I got this from the SACU yesterday. What do you think?

DISPLAY OF RIDING NUMBERS

TO ASSIST OFFICIALS TO IDENTIFY RIDERS DURING AN EVENT IT WAS REQUESTED LAST YEAR THAT MACHINES HAVE THE RIDER LICENCE NUMBER CLEARLY DISPLAYED ON THE FRONT OF THE BIKE. TO SPEED UP THE PROCEDURE THE TRIALS COMMITTEE HAVE DECIDED CLUBS ARE TO PENALISE THOSE RIDERS WHO FAIL TO DO THIS WITH A 10 MARK ADDITION TO THEIR SCORE. IT MAY ALSO HELP RIDRS JUMPING ON THE WRONG BIKE! NUMBERS TO BE BLACK ON A WHITE BACKGROUND MINIMUM SIZE 2 INCHES USING THE LAST THREE DIGITS ONLY. OF COURSE IF CLUBS SUPPLY A RIDING NUMBER THAT WILL SUPERCEDE THE LICENCE NUMBER.

JOHN DAVIES (TRIALS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN)

Edited February 20, 200422 yr by bigfoot

Tee hee hee I've jumped on the wrong bike meny 'o time

Danny

Not really a new rule surely Bigfoot?. Hasn't it been in the Standing Regs issued with the comp. licence for donkeys years, they're just hoping to enforce it this year. I wonder just who "requested" this?.

There are now 3 versions of this news on trialscentral - Inverness and the SACU have/had it on the front page and Lochaber had this one on their website on Sunday. The 3 versions are all ever so slightly different.

Johnny Davies last sentence is completely at variance with the SACU post which states that the only exceptions are for the SSDT and the Pre-65 S2DT.

I often get roped in to observe at Nationals up and down the country and I didn't think that the Scottish trials scene was so big that we don't know one another!. My big problem, especially at Championship trials, is in knowing before a rider enters a section which route he is supposed to be riding. Inverness and Lochaber have good systems of riding cards denoting "A" route riders but down the country there is a big problem and I know of riders in Central Belt trials being allocated high Championship points although they were riding the "B" route at that particular event.

Probably the best solution I have seen is at the Pollock at Lochaber. They issue riding numbers in the starting order. Competitors on the "A" route have their numbers printed neatly in black on bright yellow card which is then laminated for durability and punched, to be fixed to the bike with cable ties which the club provide. "B" route riders get similar cards but with a white background.

To top it off observers get, in their goodie bag of food and drink, a sheet of paper and a pen to record any problems.

sorry silly southerner here - what are you lot doing which requires your centre (the SACU) to be issuing fixed numbers (i guess thats what your on about ?)

rabie

Rabie - you hit the nail on the head - Scotland is just a Centre of the ACU but its run like a different planet.

we pay

Totally agree john, I have only been back into trials for about a year, and although i may know the faces in the club, i couldn't put names to the majority of them, and lets face it ,it's not that much hassle to buy three numbers and stick them to the front of your bike!!

I think my post has been taken out of context a little. It's not the displaying of numbers that I'm questioning it the 10 mark penalty. Big John and I have discussed this at length off-line and I see where the SACU are coming from. It just looks like a last resort approach to a problem that could be better handled in another way. As a trials convenor and Clerk of the Course I see it creating all sorts of arguments with in the riders.

ahh so you don't hand out number at the start for riders to use !!!

we have programme with names next to numbers and the riders collect their two number when they sign on - one for the front of the bike and one for the rear / back of helmet

edit - so you "Normally" / "used to" ride like my avatar is with no number ?

re nationals and such - i take you run "closed to clubs" and then what "open to Scotland" (of some kind) and then "open to all ACU" and then "internationals" say ?

makes much more sense now

rabie

Edited February 23, 200422 yr by rabie

Why don't the Scottish just adopt the method most other areas use then?

(Well I presume most areas use it ).

Clubs issue numbers for every trial to be stuck to front of bike. Not ridden many trials (if any) that didn't have them.

Slightly different question - Isn't there a rule up in East Yorks that you have to have a number plate fitted to the front of your bike (not allowed to tape number over your light). Dunno, just seem to remember something like that. I keep intending going back up to ride a trial and I seem to remember being warned about it a while ago.

If you don't issue numbers at a trial, how do you identify which route a rider is riding.

We have three colours of rider number red,yellow,white.

Or at some clubs a red cross across the number for expert route.

Gives us older folk an idea which route to dive into when a rider sneaks up on our dodgy hearing aids too.

thanks guys -got is sussed - our club will provide little stick on labels 2"x1" with their riding number on - that way we will "superceed" the requirement to display licence numbers so getting round the farsical 10 point rule.

BTW what about english riders coming up to Scotland - will they get a 10mark penalty.

jut the thing to "foster and encourage motorcycle sport in scotland".

jut the thing to "foster and encourage motorcycle sport in scotland".                  

My wife's a miserable Jock too

Return Return.......exit......doh.....panic....turn monitor off.....hello dear what you doin' up here...

We have three colours of rider number red,yellow,white.

Or at some clubs a red cross across the number for expert route.

Gives us older folk an idea which route to dive into when a rider sneaks up on our dodgy hearing aids too.

thats what we do - sorta

we used to buy the numbers 1-99, 100-109 , etc from Stacey's but now ahve started printing our own - eg Sidcup & DMCC Jack Thompson British Bike Trial 2003, with number and colour of route (white or red)

such as

cheers - nice to know how other people run their events

rabie

Bikespace

I can't speak for other clubs but we identify the different route riders with different coloured punch cards. I makes it easy for observers. If say a rider rides the easy route and hands the observer a yellow punch card (which indentifies the hard route) they will rightly be given a 5 for riding the wrong route through that section.

Good to see observers (bulltaco and bikespace) having their say on this one and that they have highlighted what I agree most observers find most difficult - knowing, when a rider enters a section, what route he is to ride, partly to ensure that he is competing fairly and partly because it is often necessary to stand in a different place to see riders through different routes. Riding numbers alone are no help with this. Wearing my own observers hat I have to say that the practice of using different coloured punchcards for different routes is standard for most event secs to make it all much easier when making up results at the end of the day, but from an observers point of view I would suggest that by the time the rider reaches the end of the section,especially if there is a bit of a queue, the observers mind is on getting the next rider up the section not on checking the colour of his punchcard. For this reason I'd go for the Lochaber practice, certainly for Scottish Championship events, of having the riding number (whether it is issued by the SACU or the club is immaterial as long as the system works and a particular rider can be identified) on a different coloured background according to the route being ridden, just as described by bikespace and rabie. Logically the observer is then thinking forward as the rider enters the section and not having to think backwards after checking the colour of the punchcard (if you see what I mean!!). I can't see why riders are getting uptight about having a riding number on at a trial but Big Johns' explanation of "preventing unlicenced riding" does sound a bit thin!.

We haven't yet heard any answer to bulltacos question as to what has prompted the draconian implementation of this particular Standing Regulation or who "requested" it as John Davies says in his circular. Any theories anyone?.