2025 Category Placements

Category placements for the 2025 season are posted below. Please note that placement criteria have, in some cases, changed. All category placements are fixed and may only be changed pending an approved petition. Category placements are posted only for returning high school and middle school riders. This means that all new middle school riders and new high school riders (anyone who has not raced in a high school category before) will not have category placements. Please see the rules for default placement.

MANDATORY VS PERMISSIVE PLACEMENTS

Mandatory Placement - means a rider is placed in a specific category and any change to category requires an

approved petition based on extenuating circumstances.

Permissive Placement - means a rider is placed in a specific category but can move up a category with a simple request to the League Director.

For all category placement-related questions not answered on this page please review the 2025 RULEBOOK. If you have any questions about category placement not answered here or in the rulebook please contact brandon@socalyouthcycling.org.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Middle School Defined

“Middle School” applies to Riders in 6th, 7th and 8th grade in the Spring of 2025. 6th graders in “elementary school” may participate in middle school programming. 9th graders in a “middle school” or “junior high school” may participate in high school programming.

Middle School Categories

• Girls Level 1 grades 6-8, Level 2 grades 6-8, and Level 3 grades 7/8

• Boys Level 1 grade 6, Level 1 grade 7, Level 1 grade 8, Level 2 grades 6/7, Level 2 grade 8, and Level 3 grades 7/8

Middle School Placement

• New Racers race in the Level 1 category available to their grade.

• Returning Racers race in the category shown on the Category Placement chart.

• If you want to calculate your placement, simply calculate your percentages in each 2024 race by dividing your place by the total number of Riders listed in the field and compare your results to the returning Rider placement criteria below.

• Any movement between categories requires an approved petition.

• Middle school rider placement flow chart below:

2025 Middle School Category Placements

Petitions must be received before registration closes for a given race (Tuesday night ahead of race weekend at 11:59 PM) in order to be guaranteed action. Petitions received after that deadline may not be acted upon before the race. There are NO petitions for category changes accepted at a race.

HIGH SCHOOL

High School Defined

“High School” applies to Riders in grades 9-12 in the Spring of 2025. 9th graders in a “middle school” or “junior high school” compete in the freshman category at the high school level.

High School Categories

  • Girls Freshman, JV1, JV2, and Varsity

  • Boys Freshman, JV1, JV2, and Varsity

High School Placement

• New Riders (inluding returing 8th graders) in 9th grade race Freshman

• New Riders in grades 10-12 race JV1

• Returning Riders race in the category shown on the Category Placement chart (to be posted prior to the season). If you want to calculate your placement, simply calculate your percentages in each 2024 race by dividing your place by the total number of Riders listed in the field and compare your results to the returning Rider placement criteria below.

• Any movement between categories requires an approved petition.

• High school rider placement flow chart below:

2025 High School Category Placements

Petitions must be received before registration closes for a given race (Tuesday night ahead of race weekend at 11:59 PM) in order to be guaranteed action. Petitions received after that deadline may not be acted upon before the race. There are NO petitions for category changes accepted at a race.