An over zealous judge at Hyvee

Triathlon Forum
1

I’m posting this because I believe this judge went over board with this:

Barbara Riveros was disqualified before the race started (Hy-vee). Why? Because her helmet didn´t have the sticker required by USA Triathlon….

The problem started when they let her in to the bike park with the same helmet she has already used in her races in the US and minutes before the race started the judge (Charlie Crawford) told her she could not race and left her without a chance to get an authorized helmet. The same happened to Melissa Hauschidlt, who instead was allowed to get a new helmet.

Time Line:
6:30am Barbara arrives to the bike park where a judge checks her equipment and helmet and lets her in.

Barbara has used this helmet in San Anthony 51.50, IM 70.3 Berlin y IM 70.3 Racine USA. It was sent by her sponsor, Specialized whom had it certified.

7:30am Melissa Hauschildt has an issue with the sticker on her helmet and is given 20minutes to get a helmet. She goes to the Specialized truck and gets one.

8:00am Barbara gets in the water to start her warm up.

8:20am Charlie Crawford calls her and tells her she cannot race. Barbara explains that she has raced in the US with this helmet and that her sponsor Specialized has certified it. Mr. Crawford does not want to hear her. Another judge intervenes and tells Mr. Crawford to let her race, he (Mr. Crawford) does not agree with him. The Specialized truck is 80meters away (250 feet)

8:25am Mr. Crawford gets a pen and crosses out Barbara’s number on her arm. He threatens her, that if she gets in the water she will be banned from racing in the US for 1 year.

This judge has acted in an over zealous and completely inflexible manner causing an repairable damage to a triathlete like Barbara Riveros who has show she is professional and respectful of all rules and regulations.

http://www.trichile.cl/sites/default/files/images/Imagen_Un_Stiker_dejo_fuera_a_Barbara_de_Hy_Vee.jpg
Barbara’s helmet on the left with a yellow sticker that says the same as the blue sticker which Mr. Crawford required.

Triathlon judges should be focusing on important stuff not the color of a sticker…and am not going to get into how aggressive and rude he was, that’s another story.

2

The swim warm up and start was on the other side of the lake from the transition area. Did he give her a chance to get a new helmet and she blew him off and went to the swim start? Did she outright refuse or was she belligerant? Something doesn’t make sense. Can you clarify??

3

The judge did not give her a chance to get a another helmet. She did not blow him off, it was the judge that was rude and belligerant…

4

Officials in general are powertripping assholes. Goes with the territory.

5

This helmet thing is getting beyond absurd. Especially for the pros.

6

I’m curious to hear the other side of this story.

7

I was wondering what happened. About 30 minutes before the pro men start I heard her get called and then when the race started she was not on intro’d and not on the line. This is a little shameful.

8

They’d have to hold me back from not getting in the water, steal my bike and/or running shoes not to race because some uptight official is an asshat. Official, SHOW YOURSELF

9

Beyond shameful. The pros should have everything checked at check in not 30 mins before the race. Hell even itu manages to do this for all the age groupers for worlds. You can’t get into transition without getting you helmet checked and them verifying you actually have the strap on tight. What drives me nuts with this whole helmet obsession is you can have the right sticker but I can still wear it so it so loose that it would fly off my head in a wreck. But somehow the sticker is the most important thing

10

http://www.trichile.cl/sites/default/files/images/Imagen_Un_Stiker_dejo_fuera_a_Barbara_de_Hy_Vee.jpg
Barbara’s helmet on the left with a yellow sticker that says the same as the blue sticker which Mr. Crawford required.

It seems like it actually should have been the opposite according to the rules. I zoomed in and it appears the yellow sticker says CPSC on the right side.

http://www.hy-veetriathlon.com/athlete-information/Rules.aspx

. Helmets:
Only helmets approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may be used in USAT-sanctioned events. Helmets must be worn at all times while on your bike. This means before, during, and after the event.
***Penalty: ***Disqualification
{/QUOTE}

11

First, let me say that I think the sticker rule is absolutely absurd. But if she knew about it well before the race start, she should made sure hers would work.

I raced in the elite amateur part of the race, and Charlie specifically told all of us to make sure our helmets had a CPSC sticker. They were going to check for them. I’m guessing (but don’t know for certain) that he told the pros the same thing at their pre race meeting.

After checking my helmet when getting back to the hotel, the sticker had apparently fallen off. So, I went to Sports Authority and got a couple of $40 helmets just to make sure I could at least start the race. Thankfully, somebody on ST let me borrow their helmet. It was huge for me and a very sloppy fit, but it had the sticker. My RP helmet would have protected me better in case of a crash but it was a matter of adhering to the rules for the day.

12

Its even stupider than that. If you would have just taken the sticker off the 40 dollar helmet and taped it on it would have passed. I have the ones on my helmets taped on specifically so that doesn’t happen.

13

I actually planned to do that, but the stickers I found said Bell and mine was an RP.

14

does Charlie Crawford have a Strava account by chance?

15

I just had a look at all my helmets:

2013 Scott Split: No sticker
2011 Specialized TT03: No sticker
2007 Specialized s-works D2: no sticker

Is this because they are bought in EU?

16

I raced at Hy Vee (Pro Race) and heard her named being called out just minutes before the start. I didn’t know what was going on at the time however caught up with Barbara after the race and she told the same story as in the first post. Pretty disappointing to hear especially after she used the helmet in other races within the USA and also was told that her helmet was approved when she went into transition that morning.

17

I raced at Hy Vee (Pro Race) and heard her named being called out just minutes before the start. I didn’t know what was going on at the time however caught up with Barbara after the race and she told the same story as in the first post. Pretty disappointing to hear especially after she used the helmet in other races within the USA and also was told that he helmet was approved when she went into transition that morning.

HUH? Now that is even more F-ed up!

I remember trying to race 2011 Rev3 Knoxville and my helmet (EU sourced Catlike Whisper Plus) was not allowed because it didn’t have the right sticker. Thankfully I had brought my Giro A2 along. Didn’t want to wear the Giro because is was hot as hell but ended up with no choice. Got home, bought a $25 helmet at WalMart and glued the sticker in the Catlike.

18

There’s 3 sides to every story. There’s your side. There’s my side, & then there’s the truth…

Did I just travel back into time to the late '80s/early '90s when helmet issues centered aroun people taking the nlyon/lyrca netting off their styrofoam helmets? It’s the 21st centruy & we’re still dealing with what constitutes a legal helmet? Sigh…

At the surface (& without ALL the details & based on one person’s interpretation of the situation), it appears all parties erred. It’s the athlete’s responsibility to abide by the rules, especially if it one’s livelyhood. Doesn’t matter about previous US races (& how many were USAT sanctioned with USAT officials?). What’s her sponsor doing allowing her to use a non-approved helmet in the first place? Disappointing that the officials didn’t just find an approved helmet for the athlete to use.

For those of you “gaming” the rules & gluing stickers onto non-approved helmets, I pity you should you crash at a USAT sanctioned event. I hope your personal insurance is understanding that you knowingly violated a safety rule. At least the lawyers will be making $$$$.

19

The helmet rule isn’t for your personal insurance, its for USAT’s insurance. Your insurance isn’t going to care what type of helmet you are using or if you are using one if you end up in the ER.

20

What, if any, is the difference between EU and CPSC “certification” standards? just curious, I find it hard to believe that there is any significant difference in the requirements.

The hit and miss enforcement is a bunch of crap too.