I would like to hear your ideas on how to get this sport to grow? 

Very good question. Perhaps if the sport could recruit numerous top riders from other motorcycle sport disciplines to adopt our sport as part of their training programme?

 

A lot of enduro riders over here tend to use trials to enhance their skill set. It has proven succesful with the migration of a number of top trials riders into the enduro world and, Hey Presto, we have extreme enduro now.

 

Arena trials has proven to be a winner with the spectators. World Class events have the same severity of sections, albeit more naturally formed hazards and are equally as entertaining. I dare any motocross rider to go and watch a world trials round and not come away wanting to have a go!!!

Give some trials bike to holiday resort 'center parcs'. More fun than the crap quads or Segway and kids would get started young. Probably electric would be ideal

I think the real problem is money!

 

Up here the sport is administered by a group of well meaning unpaid volunteers and all the clubs likewise.

 

If they had decent funds someone could be paid to promote the sport in a professional manner.

 

There's no shortage of things you can do if you have ths cash.

 

Advertising material, promotional dvd's demo bikes,test day's free trials for newstarts stands at shows,free training sponsorship, extra beginners trials etc

 

Make cheques payable to the "East Neuk Wobblers" please.

 

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I think the easiest way would be to promote it along side existing enduro/hare scramble series as almost something of an 'entry level' discipline. Obviously it isn't that, but I think a lot more people would be inclined to get their kids on trials bikes if they saw first hand how much fun and relatively safer it is than blitzing through the woods.

 

Enduros/hare scrambles (around here anyway) have huge turnouts at events, and starting to get those people on trials bikes would drive a lot of interest, especially with guys like Jarvis, et al starting to become more common names as hard enduro picks up steam. My local club has been doing a free clinic where guys can come to an event, ride an hour or two with an experienced rider in the morning on a loaner trials bike, then go work as a checker, all gratis. From what I can tell it's driven a lot of interest (it's how I got into it).

 

The sport needs kids growing up riding trials, otherwise you end up with what my local club looks like... the 40+ classes are bursting, but youth/novice are slim pickings and younger people riding advanced categories are pretty few and far between as well.

I would like to hear your ideas on how to get this sport to grow? 

 

Just use the website search engine. You will find that this subject has been explored so so so so so so so so many times and every possibility from from sleeping with Sky sports executives to producing disposable bikes has been suggested   . Same thread .......different day  

For me it is the fact that the sport is low-key, understated, unspoilt by publicity, largely unknown to those outside it and which exists happily while rarely if ever feeling the need to show itself off to the rest of the world which makes it as charming and brilliant as it was when I got involved 47 years ago.

I have mixed feeling about this. On one hand I like the idea of getting more people involved. On the other I like the fact that trials is somewhat 'underground' and obscure in many places.

I think the best thing we can do for the sport is get out and enjoy it. People seem to spend way to much time thinking and talking about it and not enough time doing it. If there are not enough events locally roll up your sleeves and put one on. It might not be perfect but it isn't like you have to build a full on MX course. Itm is amazing what you can do with a little scrub land and some tape in a few hours.

 

I started here with 2 or 3 riders nobody was putting on events so despite never riding trials or even seeing an event I put one on... 7 years later we are over 20 riders and doing 5 events this year plus a training day with an expert level rider... keep it small, keep it fun, most important thing - just keep doing it !!! 

 

It wouldn't hurt to even travel a little and go to events outside your area... make a trip to a world round, or SSDT - I have to admit I have been bad about this but know my kids are older I think it is a great time to start... RI here I come

Best publicity is the City Trial, Manchester must have bought Trials to the notice of a couple of thousand people! But only about 5% of people attending would follow it up and get interested and most of them would be scared off by the difficulty factor ( they wouldn't get to see the easy stuff we get to do!) if they looked up Dougie or Bou on YouTube .

I think we have to face the fact that Trials is not really a spectator sport. The only way to grow it is get them interested when they are young, develope youth trials, the majority of our top riders cut their teeth on Junior Kickstart.

Actually this sport draws a lot of empty nesters. Our club has always had many people in it without any children. You almost must have a family member in trials to be drawn to actually compete. Amazing how many people have trials bikes and would not ever compete.

Keenan...

 

...you can start the sport growing by actually showing up at our events

 

We miss you.

I would also encourage people to share bikes if somebody wants to give the sport a try, offer to share your bike... most often sections end near where they begin so you can return to the start and let somebody else give your bike a go. The more your bike gets used the quicker you will need a new one, that will increase the market of used bikes so more new people can get into the sport for a reasonable price .

 

A big struggle we have here are there are no bikes for sale... it is pretty tough to get somebody to order in a brand new bike if they have never even tried standing on one. 

nottogood im coming back that divorce kinda messed up a lot of things enough said on that. 

 

Thanks for the post keep sending ideas i agree with a lot of what your saying. 

I've watched some good riders leave this sport to go make a living in another sport. I watched a 16 year old Pat Smage travel across the country WIN a competetion and recieve a beer as a trophy at a national event and wasn't even allowed to drink it.  Doesn't that make sense?

 For you guys that like for it to be a small group you can still have your group you remember the old days when went to the motorcycle shop and bought a bike at the big 4 companys can't do that now, well you can buy a Montesa at Honda if you order a year a head . 

 I've loaned bikes and have brought people into the sport its a great way cost money to do that. 

  I like to ride and compete that to cost money and when you have to drive 2,3,4,10 hours or so to compete  that cost . As for spectators if they don't know you have a competetion they wont come. How will they know if you don't advertise OH that to COST MONEY

 I've held events at my house that have a pay out had guys that were opposed to that idea but when they won they took the money funny how that is.

I think I have come up with a plan where the riders and the promoters both make money and will grow our sport.

I will share this at a later time. I want you fed back on it

  Thank you again

   Keenan  

It has been my experience that money is seldom the answer everyone thinks it is. Yes it does help but you need more than just money to make things happen... I know lots of really rich people who do very little with the money they have (probably how they are able to stay rich). I'm not sure how much money people think the sport needs but it might be a matter of just talking to the right person. There is a guy visiting us here in Halifax in his motor yacht that apparently just spent $2M on a train set for his house in New York. My guess is $2M would go along way for trials but only if it was done in a very intelligent manner and with a great deal of volunteer support from people who simply love the sport for what it is. 

 

I hope your plan involves getting the spectators and sponsors excited enough to pay for the cheer joy of watching trials... The riders are the ones doing all the work they shouldn't be the ones paying the bill... but that is just my opinion .

 

I do find it a little odd that even after getting big name sponsors like red bull supporting trials and having the Smage brothers doing so well on America's Got Talent we just never seem to be able to capitalize on it.