Here's some more numbers!
I feel that prior to any discussion of changes to division structure or rules, we need to understand what is going on at the national events (Road numbers coming later in the week).
Below is a breakdown of the attendance at the MTB Nationals in Snowshoe, WV in October. Attendance is controlled by USAC's qualification rules which provide for top teams and individuals to qualify out of their conference (conference placing affects size of roster at nationals events).
The current rules allow for teams to bring up to 10 men and 10 women (up from 8 in 2014). At the time, I argued against this increase because I feel it inappropriately favors the well-financed teams. As you can see from the counts below, no teams brought the maximum number of riders and only 13 out of 77 brought more than half that (6+ men or 6+ women or 11+ combined).
Some highlights:
- Division 1 men's endurance races continue to have the largest fields (arguably too big)
- Division 2 men's fields are small in all disciplines
- Women's fields are lower than men's but reasonably sized and fairly balanced across the divisions
- size of roster drives overall result
======= Team Participation Metrics =======
12 of 41 Division 1 teams fielded a team relay
9 of 36 Division 2 teams fielded a team relay
20 teams fielded at least 1 rider in 4 of the 8 individual events. Only 13 (of 77) teams fielded 1 or more riders in all 8 of the individual events.
Only 5 teams fielded the full contingent of "scoring riders"--3 riders in every individual event. (KING UNIVERSITY (D2), WARREN WILSON COLLEGE (D2), BREVARD COLLEGE (D1), FORT LEWIS COLLEGE (D1), UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT (D1) )
======= Individual Participation by Event =======
Division 2:
Men Dual Slalom: 27
Men Downhill: 33
Men Cross Country: 46
Men Short Track Cross Country: 44
Women Dual Slalom: 19
Women Downhill: 16
Women Cross Country: 25
Women Short Track Cross Country: 25
Division 1:
Men Dual Slalom: 61
Men Downhill: 67
Men Short Track Cross Country: 84
Men Cross Country: 88
Women Dual Slalom: 30
Women Downhill: 24
Women Short Track Cross Country: 39
Women Cross Country: 38
======= "Big" Teams: Men or Women > 5 or Team > 10 =======
MARIAN UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 19] [Division 1] [VARSITY]
FORT LEWIS COLLEGE: [Roster = 17] [Division 1] [VARSITY]
LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE: [Roster = 15] [Division 1] [VARSITY]
COLORADO MESA UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 14] [Division 1] [VARSITY]
UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT: [Roster = 14] [Division 1]
BREVARD COLLEGE: [Roster = 13] [Division 1] [VARSITY]
WESTERN STATE COLORADO UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 12] [Division 2] [VARSITY]
LEES-MCRAE COLLEGE: [Roster = 11] [Division 1] [VARSITY]
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER: [Roster = 10] [Division 1]
WARREN WILSON COLLEGE: [Roster = 10] [Division 2] [VARSITY]
LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 9] [Division 1] [VARSITY]
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 9] [Division 1]
APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 7] [Division 1]
Note: The biggest teams on this list also dominated the top spots in the omnium results. The top 5 Division 1 teams were: FLC, Brevard, Marian, Lees-McRae, Lindsey Wilson. (full team rankings here)
======= Varsity Teams =======
Division 1:
MARIAN UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 19] [Division 1]
FORT LEWIS COLLEGE: [Roster = 17] [Division 1]
LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE: [Roster = 15] [Division 1]
COLORADO MESA UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 14] [Division 1]
BREVARD COLLEGE: [Roster = 13] [Division 1]
LEES-MCRAE COLLEGE: [Roster = 11] [Division 1]
LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 9] [Division 1]
MIDWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 3] [Division 1]
Division 2:
WESTERN STATE COLORADO UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 12]
WARREN WILSON COLLEGE: [Roster = 10]
KING UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 7]
UNION COLLEGE-KY: [Roster = 5]
MARS HILL UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 4]
MILLIGAN COLLEGE: [Roster = 4]
RIPON COLLEGE: [Roster = 2]
ADAMS STATE UNIVERSITY: [Roster = 1]
PRESCOTT COLLEGE: [Roster = 1]
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