Am I missing something on the Guarantee being offered? If I buy my license today, and I don’t race at all in 2021, my license is then extended to June 2022.
So…assuming this year doesn’t happen, but 2022 is a go, I then still have to buy a 2022 license to finish out the year. In essence, if I buy a license this year and don’t use it, I still have to buy a 2nd license next year. So how does this really help me as I am still buying two licenses over 2 years?
I think it comes down to the $50 base license. Even if you don’t race in 2021 you would still have to purchase a 2022 base license, but your 2021 race license would defer to 2022.
If i get a race license now, don’t end up racing this year, and if I race in June and August of 2022, I will have had to have purchased two race licenses. So where is the “Don’t use it, you won’t lose it” part come in? There is zero incentive to buy a license right now as it offers no real protection for not using it as I still need to buy one next year. Had the rollover license been good until say Sept/October that would have been entirely different.
It doesn’t help you, it’s just a thinly veiled attempt by USAC to move revenue up 6 months to stay afloat.
Buy a license when you are going to race. It lasts 12 months from when you purchase.
edit: apparently its the membership that is rolling 12 month but licenses are calendar year. Still doesn’t help you at all.
Pretty sure usac licenses are per calendar year and not rolling 12 months.
It’s kind of hidden but USAC memberships are rolling 12 months. Pro and UCI are calendar year.
(edit: trying to find the exact verbiage because its inconsistent across the website)
Wonder if that changed this year. My license is listed as expired on 12/31/20. I definitely did not purchase it until late January or February 2020 and I am not on auto-renewal. I looked at all my old paper licenses and non have an expiration date, just the year.
Yeah it’s very confusing. The upsell definitely says “rolling 12 month” and says it renews on the date of purchase but I honestly have no idea if that is correct.
I think memberships and licenses must be treated differently. No wonder everyone complains about usac. 
Yeah it looks like the memberships are rolling but the licenses are calendar year? 
Either way, USAC is getting zero dollars of my money until there is a real event. If I wanted to donate to charity, I’d give it to an actual well run charity instead of a badly run governing body.
This.
You’ve probably read/heard the USAC auto renewal premium member add on (additional $50) but, if not beware. Not sure if this will affect those not on auto renewal but, lesson learned about auto renewal for me.
This - They’re trying to play cheeky with the auto renew, and finding ways to get a couple more pennies to stay afloat.
Just like when they started charging cat 1 mtb riders extra license fees for doping controls…
it seemed really odd to me as well. hard pass!
USAC hit me with a $100 auto-renew this year, which apparently included a “Premium Upgrade” to my membership. Luckily, I was able to get it refunded with relatively little drama, but I don’t remember being signed up for it in the first place.
I’m fairly certain I won’t be racing any USAC sanctioned events this year, possibly ever, as I’ve transitioned to gravel and hope they keep their noses out of it.
afaik premium upgrade is just cat 4+ - they reduced the cost of entry for novice (AKA cat 5) and split the license cost so it’s $50 / $50 + $50 (rather than $100)
My Pro license costs hardly more than a year of TR, but my race license holds WAY more value.
I would cancel TR long before I stressed about my license during a very unusual era of our lives.
Well if a Pro license has to be maintained every year, then yes, obviously you shouldn’t let it expire.
But if all of the USAC races get cancelled, I’m not going to bother giving them an extra hundred dollars out of the kindness of my heart that I would have spent on my self-upgraded Cat1 MTB license I can re-acquire whenever I feel like.
I’d rather give the money to my local NICA group, a bike upcycling shop, or the kid that lives down the street that needs a new cassette.
If I wanted to set money on fire for little to no value, I’d buy firewood.
