Multi-Sport Promotions, the organizer behind the 2006 Canadian National Cyclo-cross championships in Nanaimo, British Columbia, has withdrawn its bid to host the 2007 championships. The company cited, "growing and mounting challenges in communication with the Canadian Cycling Association (CCA), constant delays in 2006, and continuing delays in 2007," as the motivation behind the withdrawal.
Multi-Sport Promotions sent the CCA a letter following the 2006 event outlining concerns such as hidden costs, a lack of communication leading up to the event, and delays in receiving communications from the CCA, a pre-defined, non-user-friendly registration process, and increased costs for officials due to a doubling in its numbers from three to six.
Organizers withdrew the bid after being frustrated with three and a half months with no response from the CCA. The event lost money last year due to what Multi-Sport Promotions called: "costs and fees that were never outlined or communicated."
Spokesperson and race director Normon Thibault said in a statement to the press that the company was originally told it would also host the 2007 championships, but was later told that decision was subject to review. "It is now 17 months after the 2007 bids had to be submitted, we are still waiting to hear who is hosting this event. How are we supposed to get sponsors for our event when most companies' budgets have already been done months ago? We had a title sponsor lined up for the national championships to help keep the event in the black and the entry fees reasonable but the CCA is still dragging their heals on this so they have put their money elsewhere…out of the sport of cycling."
Thibault summarized his thoughts on the withdrawal, saying: "We simply cannot host an event in such an unprofessional administrative environment. We were proud to host in 2006 and would have loved to do so again but no business model can survive in the context of lack of communication between partners, undisclosed fees and ongoing uncertainty. This is an incredibly unfortunate, upsetting situation we are being forced into and we think it is the riders that will ultimately continue to suffer."
Multi-Sport Promotions will continue to host the Vancouver Island Cyclo-cross Series which ran in 2006 for the first time.
