The Association of Mountainbike Team Relays International (AMTRI) has been set up as a division of Granny Gear Productions, Inc. to promote and support efforts to grow the new genre of team relay racing that was started with the Inaugural 24 Hours of Canaan in 1992.
AMTRI provides services to sanctioned events that help create excellent standards of quality and a level of consistency from race to race, encouraging teams to travel around the country and around the world to participate in AMTRI sanctioned 12, 18 and 24 hour team relay competitions.
The race classes, rules and procedures are the same as those used at all GGP's events. Additional classes may be added by the individual promoter, but the classes listed below will always be offered, at a minimum.
For a listing of all of the AMTRI events, go to the AMTRI Calendar.
AMTRI Rules & Regulations
RACE CLASSES
All age classifications are based on the age of each racer as of
December 31st of the current year. The minimum age for racing is 12.
Teams may compete in a class that is higher than their highest caliber
racer (sports may race in the expert class), but teams may not compete
in a class that is lower than their highest caliber racer (experts cannot
race in the sport class). There is no beginner class. These
events are not recommended for entry-level mountain bikers.
All amateur racers race in ability categories (Sport or Expert)
regardless of their age. (No pros or semi-pros are allowed in amateur classes)
Age classes (Junior,
Veteran, Masters or Grand Masters) are open by ability. In
other words, there is no such thing as a "Junior Expert" or "Pro Veteran"
You may race either Expert in the Expert class, Pro in the Pro Class or you may race Junior
or Veteran in the Junior class or Veteran class respectively, regardless of your ability level.
For the purposes of AMTRI races, NORBA "semi-pros" (formerly "elite") are considered pros. No license is required to enter AMTRI Sanctioned events.
{Note: Racing and the sport of mountain biking are about teamwork, comradery and sportsmanship. A big part of sportsmanship is honor. Each racer is on their honor when signing up for a race class. Honor yourself, your team and the sport itself by following the rules and signing up for the class in which you would normally race. Whether you have a NORBA license is irrelevant. If you should race Expert, you know it. Sandbagging is definitely not cool. Enough said. Thanks, -Granny}
4-Person Classes:
•Coed Pro/Am (consisting of 3 men and 1 women, Pro and/or Amateur)
•Men's Expert, Women's Expert
•Men's Sport, Women's Sport
•Men's Veteran (35+), Women's Veteran (35+)
•Men's Masters (45+), Women's Masters (45+)
•Men's Junior (18 and under), Women's Junior (18 and under)
•Clydesdale (200+ lbs. each or team weight of 830+ pounds w/weigh-in
at Registration)
•Rigid/Single (All ages, either sex, Sport, Expert or Pro, bikes
must be single-speed with no suspension of any kind except big fat tires,
padded shorts and/or saddles and strong arms and legs)
5-Person Class:
The 5-Person Open Class must have at least one woman (she may be either
sport or expert) and no more than one expert man. The team may consist
of as many as 5 women. No pro men or women are allowed in the 5-Person
Open class. For the purposes of classification in the 5-person class,
you must compete according to your ability category, regardless of your
age class. That is, if you are a Vet-Expert you must classify yourself
as an Expert.
Duo Class:
The Duo Pro/Expert class may consist of 2 Men or 2 Women or 1 Man and
1 Woman. Participants must have either Pro or Expert Class experience.
Solo Classes:
Men's Solo Pro and Women's Solo Pro: All Solo racer applicants must
be 18 years or older. We do not recommend racing solo without extensive trining and experience racing in ultra-endurance events.
STARTING PROCEDURES
24 Hour Races: Each starting racer must log-in at the Log-in Tent no
later than 5 minutes prior to the start of the race. They will receive
their baton for the first lap when they log-in. Starting racers must
have their bikes pre-positioned in the bike racks provided at the Start/Finish
area. All AMTRI events use a Le-Mans style start, where the racers must
run to their bikes from the starting line.
GENERAL RULES
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Team Captains
Each team will designate a team captain and co-captain. Team captains will represent the team in all official correspondence and communications before, during and after the event. The co-captain may represent the team during the event when the captain is unavailable. Only team captains and co-captains may file protests.
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Pre-race Meeting
The team captain and/or co-captain must attend the pre-race meeting; however, everyone is welcome.
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Team Pit Area
Team's must designate one and only one pit area. Typically, this is at your campsite or housing accommodations. Racers may change or repair any equipment in their Pit Area. Pit areas are not allowed on the course or in the Start/Finish area. However, emergency repairs may be performed in the Start/Finish area; you may even swap entire bikes. In the Start/Finish area or the team's pit area, racers may accept support from anyone. Also, teams may bring as many support people as they would like, but their support is limited to the Start/Finish and the team's pit areas, not on the course.
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Support on the Course
Support on the course may only be supplied by other registered racers. Supporting racers must access the course under their own power (i.e. foot travel or on bike) and that access can only be achieved by following the course in either direction. Short-cutting the course is not allowed (see rule #12). Supporting racers should stay clear of all competing racers. Supporting racers may take any equipment or tools with them; they may even swap bikes with their teammates. Cannibalizing bicycle parts is legal. Support can be provided by any registered racer on any team to any registered racer on any team.
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Water and Food
Water and food may be supplied to any racer, by anyone, anywhere on the course. However, racers must stay well clear of the course when taking food or water. (And please do not throw energy food wrappers on the ground. Remember: Leave No Trace).
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Permitted Course Riders
Only officially registered racers, credentialed media and event staff may ride on the designated race course during the event.
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Team Number Display
Racers must display their race number on the outer most layer of clothing and display the bike handlebar number on the front of their bikes, whenever on course. In the case of a bike swap, racers must swap the bike number to the new bike prior to continuing the race. Race officials may request to see this at any time.
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Drafting
Racers may draft, but they may only draft registered racers. Drafting other vehicles or a non-registered rider is grounds for disqualification.
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Right of Way
Racers riding bicycles have the right of way over racers pushing bicycles. When practical, racers pushing or carrying their bikes should stay on the least rideable portion of the trail when being passed. Racers pushing or carrying their bikes may overtake a racer riding his bike provided that they do not interfere with the riding racer.
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Lapped Racers
Lapped racers should yield to leaders. Leaders should be very vocal when preparing to pass any racer. "PASSING on your LEFT!," "PASSING on your RIGHT!" should be called out. It is the responsibility of the challenging racer to overtake safely. Racers being lapped must yield on the first command.
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Vying for Position
When two racers are vying for position, the leading racer does not necessarily have to yield position to the challenging racer. However, a racer may not bodily interfere, with intent to impede another racer's progress; this is considered to be highly unsportsmanlike behavior (see rule #14).
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Short-cutting
Short-cutting the course by any registered racer shall result in a disqualification of that racer's team.
- Law Abiding
Federal, state and county laws and ordinances will be abided by at all times. At the request of the promoter, before and/or after an event, a racer must agree to submit to urine and/or blood testing for the illicit use of illegal performance-enhancing substances or blood doping. Racers who do not agree to submit to such testing will be disqualified. Any racer found to be using performance-enhancing substances or blood doping will be permanently banned from competing in AMTRI sanctioned events.
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Sportsmanship
Foul riding, use of profane or abusive language and other unsportsmanlike behavior will be taken very seriously. Such behavior by any racer shall subject that racer's team to a warning or immediate disqualification. This will be strictly applied when such behavior is directed at course officials, volunteers or spectators. The penalty imposed is at the discretion of the race director or co-director, should the race director be unavailable.
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Protests
Protests can only be made by team captains or co-captains. Protests will be made in writing and delivered to the race director or co-director any time during the race or after the end of the race, up to 30 minutes after the posting of the final results. Protests should contain any information that supports the protest, including description of the incident, witnesses, names, addresses, phone numbers and signature of protesting team captain. A $50 fee shall be submitted, in cash, with the protest. The race director, after his own discovery, will promptly rule on the protest. The fee will be forfeited to the race director if the protest is denied or refunded if the protest is upheld.
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Final Rulings
The race director has the final say in any ruling, including rulings made by the co-director.
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Quiet Hours
Quiet hours for events conducted at night, will be imposed from midnight Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday. During this time, noise must be kept to a minimum.
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Lighting
Lighting requirements for events conducted at night: During the night ride, racers must have a primary light source with a minimum rated power of 10 watts. In addition, each racer must carry a secondary or backup light source in the form of a penlight, flashlight or other lighting system. (Battery chargers may be plugged in at the neutral charging station, when provided. For your own sake, teams should label their batteries and chargers with the team's name. The neutral charging station is unsecured).
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Lights Burning
Racers entering the course two hours before sunset on Saturday and up to one-half hour before sunrise on Sunday must have both primary and secondary light sources installed and in good working order. Racing with lights out to save batteries or racing with discharged batteries is dangerous and is done so at the riders own risk.
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Log Tent
Racers must log-in and log-out on each lap at the Log Tent located at the Start/Finish Area. The team baton must be passed from the racer logging out to the Registrar, who records the log-out time. The racer logging-out then scans his RFID. Then the racer logging-in scans his RFID prior to receiving the baton from the Registrar. The log-out time of the first racer automatically becomes the log-in time of the next racer logging-in (regardless of whether or not there is a racer ready to log-in). In other words, the clock is ticking the entire time. Helpful Hint: Racers “on-deck” should give their names to the Registrars well in advance to avoid confusion during the baton exchange. (See also RFID Fact sheet for detailed information).
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Consecutive Laps
A racer may ride consecutive laps, but must log-out at the Log Tent after his first lap in order to log-in for his second lap. If a racer is staying in for an additional lap, that racer must log-out from the first lap by passing the baton to the Registrar, scan his RFID, then after the Registrar has recorded his log-out time for his first lap, he will log-in to his consecutive lap by scanning his RFID again and will receive the baton back from the Registrar. If the racer does not do this, only one lap will be counted (not two, bummer!). Solo racers will do this every lap.
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Loss of Baton Penalty and Loss of RFID at RealTime® Races
Loss of the baton will result in a 5-minute time penalty which will be applied to the team's finish time on its last lap and will accrue to the racer finishing that final lap. The Registrar will issue a new baton. The loss of a Radio Frequency Identification card (RFID) does not create a time penalty. However, if a racer does not have a card at the start of his lap, he will be required to retrieve his original card or purchase a new card for $5 from race staff before he can log-in to start his lap. In the event that a racer does not have his RFID at the finish of his lap, a finish time will be recorded on the log sheet and entered manually into the computer with an RFID Error Report Form. That racer will be instructed to purchase a new card for $5 from race staff.
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Verifying the Log Sheet
It is the team's responsibility to verify that each racer is logged-in and logged-out correctly. Please be courteous and patient while verifying information with your Registrar. Registrars and race officials may request to see your race number on your back or your handlebar at any time. Helpful Hint: When the racer "on-deck" receives the baton from the Registrar, they should repeat their team # and name to confirm that the Registrar is logging them in correctly.
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Lap Requirements for Coed Pro/Am
For the Coed Pro/Am teams, there can be no more than two laps difference between the teammate(s) with the least number of laps and the teammate with the most number of laps. A one lap penalty will be applied for each teammate who does not stay within two laps of the teammate with the most laps. (For example, a team that logged 20 laps with 1-5-7-7 laps, would incur a one lap penalty for the teammate with 1 lap, as he or she is more than two laps behind the teammates with seven laps. By the same token, a team that logged 20 laps with 0-4-7-9 laps, would incur a two lap penalty; one for the teammate with 0 laps and one for the teammate with 4 laps, as they are both more than two laps behind the teammate with nine laps).
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Lap Requirements for 5-Person Open
At least one female teammate on a 5-person Open Class team must complete two laps, or a one lap penalty will be applied to the team's finish.
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Canceling a Lap
Once on course, a racer must complete his or her lap. However, the team has the option of canceling a racer's lap and restarting the lap from the Log Tent with a substitute. This is a difficult and costly decision, but if the first racer is unable to complete the lap for any reason, it may be to the team's advantage to cancel that racer's lap. Any team member can cancel a racer's lap by notifying the team's Registrar at the Log Tent and initializing the log sheet next to the canceled lap. If a team cancels a racer's lap and is restarting with a new racer, a new baton will be issued without penalty. The new racer inherits the log-in time of the canceled racer's lap. Once a cancellation has been made, it cannot be rescinded. The canceled lap does not count as a completed lap.
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Substituting a Rider
To substitute a rider, the new rider must fill out an Accident Waiver, complete with team name and original signature, and deliver it to Granny Gear no later than the end of the last day of Registration. You may either mail the Accident Waiver to the address on the form, by the date specified or you may turn it in at Race Registration. Changes made after the date specified on the Accident Waiver will incur a $10 late fee. Any changes or late waiver submissions received during the week prior to the race, regardless of postmark, will be $20 each. No rider substitutions will be accepted after Registration closes. No changes or substitutions will be made after the close of Registration on Friday and there will be no Registration on race day.
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The Finish
Most 24 hour races start and end at 12 noon. (12 or 18 hour race promoters may set their own start and finish times.) Racers must log-off the course from 12 noon on. Each team's final placing will be determined by the number of laps the team has completed and the sequential order of finish within the team's last lap. For example, a team that has completed 22 laps with a finish time of 12:31 p.m. would beat a team that completed 22 laps, with a finish time of 12:47 p.m. And, of course, a team that completed 23 laps, with a finish time of 1 p.m., would beat them both. If a racer logs-out just before 12 noon and no other team member logs-in before 12:05 p.m., then no finish time can be recorded and the team will be listed as DNF (did not finish).
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Catastrophic Failure
In the case of catastrophic failure due to weather or another extenuating circumstance that prevents the ongoing scoring of the event or creates a racing environment that is deemed too dangerous for the participants, the race director may call the race as of a certain time. Final results will be calculated based on each team's placement at the call time as determined by that team's last completed lap. This rule is intended to be exercised as a last resort, in the most dire situations, when no other means is available to continue scoring the event or when the potential for serious harm or loss of life becomes imminent.
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EMS Ghost Rider
In the event that a racer stops to assist in the care of a seriously injured fellow racer which requires an EMS response, Ghost Rider procedures will be implemented. The EMS personnel will radio to the Log Tent the name and number of the assisting racer. Race staff will then inform the team of the assisting racer to prepare the next rider on their team. That rider will be allowed to start his lap based on the assisting racer’s “ghost rider” lap time which will be based on the fastest of either the assisting riders average lap time or the team’s average lap time.
Questions or Comments?
We'd be delighted to hear from you.
Call us at (304)259-5533 or e-mail: heygranny@grannygear.com