As most people involved with Trials riding know – our sport has always been “Up & down” – especially in North America. – We have written before of why we think this trend happens especially in the 70’s – but somebody just posted the following article on FB which some may find interesting.
A friend of mine from out East penned his thoughts on the declining number of riders in Observed trials. I personally happen to agree with most of his thoughts, so I am sharing with the MOTA group. Thanks to Dan Williams for sharing:
The problem is less of class and more of momentum. Novice class has a high percentage of young riders who are rapidly improving. Sr B is loaded with former experts and advanced riders who are getting worse and don’t have the repertoire of the youngsters who are anxious to acquire the newest techniques. The question is how to serve the needs of both.
I think the 5loop/4loop system as it stands now works well when the trialsmasters keep the loops short and the novice sections easy. The whole long/short loop debate started when there was a large increase in riders around 2000. There was a lot of complaining about long lines at the sections. Someone came up with the brilliant idea that a longer loop would take care of the lines. The idea started to spread. The problem is that you don’t cure what is essentially a time problem by adding more time. As the ridership has fallen some clubs have kept the long loops. The other factor is the belief by some that harder sections will make better riders. This is the Bill Matthewson way of doing things. This leads to the problem of “creeping elegance”. With no push back the sections and loops get progressively harder as a core group of riders improve. At some point a tipping point is reached where difficulty is such that it starts to drive away lower class riders. This accelerates the problem as the average level of rider does improve but only because the worse riders are driven out. The sections get harder, more drop out and the process runs until there are very few novices left. Sound familiar.
The one thing that effectively reduces wait time at sections is a loop that is short enough to allow riders to start at any section. It works, It’s simple and it’s in the rulebook.
OK back to the original question. Long ago, in a trials organization far far away there were four classes. Novice, Advanced, Amateur, and Expert. Novice wasn’t a year long championship class. The Novice championship was decided at a single event at the end of the year. This setup was used for a long time even into the trials boom of the 70s.
Could it be done, Yes. Should it be done, No. Cure the disease not the symptom.
It makes no sense that everyone wants to ignore the elephant in the room. Why aren’t people completely freaking out that the novice class so empty? This is the fundamental problem that must be solved.
This is not new. We saw the exact same dynamic in the early 80s and events routinely saw turnouts in the 30s. A movement started to ease off the difficulty and make trials a much more fun experience for the new riders and bring the casual rider back into the sport. The end result after many years of beating this mantra of easy novice events into the collective consciousness was a tripling of membership and an average of 90 riders per event. Riders who had left the sport came back, brought their friends and family, new riding areas opened up and dealers were able to survive because the market for used bikes opened up and allowed purchase of more new bikes.
It was much cheaper to throw a trials back then. No porta-pottys required, no insurance, no AMA fees. Coming back from such low numbers was a lot easier then. I’m afraid if we get any further down then we are now we’ll reach the point of non-viability as an organized sport.
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While we agree with some of this – it’s worth remembering that the biggest and most popular Trial in the World is “The Scottish Six Days” At this event which always needs a ballot to trim the entry to 380!! – all riders ride the same 100 mile plus – loop every day for Six days – and everybody rides the same line. !!!!! It has worked since early 1909.
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Results from the Beta Trial at Ioco – (top three each class thanks to Don Doerksen) – Full results can be see by clicking on the CPTA website.
Expert 1 Alex Le – Vertigo – 22 -2 Lous Moreau – Mont – 42 -3 Sam Rask -TRS- 48
Adv – 1 Jason Miller -TRS- 43 – 2 – Parker Degray -?- 51 -3 Bob Shantz -TRS-60 – (Katie McG- Beta- 99)
Snr 45- 1 Paul Marandel -Scorpa – 2 – Guy Smeeth- GG- 51
Int 1 Emily Roberts Beta -61 -2 – Caterina Zamboni -GG- 68
Sports -1 – Rob Shantz – TRS – 42 -2 Brad Guglielmi -? – 47 3 -Andrew Keleher -?- 80
Snr Int – 1 -Peter Falk -? – 22 – 2- Bill DeGaris Vertigo- 25 -3 Greg Down -TRS- 32.
Note ! No junior riders Total for the day 37 riders.
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If my memory serves me correct, back in the 70’s the CMA rule for Trials was you needed 4 riders to make a class – possibly because Stateside the events allowed just one rider in a class – it was like everybody went home with a trophy?
In the UK ( the home of Trials) the winner got a large Trophy and the next best 10% of scores got a 1st class award – then the next best 10% got a Second Class award. – I think they still utilize this system.
( Of course back in my day everybody also rode the same line)
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The Devil’s Staircase when Pete and myself first found it – that tree up towards the top had to go. – Now it’s just a stump with the plaque of Pete on it.
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Here is a great shot of our buddy Harry McKay on his Fantic at the Highland Vintage Two Day Trial last weekend. – The win went to Steve Saunders on a Fantic after a tie break with Gary Mac. – We have no idea who took the pic. – Bernie Schreiber also rode this event on a John Moffatt BSA – said he had a blast although he had a few bike hiccups along the way. – This is a huge very popular event, with already bookings for next year.
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And the Ontario Trials club also had a very well attended Trial last weekend with over 60 riders !!! here is a pic of the start area.
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