Race Season Awards and Definitions​

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List of Awards

 

• Single Event Awards

  • Weekly Omnium Champion

  • Sprint Wars Weekly Champion

  • San Diego Velodrome Keirin Championship

  • San Diego Velodrome Sprint Race Championship

  • San Diego Velodrome Points Race Championship

  • San Diego Velodrome Omnium Championship

  • San Diego Velodrome Women+ Omnium Championship

  • San Diego Velodrome Madison Championship

• Multi-Event Awards

  • Iron Racer Award

  • Racer of the Month Award

  • San Diego Velodrome Omnium Points Leader (aka “Racer of the Year”)

  • San Diego Velodrome Points Race Leader

  • San Diego Velodrome Scratch Race Leader

  • San Diego Velodrome Elimination Race Leader

  • San Diego Masters Championship

  • TBD FNR Season Awards

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Omnium Points

 

In general, most of the awards are based on accumulation of Omnium Points over the course of the designated length and/or represented by the award. Omnium Points are awarded to the Top 5 places in each Omnium race: 5 points for First, 4 points for Second, 3 points for Third, 2 points for Fourth, and 1 point for Fifth. A racer must participate in all races in a given night to be eligible for the Omnium; if a racer does not participate in all races then their points will be forfeit.

 

The amount of Omnium Points may not equal the number of intra-race points obtained. For example, a racer may win a Points race with a total of 20 points combined from the intermediate and final sprints. These 20 points helped them obtain First place, but the 20 points do not count toward their Omnium Points total. Instead, the racer earns 5 Omnium Points for their success.

 

The reason that points from a Points/Tempo/Snowball/etc. race do not carry over 1-to-1 to Omnium Points is that it will overly weigh Omnium placement toward races that amass points within the race to determine a victor. The 5/4/3/2/1 Omnium Points ladder for every race no matter the discipline allows for equal-weighting between Scratch, Elimination, Points, and all other race types.

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Podiums

 

In a change for the 2024 TNR/FNR Season, we will be awarding podium placements out to fifth place instead of the usual third place. This extended (typically referred to as a ‘Wide-Angle Podium’) is being done with two particular aims:

• Encourage racers who are ‘close, but not quite’ to aim toward podium placements. Weekly podiums that perpetually feature the same set of 3-6 racers in a category can be discouraging for other racers in the category, especially those who are recently-upgraded and have seen little to show. Getting your name called at the end of the night after weeks of (perceived) is a huge boost of confidence and can make a racer’s week, month, or season depending on the context. 

• Many of the multi-week awards are reflections of consistent effort at a high level and deserve recognition. A racer who ended up fifth on a weekly podium might have had a relatively good night, but a racer who ended up fifth in terms of total points over the course of a season was competing at a consistently high level for months in order to accomplish that feat, and should be celebrated thusly.

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TNR Versus FNR Awards

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Ultimately, the decision to have different awards for TNR versus FNR came down to the inherent differences between the two race nights. FNR is the development night, featuring racers who are new to racing and are working their way up to the B and A categories. Just as the Championship races are only open to A and B racers, these awards are also TNR only. That being said, there have been discussions with the FNR Race Directors on more-qualitative awards that recognize racers for their feats (both sincere and tongue-in-cheek).

 

Single Event Awards

 

Weekly Omnium Champion (aka Weekly Podium)

• Categories: A/B/C/D/Women+

• The weekly Omnium Champion is the racer who amasses the most Omnium Points in their category throughout the evening of racing. As outlined in the earlier section, Omnium Points are given out for the top 5 places in each race in a 5/4/3/2/1 format.

  • Tiebreaker: If two or more racers are tied for a spot at the end of the races, the tiebreaker will be based on place order in the Points race.

 

Sprint Wars Weekly Champion (aka Keirin Weekly Champion)

• Categories: A/B/C/D/Women+

• The Keirin Weekly Champion is the racer who finishes first in the final A-category heat of the night. 

  • Prior to the final round of heats, promotion and demotion between levels will be determined by finishing order in each heat. The top two racers in a race will be moved up one category, while the bottom two racers will be moved down a category. Thus, in a four-heat race evening, it is possible for any racer from any category (A/B/C/D) to win.

 

San Diego Velodrome Keirin Championship

• Categories: A/B/C/D/Women+

• The same format for the Weekly Champion is applied here, as the core structure of the Keirin Championship is the same as the other Keirin nights over the course of the season.

  • The Keirin Championship is the only* San Diego Velodrome Championship race that is open to all categories.

    • *Ok, the San Diego Slog Championship is too, but…you know.

 

San Diego Velodrome Race Championships (Points/Sprint/Omnium)

• Categories: A/B

• The San Diego Velodrome Race Championships are annual races in the latter half of the season that have been designated as the Championship for the race type for the season. For the Sprint and Points Championships, they are a single race on the designated night that will determine that season’s Champion. For the Omnium Championship, it is the winner of the designated night’s Omnium. In all cases, the fields will be a combined A/B field, giving B racers an opportunity to win the Championship.

  • The tiebreakers for the Points and Omnium persist here: order of finish for the Points race, and order of placement in the Points race for the Omnium.

 

San Diego Velodrome Women+ Omnium Championship

• Category: Women+

• This is the same as the San Diego Velodrome Omnium Championship, except that it is solely for the Women+ race category. Outside of this, the definition and tiebreakers remain the same

 

San Diego Velodrome Madison Championship

• Similar to the Keirin Championship, this award goes to the winning Madison team in the designated Madison Championship race night.

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Multi-Event Awards

 

Iron Racer Award

• Categories: A/B/C/D/Women+

• The Iron Racer designation will be awarded to the racer in each category who participates in the most Omnium race nights over the course of the season. Much like eligibility for the weekly Omnium podium, attendance for a week is defined by participating in all Omnium races over the night. Women participating in the TNR Women category and an FNR category will be separately eligible for each, meaning that in theory a racer could win more than one Iron Racer award in a season.

  • Tiebreaker will go to the racer who has earned more Omnium Points over the course of the season. If two or more racers are tied on Omnium Points, then the racer with the best placement in the Omnium of the final race night of the season.

 

Racer of the Month Award

• Categories: A/B/Women+

• The Racer of the Month Award goes to the racer in each category who earns the most Omnium Points over all Omnium nights in a given month. For example, if the month of May has a Sprint Wars race night and three Omnium race nights, the racer in the A, B, and Women categories with the most Omnium Points over those three nights would be the Racer of the Month.

  • If two or more racers are tied on Omnium Points, then the racer with the best placement in the Omnium of the final race night of the month.

 

San Diego Velodrome Omnium Points Leader (aka “Racer of the Year”)

• Categories: A/Women+

• The Racer of the Year is an award that will be tracked over the year but will only be awarded at the end of the season. This is the racer in each category that has earned the most Omnium Points over the course of the season. This racer will earn the #1 bib for their race category (i.e. 1 for A, 401 for Women) for the following season. While the San Diego Velodrome Omnium Championship awards the racer who wins on that particular night, the San Diego Omnium Points Leader is the racer who was the highest performer over the course of the season (for instance, the NHL awards the Presidents Trophy to the team with the best regular season record, but the Stanley Cup goes to the team who wins the playoffs).

  • Tiebreaker will be broken by placement on the final Omnium night of the season

  • Racers who move to a different category during the season will not have their points transfer

 

San Diego Velodrome Points Race Leader

• Categories: A/B/Women+

• The Points Race Leader is an award earned by the racer in each category that amassed the most Omnium Points from Points Races over the course of the season.

  • Tiebreaker goes to the racer with the better placement in the Points Championship (Women’s Omnium Championship for the Women’s category)

 

San Diego Velodrome Scratch Race Leader

• Categories: A/B/Women+

• The Scratch Race Leader is an award earned by the racer in each category that amassed the most Omnium Points from Scratch Races over the course of the season.

  • Tiebreaker goes to the racer with the better placement in the Scratch Championship (Women’s Omnium Championship for the Women’s category)

 

San Diego Velodrome Elimination Race Leader

• Categories: A/B/Women+

• The Elimination Race Leader is an award earned by the racer in each category that amassed the most Omnium Points from elimination-based Races over the course of the season. This one is slightly different from the previous two, as it adds up Omnium Points across the Elimination, Super Sprint, and Miss-n-Out race disciplines.

  • Tiebreaker goes to the racer with the better placement in the final elimination-based race of the season (Women’s Omnium Championship for the Women’s category)

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San Diego Masters Championship

• Categories: 50+

• The Masters Championship goes to the racer who earns the most points over the multi-week Masters Cup series. More details will be shared when the series details are announced.​​

  • Tiebreaker goes to the racer with the better placement on the final night of the series.​

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CATEGORY PROMOTION/DEMOTION

 

With the proposed introduction of multi-week awards in the 2024 season, increased attention has been placed on the promotion and demotion of racers. There is a concern that a racer could potentially sandbag in a category lower than their skill level in an effort to obtain awards, frustrating the other racers in the category and resulting in a less-fair and less-exciting race series.

 

Category Promotion will follow the rules as outlined in the ‘Racing Categories’ section on this website. Advancement up a category typically occurs when a racer has amassed “minimum five top 3 places on 3 separate race days in [their current category] with a minimum field size of 10”, with other possible routes being “early approval by a Race Director” and/or an equivalent USAC/ATSA Category rank commensurate with said SDVA Category as outlined in the above link. While these serve as a tangible guide for promotion for FNR and TNR categories, the final authority on whether or not a racer is to be upgraded ultimately falls on the discretion and responsibility of the Race Director. For example, a racer who has the sufficient placements to advance but is not wholly capable of handling the increased complexity of racing at the next level may be held back until the Race Director(s) are confident in their handling, group riding, awareness, etc.

 

Category Demotion is inherently less-defined, as many racers can go weeks or months without amassing points in a race but still be considered at the proper level to participate in their category. Demotion relies much more on the Race Director’s discretion, but generally a racer who is visibly uncomfortable riding in the group, is unable to keep up with field on a consistent basis, or who rides in a way that endangers the rest of the field due to a lack of aptitude will be considered for demotion. 

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FAQ

 

If TNR and FNR are getting different awards because FNR has lower categories of racing, why are Bs eligible for most awards? Aren’t they lower than As and thus developmental as well?

 

There are multiple reasons for this. Keeping scoring consistent over the course of a race night makes things a lot easier for the Race Directors as well as the audience. The gap between FNR  and TNR is wider than the gap between As and Bs, and it is common to see combined fields in TNR between A and B categories especially in the latter half of the season. Finally, having the Women+ category eligible for these awards continues a concerted effort by the SDVA to make the velodrome more inclusive and open to a wider cross-section of San Diegans.