and am excited for what the future holds!
(If you've read this far, and want to help me carry on to Tokyo 2020, can donate ANYTHING here: https://www.gofundme.com/qnnmsj-tokyo-2020-paralympic-games)
