Here's a drawing (on a picture) of the system that we've been using at club trials for a few years now.

The arrows are made of coloured card and stapled to trees/branches/sticks etc.

Which colour is for which route is irrelevant, infact we now never use all four as the D route (TY80's etc) gets no riders. So I simply leave one colour out and set out three routes.

At the start of each trial I get the riders together and tell them to follow the coloured arrows for their route and completely ignore the others. If anyone goes the wrong way, they've either missed their colour or gone the wrong side of an arrow! It works far better than the red- left/ blue-right squares, the only down side is the number of staples I use setting out 3 (or 4) routes. Ishy's system solves that problem

I often send the hard route way up a cliff that no-one else can do. I can still do this with this system as the wires for the 'hard route only' will just have the hard route colour on. No problem, no dramas.

"Look for your couloured arrows and ignore the rest."

As for coulour blind riders, they will still be better off than before as they will at least be faced with an arrow rather than just sets of coloured squares.

Pete

Ishy,

You sure got some Perty hands!!

OK I like the material seems stout enough and reusable. the wires seem totally great for use in dirt, and sounds relatively easy for rocks.

Use whatever color for whatever class you like, we have not had a standard system in the US yet and I doubt we ever will.

Use how ever many colors you need for the number of classes you have, the rest of us don't care because we have our own number of classes.

This was all about the material of construction. Which seems good and durable.

All the other "talking points" have been discussed at length and argument before and no resolution, so do what works in your area.

Geez, I need to get more sleep I get awfully grumpy with just 4hrs sleep a day all week.

Edited April 17, 200917 yr by ZIPPY

Holy crap, now you are making me go round the same side as the Red boys, I am scared already!

Can you make more portable rocks? What if you decide to change it up? If the wire will not come out of the rock, how do you change the marker? Must you beat the wire into the rock?

We have used the adhesive on many rocks in OK, same problem with the paper though.

red paper and blue paper big felt pen and some red and blues for split gates,if you cant use a small surveyer stake and a staple gun, put a rock in front of it and use putty. an occasional ribbon

I rather like the small arrows you have, the only problem would be for the colorblind riders possibly, which would require a number to go with the color, easily done. They could be just a bit thicker, not longer. Single (special )lines may be hard to spot.

I kinda like it simple. You may have to spell it out for some classes but i think ish is on to something here. If you get too complicated then you could be distracted Cope... Let me illustrate....

--Biff

Ok, that section I can get through on a 3, as I cannot balance long enough to stop and look, at it all!

Once past the three, I can Slowly move into position untill i feel comfortable again(bad knees you now)!

Spectators may take a bar hit!