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Minor Consent Form
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So- your son or daughter, aged 4 to 17, wants to race in an AMA sanctioned motorcycle event- great! As you might guess, you are entering a new world with lingo, concepts and many new things to learn. This article is designed to make you familiar with the process of the AMA Minor Releases.
In any AMA event, anywhere in the US, and in any discipline, if the rider is under the age of majority, which in California is 18, that rider cannot enter any AMA race all by him/herself, there must be parental involvement in the signup process.
There are 2 parts to a minor riding an AMA event. First, they cannot even sign up at an AMA event without having either a parent or a legal guardian actually physically present at Sign-up. Second, there are 2 varieties of Minor Releases. The rider must possess one or the other.
A minor racer buys a Data Card at the gate and then selects the classes they want to ride in. They fill out the Data Card which must also be signed by either one parent or a legal guardian who possesses a Power of Attorney from either parent, authorizing that guardian to act as the agent for the parent.
When a minor signs up, they have to either present a current valid AMA Annual Release and Waiver card (which we'll describe in a moment) or they and their parent(s) must fill out a Minor Release form. One or the other MUST be provided or the signup crew cannot sign the rider up.
Unlike the notarized Power of Attorney form, the Minor Release form MUST be signed by both parents with only two exceptions- if the other parent is deceased or the parent who is present has sole court-approved legal custody, then that parent can sign the Minor Release form without the other parent's signature. These are the only exceptions the AMA will allow us- if the other parent has skipped town and hasn't been seen for years, but you don't know that he/she is deceased, unless you have gone to court and gotten full legal custody, your kid simply cannot race an AMA event because the Minor Release cannot be properly signed.
Just to give you another wrinkle, the Minor Release form can be signed by both parents in two different ways. First, if both parents are present at the track the day of the race, they both just sign the form there. If both parents cannot come to the track in time for signup, one parent is allowed to sign the Minor Release away from the track, but when you do so, the AMA requires that the signature of the parent who is signing away from the track be notarized by a licensed notary public.
A much easier approach for both you and us is the Annual Release and Waiver card. The AMA, through its webpage, has the forms that you can download to get one of these cards. We also keep a supply of the applications for these cards.
Once you have actually received the Annual Release and Waiver card, as long as that card is valid, you no longer have to hassle with the Minor Release forms or getting 2 signatures on those forms, you just show the Release Card when you sign your kid up and that takes care of any minor release issues.
To summarize- to sign a minor up you will need either-
1- A current Annual Release and Waiver card from the AMA,
or
2- A Minor Release form which we provide at sign-up, signed by both parents unless either one parent is deceased or the parent signing the minor up has full court-approved legal custody.
We want you to know that we understand that this whole process is a bit of a pain and we regret that you have to go through it. Most of us in the Lodi Motorcycle Club have kids who race and we have to go through every step you have to do to get our kids signed up to race. This process applies to every AMA discipline in the US, and if some other venue or discipline has let you sign up without satisfying these requirements, they have been doing it wrong and have been placing you, your kid and their racing activities in legal jeopardy. We're doing it this way because the AMA has told us, clearly and plainly, that it has to be done this way.
In any AMA event, anywhere in the US, and in any discipline, if the rider is under the age of majority, which in California is 18, that rider cannot enter any AMA race all by him/herself, there must be parental involvement in the signup process.
There are 2 parts to a minor riding an AMA event. First, they cannot even sign up at an AMA event without having either a parent or a legal guardian actually physically present at Sign-up. Second, there are 2 varieties of Minor Releases. The rider must possess one or the other.
A minor racer buys a Data Card at the gate and then selects the classes they want to ride in. They fill out the Data Card which must also be signed by either one parent or a legal guardian who possesses a Power of Attorney from either parent, authorizing that guardian to act as the agent for the parent.
When a minor signs up, they have to either present a current valid AMA Annual Release and Waiver card (which we'll describe in a moment) or they and their parent(s) must fill out a Minor Release form. One or the other MUST be provided or the signup crew cannot sign the rider up.
Unlike the notarized Power of Attorney form, the Minor Release form MUST be signed by both parents with only two exceptions- if the other parent is deceased or the parent who is present has sole court-approved legal custody, then that parent can sign the Minor Release form without the other parent's signature. These are the only exceptions the AMA will allow us- if the other parent has skipped town and hasn't been seen for years, but you don't know that he/she is deceased, unless you have gone to court and gotten full legal custody, your kid simply cannot race an AMA event because the Minor Release cannot be properly signed.
Just to give you another wrinkle, the Minor Release form can be signed by both parents in two different ways. First, if both parents are present at the track the day of the race, they both just sign the form there. If both parents cannot come to the track in time for signup, one parent is allowed to sign the Minor Release away from the track, but when you do so, the AMA requires that the signature of the parent who is signing away from the track be notarized by a licensed notary public.
A much easier approach for both you and us is the Annual Release and Waiver card. The AMA, through its webpage, has the forms that you can download to get one of these cards. We also keep a supply of the applications for these cards.
Once you have actually received the Annual Release and Waiver card, as long as that card is valid, you no longer have to hassle with the Minor Release forms or getting 2 signatures on those forms, you just show the Release Card when you sign your kid up and that takes care of any minor release issues.
To summarize- to sign a minor up you will need either-
1- A current Annual Release and Waiver card from the AMA,
or
2- A Minor Release form which we provide at sign-up, signed by both parents unless either one parent is deceased or the parent signing the minor up has full court-approved legal custody.
We want you to know that we understand that this whole process is a bit of a pain and we regret that you have to go through it. Most of us in the Lodi Motorcycle Club have kids who race and we have to go through every step you have to do to get our kids signed up to race. This process applies to every AMA discipline in the US, and if some other venue or discipline has let you sign up without satisfying these requirements, they have been doing it wrong and have been placing you, your kid and their racing activities in legal jeopardy. We're doing it this way because the AMA has told us, clearly and plainly, that it has to be done this way.
