I manage a cycling club that has largely been informal. I’m considering trying to put some more structure around the club, such as registering with USA Cycling.
Are there benefits to this? How have folks moved from a group of cyclists meeting periodically to ride to creating a formal cycling organization?
I am part of a cycling team/club whatever you want to call it. We used to register with USA Cycling every year when people did primirly USA cycling races. Now, members do so many gravel and other unafiliated races that we haven’t seen any reason to register. The main benefit was that your team name was registered with USA cycling and printed on licences and results for USA Cycling races. The other “benefits” they list include this word salad…
As a registered club with USA Cycling, your club will receive: access, resources, and recognition.
As a registered club with USA Cycling, you’re a part of our larger community with access to different aspects of the cycling world. This includes visibility in our club finder tool, access to additional club insurance offerings, complementary event organizer license, complementary first-time technical officials license, and more.
Whether your club or team is just starting out or is working om becoming a Center of Excellence, USA Cycling has the knowledge base to assist you in your journey. This includes: Monthly clubhouse newsletter, Club Safe Sport Recognition Program, access to our knowledge base, access to our club admin tool, and SafeSport education.
As an invested part of your cycling community, we want to thank you for your efforts in making our sport the best version of itself. Through our recognition programs we want to showcase the hard work that clubs all across the United States are doing in their communities. This includes: Club of the Year, Best in Kit, Club Safe Sport Program, and Centers of Excellence.
Really helpful, thank you.
I agree with @KonaSS 's response, but would like to also add that with USAC membership, we also get insurance for the club through USAC. The League of American Bicyclists also offers insurance, just FYI. I would recommend if you’re getting more “organized”, insurance is a good idea. There are two types of insurance - one is for the club, and one is D&O insurance. We get both. I don’t know what sort of rides/events your club offers, but these are things to look into.
Thanks! We don’t race. We organize rides on public roads and have anywhere from 5 to 20+ riders at a time. Your advice about looking into insurance is well-taken.
I think you got your answer, but i just wanted to continue to agree with the folks above. I’m the treasurer for my bike team so I’m filling out the insurance application via USAC in another browser window now. It’s intended to only insure club rides and team meetings, not races. However, USAC really is a racing organization and one that treats anything other than the top national athletes or feeder programs for them as a far afterthought.
If my team wasn’t so racing focused, the few benefits being a USA Cycling club gives wouldn’t be worth it. And that’s only because enough local races require USA cycling licenses to race.