The NCNCA Officials Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the Officials of the Year for 2022. For the first time, nominations were accepted from the entire NCNCA community. Many thanks to those who took the time to honor the hard-working officials in the district who work hard to make sure races are safe and fair.
Remember that the 2023 NCNCA Official of the Year is now OPEN for nominations until Friday, December 22, 2023.
CLICK here to Nominate for 2023 NCNCA Official of the Year!
2022 Official of the Year (4+ years): Carlos Soto
What was said about Carlos: Every race that I worked with Carlos he was supportive of his crew, worked hard to keep morale up and keep us focused on the races and what was coming next. He made sure we were eating (always tough to fit in at a long day of crits) and checked in with me frequently the first time I assistant refereed a race. Carlos is always in good cheer, he cracks jokes with the riders, he remembers things about individuals and he always shows up. I just love his catch phrase “is that understood?” Carlos has a stellar rapport with the five year olds all the way to the 65 year olds.
2022 Motor Official of the Year: Ken Kimari
What was said about Ken: Ken always goes above and beyond, whether he’s working camera or moto or something else. He takes the opportunity to check in with folks and clearly communicates expectations about communication practices, how the motos can help the judges, and more. He’s supportive and offers feedback politely and respectfully, and always
takes the opportunity to help other people on the crew. Rider safety and rule adherence are also something he pays a lot of attention to. I’d work with Ken on a crew any day. Ken encouraged me and told me not to worry, this is a team effort and I was in good hands with the team. He was right!
2022 New Official (1-3 years): Karanbir Dhillon
What was said about Karanbir: I would like to nominate Karanbir Dhillon because he saw a need for officials and he really wanted to participate in the cycling community to make it better for his son. Karanbir went out of his way to learn how to officiate, is prepared for many different situations and has a desire to keep learning and teaching others in his community. Even though, he just started officiating last year he has already helped me in my officiating experience in 2023 and he’s very professional in his demeanor. As an official rookie as of Feb. 2023, I got to meet other officials during the officials Annual meeting and everyone was very welcoming. I’m nominating Karanbir Dhillon for the new official of the Year. My first race as an assistant judge, Karanbir made the entire experience very relax and calm (I was pretty nervous). We worked together during the scoring, including me on questions during the race, giving me tips and sharing his previous year experiences, basically he made me feel part of the gang. The entire official crew made me feel part of the old new gang.
Interested in becoming a USA Cycling Official, there will training in January 2023 with four Zoom lessons or In-Person Training.
The NCNCA Officials Committee: Eve Ben-Ora , Jim Dosenbach, Cathleen Fives, Ryan Fu, Mike Hardaway, Ken Kimari, Matt Martinez, Shawn Mehaffey, Carlos Soto.