Senior Project Update

          Currently, my senior project is still going pretty well. In my attempt to create a cycling club at Vintage High School I have been working very hard with my mentor to create a working and specific club constitution. This constitution outlines pretty much everything the club stands for, what we are supposed to do, be doing, the responsibilities of our club members, riding schedules, commitment, etc.. The constitution essentially covers everything that we have thought of in the past eight months, and the reason I have taken this task so seriously in regards to the club is because I know that without a functioning constitution, it will be impossible to start a club at another school. I know by experience, that the creation of a club will be much smoother at Vintage because they can copy our constitution.
          Liability. Liability. Liability. If someone gets hurt, who get's sued? Who pays for it? We are riding the Napa County Office of Education's bikes, and they have an administrator with us, so they have liability. We have two consent forms that must be signed, but that is not good enough now. The grant the NCOE used to pay for the administrator and bikes runs out in December, so they have to do something with the bikes. I want them to donate the bikes to our school, but the NVUSD does not want ANYTHING to do with the club's liability.
          So we have a plan. We want to essentially secede from NVUSD. Sort of. We want to become a USA Cycling club, because we can then by health insurance for the club at little cost. But, we still need coaches and liability waivers and bikes (since the bikes we are using will be taken back in December). The Eagle Cycling Club is the main promoter of cycling in Napa Valley, they sponsor events such as the Tour of Napa Valley, road, and mountain bike races. We have been fortunate enough to have been in contact with them, and they have been our main sponsor as far as equipment and jerseys go. We want to become a junior development branch of their club, fully sponsored by them, and completely separated from NVUSD, with the only exception that the club is based out of Napa High School, with a user agreement that the bikes can be kept on campus.
         In other words, my cycling club and my senior project as a whole are now based on how well my club can present our situation to the members of the Eagle Cycling Club, and will only really continue if they say yes. A little stressful, yes, but I really believe the Eagle members will be happy to welcome a junior branch to sponsor the next generation of cyclists in Napa Valley.