We want to protect our riders!

Safety first! ... Sandbaggers jeopardize the safety of all other class participants!!!

Also, in the summer of 2003 many "C" class riders attempting to qualify for the Air Nautiques AMA Amateur National Championships at Loretta Lynn's were forced into the "B" classification with the AMA.  For some this was not fair, as the decisions were based on the length of "time" they had been racing, rather than their skill level.  Riders were not legal for the "C" class if they had raced prior to the preceding season.  T.A.P.S. has cleaned that up over the past few years.  Riders are not blind sided with a DQ after qualifying for the big national.  They know where they stand, prior to the qualifiers.

Pro/Expert, A, B, C, D are skill levels!

BIG issue in motocross all over the country:  Rider skill levels and sandbagging .... This has been talked about for years .... thousands of times in the TX motocross community, not just between the riders who feel cheated, but the promoters as well.  

Q. How do we stop the sandbagging and get rid of the cherry pickers???
A. We enforce a structured advancement system based on "performance"! 
...straight across the board for all skill levels.

The Rules Of Competition and the guidelines set for T.A.P.S. are intended to provide for "uniform", "fair" and "safe" competition at all meets.  In order to promote such, it is the responsibility of the promoters to place riders where they are most competitive.  In order to do this we have agreed that there is a need to grade riders based on their performance ... not how long they have been riding / racing.  

Although the AMA did not impose this system on Texas, all AMA tracks and promoters in TX will use and enforce this system at all events ... not just AMA sanctioned.  Several items are looked at in determining the tracks / promoters that will host an AMA National qualifier / regional, etc ... one being participation in the T.A.P.S. program.  

Many other tracks and promoters in North and South Texas are participating as they have agreed to support and enforce the Texas Advancement Point System (T.A.P.S.) ... we all do this to promote and protect the integrity of the sport of motocross in Texas.  The decisions made now and how we conduct ourselves will have a tremendous impact on the continued growth of this sport.

We want to protect our riders!  We want you to know that we are constantly working to protect you from the sandbaggers and from being advanced prematurely to the next higher classification.

T.A.P.S. ...over time, will only get better!

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