Clubs and Centres will probably have received provision trials calendar for 2008 in last week.

Please note we have made a balls up of the Youth A & B dates ! Apologies.

We will do all these again - so please disregard published dates.

Not and excuse - for we clearly messed up - but as way of some sort of explanation of problems we are having - and some answers for some queries that have arrived about allocation of A & B dates in general.

A few years ago now at a well attended Trials forum in Rugby - there was a considerable discussion on Youth A & B Championships.

We are asked for a better spread of dates ie not one weekend after anothe ( hence I say we have made total balls up for 08)

After much discussion we were asked to try to keep away from FIM, UEM and Brit Solo Adult Champ dates.

While this obviously only affects some of the riders - these tend to be the top Youth riders - and it does make sense to try to allow them to contest their own Championship ie Youth - and also gain experince - the top 5 - in the Adult Champ.

It is regarded that this is a stepping stone to UEM and FIM - and we agreed .

This means that we block out where possible FIM/UEM/Brit Champ dates - and then look for Youth A &B.

This limits dates somewhat - and a few Clubs are finding that they are losing out - beacuse they can only run at certain times of year because land issue etc - and if this time of year is congested beacuse of the events I have mentioned - their chances of getting a round are reduced.

We fully accept this - and as you know we have dedicated a whole Forum to Youth matters this year - and this is clearly one item that needs discussion

In our quest to miss the UEM/FIM and Brit Champ - we took out eye off the ball - and did not pay enough attention to the spread of dates - if you study the actual dates available - this is not that hard to do.

Anyway - as I have said we are going to re-do the Youth A & B and try to come up with something better

Edited October 18, 200718 yr by John Collins

Please also note that it is extreamly difficult to travel around the country on bank holiday weekends, even more so if you have to travel by ferry as they are always booked up and offer no discounts on these dates.

I think that if the A/B championship was intergrated into the main adult championship it would free up 8 of the 52 weekends, and help the lads learn by riding alongside the top riders like they do in Spain.

A + B on the saturday

British adult on the sunday

Problem solved?

A + B on the saturday

British adult on the sunday

Problem solved?

Totally agree!!

Not quite

Brit Champ Adult - Usually practice & section fettling etc on Sat. many Clubs who run Adult Brit Champ use Saturday for quite a lot of final work - I know we do. Section tapeing, starts/end cards - last minute route marking , building stage, getting catering in place, toilets arrive and so on.

Certainly in my Club we would not be keen on taking Friday off work to do this - and we just do not have enough manpower to do both. We would also struggle to get Observers for two days instead of one. I know other clubs who run Brit Solo Champ are same - and certainly, in past some venues were only available for one day.

To combine Adult and Schoolboy on day - brings on additional problems - although we have considered this.

E.G to maintain presemt format - there would just not be enough daylight left at end etc - at least not in some of the months.

More importantly -

We have several clubs - about 7 - 8 who are good and experinced at running Brit Adult Solo - it does not necessarily follow that they can provide good Schoolboy A & B sections - of course some can - but others have not this experience.

We have several Clubs - more than above actually - who are good and experinced at running Youth A & B Champ - it does not necessarily follow that they can provide Brit Solo Adult - of course some can - but others - very few actually - have the experince of running Adult Brit Champ under current format.

Why - just to ease dates would one want to risk chance of messing up both?

Further to this - quite a few Clubs apply to run Schoolboy A & B - and they are good - but to keep number of rounds down to sensible level - travel/ costs/time etc it is not be that desirable to greatly increase number of rounds - so each year - some are dissapointed - we accept this.

If say my club - St David's who have worked very hard for many a year now to run Brit Solo Round - were additionally given a Youth A & B round - surely that means that one of the clubs who have worked hard for many years to run a Youth round would miss out?

My club deserves a Brit Solo Champ round - they do not deserve a Youth A & B. In same way Youth A& B Champ orgainsers deserve a round - they probably do not deserve an Adult round

If we look at the maths - say 7 Adult and 8 Youth A & B = 15 - if we went for a combined Champ adult & youth - of say 8 rounds - surely 7 clubs - through no fault of their own would miss out - bit of a kick in the teeth I feel?

Also - often A & B rounds on Sunday - can be combined with a C&D on Sat - this helps parents with two youths riding - perhaps one in A and one in C - this would go out of window ?

And again - I would not be too happy with some of Adult clubs catering for C & D with no experince in this area.

So - nothing is simple.

As I have said - we have allocated a whole day to a Youth Forum - this is place where such ideas will be discussed - but I have to tell you - although there is a week or two to go - as of yesterday there are only two clubs I think who have confirmed they will be attending.

However innaccurate can we see the 2008 calendar?????

It sounds as if no matter what the riders want the ACU will never let the Youth A/B championships join the main Adult championships. There seems to be lots of reasons why not, but no mention of the advantages.

The freeing up of dates is the first one, and then there's the fact that these championship rounds would become much bigger events. If you think the number of riders would be to high just combine the A class championship useing the excisting adult expert sections, and run the B class back with the C/D class trials. It's been said that British youth championship rounds will be rotated and are not set in stone, so to be fair this should apply to the adult series, and if a new youth A class was included in the main British championship only those clubs who felt that they could organise such events would apply to run them, it dos,nt seem fair to say that just because certain clubs would'nt be able to run this type of trial then no one is even aloud to try and see if it would work.

Why not just have one of the A class rounds in 2008 in one of the main championship rounds next year, and run one of the B class rounds with a C/D class next year, i'am sure there are clubs out there who are more than willing to give it a go. If it works great, but if it do'nt the we will all shut up and admit that we were wrong. We must move with the times or get left behind, (mainly by the Spainish)

Surely that is what happens with the invited youth.

The ACU have allowed the top 6 or so each year to ride the sections and thats great. Wiggy and danby and now challoner have all had some great experience at expert BC level so have the oppurtunity to bypass the experts having done it at youth, and wiigys done well to get 4th in his first year, surely the fast track we need.

Its important to see the bigger picture and not to try to "mould" the series to suit any individual needs.

Ben Morphett is 15(?) and doing the expert champs as a youth isn't that what you want?

The fact that it has no championship status isn't really the issue surely?????

Edited October 19, 200718 yr by Nigel Dabster

AS iow - I do not think it is really fair to say that

Your comments are very valid John and its good to know that we have someone who listens, i now hope that other fourm users take the time to express thier opinion on this subject.