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My son raced tonight in his novice class and needs three more wins to become intermediate. My son asked the boy who beat him how many wins he has and he replied "around 20 or so". Is it possible for someone to stay in novice and not advance? Without any additional facts, it sounds dishonest, can someone enlighten me?

without knowing the specifics, it sounds like your sons class was combined with the intermediates. Is there any chance of that?

Other then that, I cant think of any way a racer could stay novice with 20 or so wins in class.

Double check that nights moto sheet & see if that rider is an inter, like Greg said maybe the classes were combined. Going to the ABA site & looking at points will also tell you if that rider is novice or inter.


b.

Sounds like a kid bragging without any real substance. It would be very difficult for a Novice to run as a Novice for "20 or so..." wins, although it is possible for someone to reclassify after some time away. Also, Novice classes are fairly well protected and since Rad Canyon has such high moto counts, I can't even imagine Novice and Inter being combined without Inters picking up the Experts first.

How do I check the MOTO sheets now? Can they be viewed online?

I suppose I could ask my son what the childs number was and I can look at the points accrual on ABA...

The ABA is really strict about people racing out of class. A rider is supposed to move up at 8 wins. The computer system they use in registration would automatically put him in INT if he had 8 wins. If the rider kept signing up out of class (after his 8th win), the ABA sends an "out of class" notice and takes away that rider's points and results. After a few warnings, they can/will suspend a rider for 6months. Once a rider turns INT, they can never reclass back to Novice, even if they stop racing for years (My oldest raced when he was 5-6, got his wins to turn INT, then quit. He started racing again at 17 and had to start in INT).

My bet is that the kid was either bragging or counting his moto and maybe practice "wins".

If you know his name, you can check on the points list online at ababmx.com and it will list each rider's class and # of wins (this list lags 2-3 weeks behind).

The real problem is all those 30+ Experts posing as Intermediates............ (sandbaggers)

Looks like the problem is getting solved, i looked up his points and he is listed as an intermediate with wins, yet he raced against my son last night in novice class and won. I addressed the issue with Ron and he will deal with it. Since my son placed second in the race, will he get credit for a first place win since the first place winner was racing out of class? Its disheartening for my son to lose to someone who appears to be knowingly acting dishonestly, not to mention my son's transition from novice to intermediate being delayed by this person's actions.

Still waiting on an answer to my last post. In the mean time, can the track owner/manager disqualify this childs previous out of class win last Thursday? If so, would my son (who came in second place to this child) receive the class win?

I found this in the ABA rulebook.......

20. Any rider knowingly racing out of class shall receive no less than a 3-month suspension.

& this no less than 3 times,

5. It is the rider’s responsibility to move him/herself up when he/she reaches the allotted number of wins.
Riding out of class will result in the forfeiture of points and possible suspension.


Hopefully it was just an honest mistake.

b.

"...not to mention my son's transition from novice to intermediate being delayed by this person's actions."

Just as an FYI, you can move your son up on your own at any point in time, regardless of wins. If you want to move him to intermediate or expert, you can. The wins only mandate when the rider MUST move up by, not when they choose to on their own.

Awesome, thanks so much for your help. Maybe I'm just lazy but that rulebook is a little dry for me to read through in its entirety-haha.

Thanks again.