A GUIDE TO 2021 CYCLING BC MEMBERSHIP & LICENCES
Register Early and Save with Early Bird & Family Discounts
- 10% early bird discount will be valid from December 1, 2020, until midnight, January 10, 2021.
- 10% family discount will be applied to families purchasing licences for a minimum of one adult and two children (under 19) who are all living in the same household. This can be combined with the early bird discount.
Cycling BC membership gives you access to:
- Ride Accident & General Liability Insurance: Ride with confidence knowing that you have coverage for any potential injuries sustained while cycling anywhere in North America and that you are protected from financial risk arising from any liability claims during sanctioned events.
- Optional Bike Loss/Damage Insurance: Cycling BC members can qualify for competitive rates on insurance for their most prized possessions – their bikes!
- Clubs: Many of the BC’s cycling clubs affiliate with Cycling BC and require club members to possess a Cycling BC licence to ensure that members have sufficient coverage for any potential risks (see above).
- Events: Cycling BC sanctions and registers hundreds of events each year and these events will often require a Cycling BC licence in order to participate.
- Exclusive Member Discounts and Offers: The list is growing. From nutritional products, fitness testing, accommodations, to yoga, bike gear and racks. Cycling BC has a growing list of community partners that offer exclusive member discounts.
- Development Opportunities for Athletes, Coaches, and Officials: Throughout the year Cycling BC offers training camps, courses, and conferences for members to develop their skills and knowledge in various aspects of cycling.
In addition to these benefits, some memberships also double as a licence which confirms your racing credentials and participation rights as conditionally set forth through international (UCI) and national (Cycling Canada) race categories.
Important Notes about Cycling BC Memberships and Licensing for 2021:
Clarification on Masters Categories and Eligibility
An athlete aged 35 years old must decide whether to select Elite or Master as their UCI category for the entire season. This choice must be made each year at the time of application (UCI rule 1.1.036). The UCI category corresponds to the rider’s choice to race in the Elite or Master category for national and international events*, regardless of age. The choice of Master status shall not be available for riders belonging to a UCI trade team.
A master athlete may not change their UCI category as indicated on their license at any point during the season. However, unless competing in UCI events, our Cycling BC guidelines allow masters racers to choose what category they wish to compete in for all non-UCI events. Therefore, if a masters racer wishes to participate in an ability-based category or the elite category at a provincially sanctioned event, they are permitted to do so.
*If an athlete aged 35 years old or over and wants to race in the Elite category for provincial events, but wants to race Master for national and international events, he/she must take a Master licence and ask the Provincial Association to produce an upgrade letter to participate in provincial events in the Elite category.
New Discipline codes – Gravel and E-Racing
Cycling BC recognizes that individuals are choosing to experience cycling in new ways and this is pushing our sport to evolve in exciting directions. We have added the option to include license codes on memberships for Gravel and E-Racing in order to prepare ourselves for hosting sanctioned competitions in these disciplines.
- If selected, the Gravel category will match your existing Road gender, UCI age and ability category. For 2021, Road category upgrades will also be applied to your Gravel category.
- If selected, the E-Racing category will be comprised of your gender and UCI age category. We will not be assigning ability or FTP-based categories at this time.
Category 5 Added for Road
Category 5 will be reintroduced in the road discipline for 2021 in order to ensure a consistent and basic skill level among new racers. This will provide a more approachable entry-point and safer race experience for new cyclists wishing to try racing for the first time. Our goal is to provide a standardized learn-to-race module for novice racers while relieving pressure on the well-attended category 4 field at many local races.
Members who held a 2020 Category 4 license will remain in that category while all new 2021 race license purchasers will be automatically assigned to Category 5.
Category Upgrades
Racers who wish to upgrade their race category for the 2021 season should submit their upgrade request at the time of licence renewal. The $10 upgrade administration fee that is normally applied will be waived until February 28, 2021.
Note that our category upgrade policy for all disciplines has been updated for 2021. Please read on for details. Further to this, the specific upgrade criteria for the Road discipline has been adjusted, including a new points schedule and upgrade point thresholds. Please visit https://cyclingbc.net
/membership/category-upgrades/ for specific details.
- Category upgrade requests can be made through applications submitted on CCN. Requests made by riders who fulfil the points or experience outlined under the discipline-specific criteria will be reviewed and processed. All other upgrade requests will be reviewed by the upgrade committee. The upgrade committee will consist of the Member and Events Services Manager, the High Performance Manager and the provincial coach in the discipline related to the upgrade request. The committee may request a written letter of support from the riders’ NCCP certified coach and/or the rider undergo an in-person skills assessment.
- In light of the absence of racing in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Cycling BC will consider results obtained during a rolling 24-month period. For example, in the case of a request submitted in January 2021, we will consider all results from 2020 as well as results from 2019.
- Only results acquired during racing with a UCI Race License or Provincial Race License will be considered. Upgrade requests must be submitted through the CCN website. Incomplete upgrade request forms will not be processed.
- Only Cycling BC members in good standing are eligible to upgrade. Suspended members or those with outstanding balances on their account will be denied.
Please go to the Categories & Upgrades page to find the discipline-specific upgrade criteria. If you are unsure whether or not you are eligible for a category upgrade for 2021 please email cory@cyclingbc.net.
Cardless/Paperless Licences
Beginning in 2020, hardcopy licences were no longer issued automatically for Provincial Race and UCI Race licence holders. Members will continue to receive a digital PDF copy of their licence as well as a new electronic format that can be integrated with digital wallet applications such as Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. An option for a printed card licence will be available for a fee.
If you have questions about any of the above, please email membership@cyclingbc.net or call 604-737-3034.