[NCNCA] COG joins FIAC

[Les Earnest]

The Federation of Independent Associations for Cycling (FIAC) now has an 
East Coast affiliate, namely the Cycling Organizers Group (COG) based in 
Athens, Georgia. Gene Dixon has joined the FIAC board of directors as 
COG representative.

COG will oversee two main sets of events, namely a series of 12 two day 
races in Georgia called the Georgia Cup <http://www.georgiacup.com> and 
USA CRITS <http://www.usacrits.com>. COG also will do other events 
including challenge rides, training races and several MTB races 
throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida as 
grass roots racing promotional partners.

Other regional racing organizations may be interested in joining FIAC so 
as to reduce their insurance and licensing costs and to have greater 
freedom in managing their racing programs without turning most of their 
income over to USA Cycling and getting little in return.

FIAC has focused on grass roots cycling, mostly in the Western and 
Central sections of the U.S., since 1999 when USA Cycling illegally 
removed the voting rights of its members so as to consolidate control of 
that "charitable nonprofit corporation" by commercial interests. To 
learn more about FIAC see http://fiac.us and contact me or any of the 
directors listed there.

	-Les Earnest, FIAC executive director