Dear Members, it is with great sadness that we inform you of a fatality that occurred during a RUSA event this summer.   Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased, as well as her fellow riders and the local randonneuring community.   Sadly, the rider's family has brought a lawsuit against RUSA.  While we have insurance to cover any eventual resolution of the lawsuit, the incident is unfortunately complicating the renewal of our current insurance policy, which expires this Friday 11/30/18 at 11:59pm.

We believe we have a short term solution in place to cover upcoming RUSA brevets, but regrettably that solution does not cover the permanents program.   Without insurance, we can not sanction any permanents after this Friday, and must suspend the program until appropriate insurance can be found.

Specifically: any permanent ride must be completed by 11/30, 11:59pm. (They cannot spill over past midnight into December.)

Many riders are working on R12 and P12 awards and we want to assure you that the temporary suspension of the permanents program will not impact your ability to earn these awards.  We are still working out the specific details but we want you to know we are very aware of how important this program is to everyone.   In some regions RBAs are already offering events, or may be able to calendar a 100K RUSA Populaire and/or 200K RUSA brevet on short notice.  But regardless, members who are unable to attend one of those calendared events for any reason or who live in a region where they are not offered will be given some form of accommodation, which will announce as soon as we can.

We are still hopeful that we will secure a new policy by this Friday that will cover our brevets AND permanents, but out of an abundance of caution we are sending you this notification now.  We will update you again this Friday, and we urge you to check the RUSA website regularly for any immediate updates.

We know that this information may cause consternation and concern from the membership.   While we will do our best to answer questions you might have, we are unable to disclose any specific information about the fatality, the associated lawsuit, etc.    Please know that your board and it's committees are working very hard to find a long term solution and will keep you regularly informed.

Thoughts, comments or concerns?  Reach out to us anytime at board@rusa.org

RUSA is pleased to announce that Debra Banks and John Lee Ellis have been re-elected to serve 3-year terms on the Board of Directors and that Jake Kassen has been re-elected as RBA Liaison for 2019. We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Bruce Herbitter who also stood for election. The election results are as follows:

For Board of Directors:
Debra Banks: 392
John Lee Ellis: 273
Bruce Herbitter: 147

For RBA Liaison:
Jake Kassen: 28

Election of Board of Directors and RBA Liaison take place from October 1st to November 15th. Please visit this year's Election Page to learn about the candidates and vote if you are an active member. Members may vote for Board of Directors candidates and RBAs may vote for their RBA Representative. RUSA sincerely thanks all of those who have stepped up to stand for election this year.

Jim Poppy, our magazine's Advertising Editor for years, will be stepping down, and we are seeking a successor. If you are interested, please contact Janice Chernekoff at editor@rusa.org or for more info on the job, Jim Poppy at advertising@rusa.org.

This is a volunteer position.

Audax Club Parisien has announced that PBP 2019 will start and finish in Rambouillet, rather than in St. Quentin-en-Yvelines, as it has done for the past six editions. This was necessitated by difficulties in making event arrangements for that locale.

We will pass along more information as we have it.

Two positions on the RUSA Board of Directors will become available at the end of the year.  The terms of John Lee Ellis and Debra Banks are expiring.  They are both eligible for re-election.

Members may nominate up to two current RUSA members to run for those two positions.

Additionally, RBAs may nominate an RBA for the position of RBA Liaison. MA: Boston RBA Jake Kassen currently holds this position and is eligible for re-election.

A nomination form can be found on-line here.  

Email nominations to secretary@rusa.org or mail the form to:

Lois Springsteen
226 West Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Nominations must be received by Sept 15, 2018

The ACP has now published details about PBP'19, including start times, qualifying, and pre-registration opportunities based on your longest ACP or RM randonnée in 2018. We've uploaded this document - under "2019 PBP Brochure (english)" to our PBP Wiki, which is full of info about PBP, including bagdrop and other options available to you. So please have a look!

A few members have reported that their copy of the Spring issue of American Randonneur contains duplicate pages in place of some missing ones. We are working with the printer to address this. For any of you whose copy of the magazine has this issue, please let us know by writing to editor@rusa.org. You will be sent a correct copy. We apologize for your inconvenience.

Shab has been volunteer par excellence at 1200k's around the world and brevets in Florida and along the East Coast. Always ready to pitch in and make a difference for every rider, we laud her years of service in what is an essential part of our sport: supportive, skilled, and energetic volunteers. 

Thank you, Shab!