Controversial proposals to change the structure of Australian cycling have created a major rift in Tasmania.
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Administrative colleagues have suddenly found themselves at loggerheads over a saga which looks likely to have long-term ramifications for the sport here.
The fallout from a proposal to unite the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike and BMX has left divisions at state and national level.
"The sad thing is, it has pitted state against state, club against club and member against member," Cycling Tasmania executive officer Collin Burns said.
"All the states used to get on well, share information and collaborate and now that's all broken down."
The SportAus-backed plan seeks to dissolve the state bodies and unite the disciplines into one national entity called AusCycling.
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While most involved agree there are benefits - not least the introduction of a single cycling licence across all disciplines - some believe the move is money motivated and fear it could weaken the sport at grass-roots levels.
The proposed model requires the endorsement of six out of eight state bodies.
Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Northern Territory voted yes while on Monday Tasmania joined NSW and Western Australia in voting no. ACT is yet to vote.
However, as fears are aired that cyclists from dissenting states may lose federal government funding or be barred from national titles, the process by which Tasmania's vote was reached has been questioned.
Cycling Tasmania decided that a vote would be sought on the proposal from all 14 member clubs. Five duly voted in favour of the proposal, and nine against.
But Launceston City Cycling Club president Michael Bailey said he thought the question Cycling Tasmania put to its clubs was "swayed".
He said LCCC put the vote out to its 100-plus riders with 86 per cent in favour of the AusCycling move.
However, Bailey thought it was unrepresentative that the club's vote counted the same as others which either had not canvassed members or had no active riders.
He said that LCCC, Northern Vets, Hobart Wheelers and City of Burnie all voted yes and between them represented two-thirds of the state's cyclists.
"We represent the cyclists of Tasmania and it was evident to me that the majority wanted this. I don't think their wishes have been listened to by the state's cycling federation," Bailey said.
"They have followed the process to the letter but I feel ethically it is the wrong way to go.
"From my perspective, it's a disappointing outcome. It's disappointing that the future of cycling in Australia has been decided by a handful of carnivals promoters in Tasmania.
"I fear an upswell of discontent among cyclists towards the federation in the state and I think that's incredibly disappointing for the sport."
Burns said he felt Cycling Tasmania member clubs had come to a decision in a democratic process and he hoped national cycling chiefs could form a transitional structure to achieve the benefits of AusCycling.
"This would be a leap of faith and states just want to have an insurance policy," he said.
"Our system here is not broken. We keep producing athletes, races and events of national and international standard.
"The Enduro World Series, the National Junior Track Series, the Tour of Tasmania, the Stan Siejka Classic ... what more could we do on a staff of 1.3 FTEs (full time equivalents) and our wonderful group of engaged volunteers?
"No other state wanted the Oceania Road Championships, neither did New Zealand, but we took it on."
Despite five of the eight state bodies likely to be voting no, the saga is not over as 16 NSW clubs have challenged the state's response.
Cycling Australia has issued several press releases on the subject including an open letter on November 8 endorsing the AusCycling proposal signed by numerous high-profile cycling figures including Aussie greats Robbie McEwen and Anna Meares plus Launceston's National Road Series regular Tom Robinson, Hobart's Rio Olympian Scott Bowden, Tasmanian team founder Andrew Christie-Johnston and Blue Derby trail designer Glen Jacobs.
Four days later another CA press release also took issue with Cycling Tasmania's voting process.
It said: "Cycling Tasmania has invited its affiliated clubs to vote on a compulsory question about whether they support the formal AusCycling proposal, but also an optional question about an alternate model that is not being considered. This can only serve to confuse its clubs and members."
The AusCycling proposal requires 75 per cent support of road, mountain biking and BMX and will proceed if two of those disciplines' national sporting bodies support it.
Meanwhile the AusCycling website states that: "SportAus has communicated its position that it only intends to recognise and fund one cycling entity, AusCycling, from 1st January 2020, rather than continuing to fund multiple bodies."
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