RUSA's Mondial award, and later the Galaxy award were conceived as a way to acknowledge members who had completed what at the time might have been considered a lifetime's worth of cumulative event distances.

In our organization's early years there were fewer regions offering fewer events, thus accumulating the kilometers equaling the Earth's circumference, and even further, accumulating 100,000 kilometers, was more challenging, because riders lacked opportunities.  With many more regions offering far more events, coupled with the increasingly popular Permanent program, members are reaching those 'lifetime' totals in far greater numbers and much more quickly.

With the awards' cost being subsidized by RUSA, they have grown to be a much larger part of RUSA's annual budget. Alas, the time has come for these two awards, the Mondial and the Galaxy, to be in line with the other awards offered by RUSA, and have them pay for themselves, which will allow the RUSA store to be self-sustaining. Going forward, RUSA members will still automatically be recognized when they reach these milestones and may then purchase the award through the RUSA Store.