Jump to content

gasgasjamie

Members
  • Posts

    41
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Contact Information
 
   
  1. I am truly saddened by this news. Graham was a kind and friendly man who gave so much back to the sport. He will be greatly missed.
  2. As many will know, this year the South Eastern Centre decided to go non stop for all of their championship rounds. Now that the season is over, I thought I would just write my view on how it went and what I learnt. When the decision was made, I must admit I was quite pleased. The reasons why I was looking forward to the change are two fold, and it is perhaps fair to say that these reasons are a bit selfish. Firstly, I have never been the best at hopping and so getting rid of this skill was one way I could try to keep up and have good rides without having to ride every weekend. Secondly, my life has got rather busier in the past few years, so to have less queuing and a chance to get home a bit earlier certainly allowed me to fit more into my weekend. I turned up to the first round full of enthusiasm and ended up having a pretty decent ride, enjoying myself and getting home before dark. It was obvious that some riders were not happy with the change but the event was well organised, well supported and the sections were set out to allow for non stop. The sections were still challenging and were perhaps the biggest I had ridden in quite a while. So happy Jamie. I got home, looked at the results, saw a few fives for stopping, some I agreed with, some I didn't, but hey, this was probably the same with everyone so I saw no real problems. I missed the next round, but then competed at nearly all the rest throughout the year. As with any championships, some rounds were better than others, but all in all the trials were enjoyable. However, I was never awarded another 5 throughout the whole series for stopping. Why? Well it wasn't because I have a silky smooth riding style, because I don't. I wasn't because I never stopped, because I did. In truth, I didn't really have an answer until I put the shoe on the other foot last weekend at the Southern Experts. With the bike in bits, I thought I would observe this event instead. Whilst I observed the sidecars and not the solos, the problem I had was the same as observers all year have had observing me. This problem is, observing non-stop is just too hard to do. I had all the intention in the world to be the meanest observer I could be. 'A stop is a stop, and the only way to have consistency is to mark to the letter of the law', I thought and have been told by many on here. This is of course true. But when the first sidecar rider/riders had got a bit stuck, and then fought so hard to keep moving and get out for a three, there was no way I was going to give them a five for a momentary stop. To do this would have shot down their moral, and I would of certainly felt very aggrieved if that had been me. At the end of the day it is only a sport. If I had fived every rider who had stopped in that trial I would not been able to sleep that night knowing that I had ruined the day for so many riders. I think this is why non-stop is not the answer. On paper it works, in my opinion it opens the trial up to more riders and if set out correctly can still lead to a fun trial for the younger riders. But the rules don't take into account the emotion of the observer. It is the same for the little role back in stop trials, observers just aren't mean enough to mark that as a five. What is the answer, well that is the question. As many people have said on here, it is about having a trial that can be ridden non-stop, but without the rules. Ban stupidly tight turns, not stopping. Make hopping a skill that is used as a tool to do better, not a necessity to get through the section. Just my thought, Jamie
  3. Firstly, before I go any further, I must point out I have not been to a BTC for a few years and so this is coming from an outsider and therefore should be taken as it. I have also observed when I can and laid out many a trial since I was young and so understand the amount of effort that is involved. I am fully for non-stop trials and have enjoyed riding non-stop events this year far more than the same type of events under the stop rules from previous years. Why do I think these have worked? Because the sections have been made to suit. Every section has been ride-able, cleanable but there has also been a lot of challenges. Winners have generally not been on low scores, last place have still managed to get cleans. But the main reason, I believe, for the trials working, is that whilst observers started off extremely strict in January, but they have now settled to a happy medium, where the emphasis is on trying to maintain forward movement, rather than looking for reasons to five riders. A stop is still a five, and riders know this; but quick hops on the go, a momentary pause before a step etc are allowed. Whilst you can argue that a stop is a stop, the idea of non-stop was to make sections more ride-able for the majority. How can anyone progress and sections be ridden with confidence when riders are worried about putting the front brake on for fear of getting a five. There has to be some common sense involved. The rule should penalise the rider who has messed up and got off line, but also allow for the more talented rider to show his full range of skills. From Ben's post, it seems that this was not the case at the weekend. Ben has ridden many trials non-stop this year, and so this is not a knee-jerk reaction and therefore should be listened to. I hope that, just like at my local trials, the observing evens itself out over time as observers get used to the rules. But with only 6 rounds, it hasn't got long to do it and it is along way for riders to go for a 'work in progress'. NB: With regards to importers changing the sections, they are obviously aware that the non-stop rules aren't to everyones liking, and so I am guessing they changed it (if that is what happened) to try and win over the critics. This had to be done with the best intentions in mind as the importers have a much to loose as anyone else with this, however it doesn't seem to have worked and lets hope that lessons are learnt
  4. Thanks, it's a shame as its a good ride round.
  5. Was just wondering if anyone had any news on the SEC round tomorrow. Its a bit of a trek for me so don't want to get there to find it not on.
  6. Firstly, congratulations to the Stratford Club for getting such a good entry once again. They do run one of the best trials in the south and I have always enjoyed riding it in this past, no matter what rules or how bad the weather. Sadly due to other commitments I will be missing it this year but I hope to ride it again soon. It is relevant that the trial is no stop as previously stated, but to say that the reason for the trials' success in down to non stop only tells half the story for me. Yes the rules may of brought a few more riders along, especially if there is not many other trials ridden under non stop in the area, but I think the main reason for the increase in riders is down the second route. This has opened the trial to a lot more riders and given them a chance to ride along with some of the big names in the sport. These riders usually enter the first few rounds of the s3 championship whilst there is no British and World champs rounds going on and certainly help in adding excitement to the early year events. It must be said, though, that a lot of trials running under no stop rules do seem to be attracting a lot of riders, the South Eastern Centre round this weekend that I've entered has 93 riders and local club trials seem to be well supported. There isn't even any dummy spitting by the younger riders as predicted by some, as everyone is giving it a go and has not quit yet.
  7. Now whilst I agree with yours and many others' point of view that perhaps the younger riders could do more to help their local clubs out, is this really the way to encourage them? When I was younger I used to help out quite a lot, laying out trials and taking them down afterwards, and I used to really enjoy doing it. However, this was because the club encouraged me by being supportive to the younger riders who were coming through. The art of not hopping too much is a skill, a skill that must be learnt and one that whilst learning, a rider will get wrong and hop too much. My local club takes a forward approach to this by teaching to riders the advantages of smooth riding, finding the grip and only hopping where it was helpful. Now if the club had called me a 'young divi' when I was learning these skills I would of been far less inclined to help them out at the next trial.
  8. This is why there is a split, and why this debate has run for so long and will continue for a while to come. It seems as though, on the whole, there is two types of trials riders around today. Ones who find the WTC and the big stuff exciting and ones who prefer trials like the SSDT. There is nothing wrong with either point of view, but the contrast in riding style is so big that is very difficult to cater for both in a normal club event. I recently asked my flat-mate for his view. He is 25, has never seen trials before and therefore, while of course is only one person and so cannot be seen as speaking for everyone, he can look at these rules and styles from a completely neutral point of view. I showed him lost of YouTube footage of Toni Bou, the WTC and some indoor stuff. At first he was 'wowed' by the skills and just what could be done on a bike, but soon got bored of watching what he said was 'different people doing the same thing' and said that it was like watching FMX, where its good for a bit but soon becomes very repetitive and that he got fed up of all the stopping where nothing was happening. I then showed him footage of the SSDT and Scott trials. Whilst he said it was still a bit repetitive, he was still interested in it afterwards. This shows that not everyone outside the sport wants to see big steps and Toni Bou bouncing everywhere on the back wheel. In fact, this has been the way for quite a few years, as years ago when I ask friends whilst at school what bit of an indoor shown on Eurosport they had enjoyed the most, none of them said 'the big steps'. Perhaps what makes trials so different to other motorsports is that is does appeal to so many different people. It appeals to the adrenaline seeker who wants to find out just how big he can go, but it also appeals to the more reserved rider who just enjoys being able to ride with his friends. To me, this wide appeal and the ability to have so many different people of different skill levels in one place is what makes trials so great, but it has also become its biggest problem.
  9. Whilst it is difficult to do it from any other way if not at the trial, I believe a trial should not just be judged by how many marks were lost. I have experienced many good, enjoyable trials which have been too easy and many that have also shed a lot of marks; but have also ridden many trials where I have lost the right amount of marks, but they weren't much cop. This is not me having a go at anyone, but to assume that all was good or bad just based on the scores is like saying that a football match was dull because it ended 0-0.
  10. Rode my first no stop trial at club/group level in quite a while yesterday. Did it work?: Yes, the clerk of the course laid it out open and every section was ride-able without stopping. (Thanks Steve/Jordi) Was it too hard?: Was a tough trial compared to others in the series, but that was down to the extremely muddy conditions and would of been just as hard stop permitted. The clerk of the course also amended the sections after the first lap which helped. Was it observed correctly?: Well the tricky conditions made it tricky, and so eleven out of the twelve observers were on the lenient side as far as I could make out (no scores yet). This made the trial better as cleans could be made and there was definitely an effort by all the riders to keep moving. Was it enjoyable?: Being not a great fan of the piece of land, I wouldn't say it was the best day out ever, but it was definitely a lot better than the same trial in the previous few years. Overall?: The atmosphere seemed flatter than usual for this series. Perhaps its because its the end of the year and everyone's minds is on Christmas, but I think that the new rules have not won over everyone just yet. I think its too early to start criticising the rules, we need to give it more time. Would you sack a Premiership manager after just one loss?
  11. Good to see full sections being shown rather than highlights of big steps. Gives a proper feel of the trial and what its all about.
  12. Thanks Steve, Results wise top route looked about right and showed that more rider could be able to ride harder trials without getting cricket score. But as we all know, results only tell half the story.
  13. The stop for a one was not that complicated really. Stop = 1. Dab = 1. Count until a maximum of 3 and anything beyond is still a 3. Unless you fail the section, and failing the section was basically going sideways or backwards and everything that has and always will be a five (like hand off handlebar or stalled engine with a foot down). This to me is the best compromise there has been as it meant that the beginners could ride without being given a five on every section, the experts could have the big stuff in knowing that a stop and look wasn't the end of the section and everyone in between could still get a fighting 3 on a tough section. There was of course, still the possibility of a rider just stopping for a dab and sitting there all day, but it was far rarer than nowadays. It lasted for a while longer in the UK, with the BTC keeping with it after the WTC had changed, but sadly observing got so lax down south that a stop was hardly ever penalised. There were some exceptions to this and I remember riding the Chris Carter one year and getting fived twice (rightly) for hoping sideways and so in some areas stop for a one was still working well right up until the ACU scrapped it. The only main problem there was in the early days of this rules the riders just didn't know if they had stopped, which is a problem at a trial without observers. However this problem is just made worse by 5 for a stop, as riders are now even less likely to mark themselves down for a short stop if they are in doubt.
  14. 'The dying BTC' ??? Yes it was so dying that riders couldn't get into some rounds as they were oversubscribed. To me to say it was dying is an over-exaggeration as considering the expense it takes to go to these rounds, to have them full to what the ACU wanted means that the riders were supporting it. To me, the BTC needed tweaking, not completely overhauled. As the riders were keen, the problem area is with the lack of crowds and enthusiasm for the events by the rest of the trials community. Surely the ACU could have looked at this first before deciding to upset a large number of the riders competing in these trials. Perhaps better marketing at the local trials in the weeks leading up to a BTC event, perhaps reaching an agreement with the local clubs to change their dates so local riders could go and watch without loosing out on their own championship points and a days ride. Perhaps turning into a full weekend with two days of BTC, as they do with some WTC rounds. This would mean that less weekends would be needed overall for the championship and therefore less travelling in these tight times. They would not need to be at the same venue, but just somewhere nearby. This would make it better value for money for the spectator and could encourage a lot more friends and family to travel with the riders to the further rounds as they could make a 'weekend of it'. Or if this wasn't liked, get the youth championship to the venue on the Saturday and leave the BTC for the Sunday to make it more of a social weekend where the youth get to do what they love (ride), but also see their heroes in action the very next day. And finally, too boost the top route, perhaps try not making the whole trial so hard. Have a third of it to sort out the winner, but then also have sections that the Expert A riders can do. Riders often know their level but understand the needs the better lads and don't mind taking the odd five here and there, if the rest of the trial is doable. The Expert B class seemed to be working fine to me with a good range of riders loosing a good range of marks. Just my thoughts. ----------------- Now back to the non-stop rules. For me personally, I would love trials to go full non-stop, or stop for a one, as it would lead to more flowing sections and trials being decided by who rode the best over the obstacles, not who was the best at setting themselves up for them. However, recent history shows that these changes are going to struggle to work. When we last went to non-stop (stop for a one), it actually worked at the start. Riders tried not to stop, and the observing was as consistent as it ever will be. Then the WTC changed it rules. This meant that we were now riding differently to rest of the world and what we went to watch, saw on TV or DVD and marvelled at on YouTube. From that day, observing started to become very varied, especially as club level. Some would keep to the rules and of course rightly so, but others would have the mindset that 'well the World lads are doing it, so I guess you can too' and 'we will soon change to join them so you might as well get practising now'. Can you blame them though, as all the younger riders wanted to do was emulate the best and the observers (usually parents, friends, girlfriends) tended to agree with them. Therefore, until the WTC changes, there will always be far too much confusion at the club level when non-stop rules are applied. These are the grass-root events of trials and the area we need to get sorted in order to boost participation in the sport.
  15. Not asking for results here, as I know its early and all that, but heard it was run under the non-stop rules. This is probably the first trial down south to run under these rules when all the best riders were there. I couldn't make it this year due to other commitments, but was wondering how everyone who went found it? Did it work?
×
  • Create New...