Event Championship Guidelines

NEBRA State/Regional Championship Overview and Guidelines

updated 2/18/2024

As the Local Association for USA Cycling, the New England Bicycle Racing Association (NEBRA) is responsible for the awarding of State and Regional Championship designations. Events selected for these designations are awarded to events that enhance the New England cycling community for racers, spectators and even other events. As premium designations NEBRA views State and Regional Championship designations as ‘may award’ rather than ‘must award’. If no suitable bids are received NEBRA may opt to not hold a Championship in any given year.

Events wishing to be considered for USA Cycling State/Regional Championship Status must submit an online bid application by Google Form to the NEBRA board. The bid application must include the pieces of information shown below.

• Event Name:

• Race Director:

• Event Contact Info:

• Event Website and/or Social Media Accounts

• Event Description:

• Event History:

• Championship Categories Planned:

A State Championship event must include the following Men’s and Women’s categories:

• Elite (except Gravel races)

• Junior u19

• Master 40+

In addition, NEBRA suggests holding State Championships for the following categories:

• Junior Boys & Girls u17, u15, u13

• Master Men & Women 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+

• Non-Binary Open

A Regional Championship event must include the following Men’s and Women’s categories:

• Elite (except Gravel races)

• Elite u23 (except Gravel races)

• Junior u19

• Master 40+

In addition, NEBRA suggests holding Regional Championships for the following categories:

• Junior Boys & Girls u17, u15, u13

• Master Men & Women 40-44, 44-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70+

• Non-Binary Open

There are no State/Regional Championship awards for ability subcategories, only open championships i.e. no separate cat 4 State Championship awards.

Athlete Eligibility:

To be considered for a State Championship medal, athletes must be a USA Cycling annual license holder and reside in the state as shown on their license. For Regional Championships the athlete must reside in one of the six New England States (CT,MA,ME,NH,RI,VT). State/Regional Championships are open to both U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) but the athlete must have a USA Cycling annual license, not a license from a foreign federation.

Professional Riders are not eligible for State/Regional Championship medals. Professional riders are defined as those on a UCI registered World, Pro, Continental or Women’s team.

Awarding of Medals:

State/Regional Championships may include riders who are not eligible for the championships medals, but medals will only be awarded to eligible riders.  A single event may serve as the championship event for multiple states.  Medals are awarded three deep. There is no minimum number of starters to be eligible for a State/Regional Championship Medal.

All State/Regional Championship events are asked to have an awards ceremony with a 3 place podium presentation.

Elite Medals in Combined Championship Category Events

For Elite Championship Medals, when racing in a category with multiple categories (for example a Pro/1/2 race where u23 riders are also racing), the Elite Championship medals will be awarded to the first eligible rider to cross the line. So if a u23 rider wins the overall race, that rider is the Elite Champion. Subcategory medals will be awarded after all Elite places are awarded.  In special cases where separate races are run together (For example Pro/1/2 Women and Cat 3 Women) but scored separately, the Championship medals are awarded as if the race was one combined field. This is only for State/Regional medal awards, individual race scoring and awards still apply as shown on the race flyer.

Age Group Medals in Combined Championship Category Events

For Age Group medals (i.e. Masters and Juniors), the State/Regional Championships are awarded within each age group. So unlike an Elite race, in a combined Master 40-49, if a 46 year old wins the overall they are awarded the 45-49 gold medal and the first 40-44 rider would receive the gold for that age group.

Medals will only be awarded to those riders who meet the criteria of the field being offered:  As examples:

• An elite rider participating in a masters race is not eligible for the masters medal even if they are within state residency and age parameters.

• A master rider racing down in age, and a junior rider racing up in age, are not eligible for medals in the lower age (masters) or higher age (juniors) category.

• These restrictions only affect the awarding of medals; this does not apply to rider registration and participation.

Requirements/Best Practices

Clubs or race directors applying for a NEBRA State or Regional Championship designation must be current NEBRA Members and have a demonstrated ability to organize high quality, professional events. Championship events must be permitted through USA Cycling. All NEBRA State and Regional Championships are required to have fully equal (equal payout to an equal number of places) prize lists for the Elite Men’s and Elite Women’s fields.

All State/Regional Championships are urged to follow the NEBRA Best Practices guidelines found here.