From Jim Connor, Chairman SE Centre Trials Combine. 11th April 2007
To the Trials clubs of the SE Centre and to the Centre Management.
I said when I took on the job of Chairman of the Combine that I would give it a go, providing I received back up from the clubs, for making changes, and it was on this basis that I was elected. I am not expecting full backing on every issue but, on principal important changes I would hope to see the majority working together – by majority I also include the riders’ views. Just like the ACU Trials & Enduro Committee do at Rugby with their Championships –everyone’s views are important. To be able to do this I shall be more of a ‘HANDS ON CHAIRMAN’ – it’s the only way I know to sort things without waiting 4 months for each meeting.
The South Eastern Centre covers a huge area; Kent, Surrey, Sussex & London south of the Thames. The four Trials Groups, EKTC, NKTC, Star and TVTC organise their events very well and tailor their events to the needs of the riders in each area, the needs do differ.
Our Combine falls under the authority of the South Eastern Centre ACU Management Centre Board and we should always answer to them. The interests of all trials in the SE Centre should be under our control but this is not so. Clubs that organise Trials make up the four Groups and they abide by their Group rules when organising these events. A good majority of these clubs are not members of the SE Centre Trials Combine so do not have to comply with any rules or recommendations as laid down by the Combine.
It must make sense therefore that for a Club to run a round of the SE Centre Trials Championship they must be a paid up member of the SE Centre Trials Combine, only in this way could our Combine have control over its own Championship.
Just like the National Championships where Clubs have to keep to agreements to run a round, the same shall apply in our Centre, to our Championships. It is always not a bad thing to remember that the South Eastern Championship belongs to the Centre and Clubs that wish to hold a round of the Championship do so only with permission of the Centre, providing all the rules are complied with.
Introduction of new classes.
There is clear evidence that some changes are required to further the Sports Development in our Centre. Some of the observations have come from me over the past 3 years – also asking riders opinions and closely watching what is going on around the Centre. A few examples are; the biggest difference of a split is in the Experts. The best youngsters venture off to ride Nationals, to survive they learn to be able to do almost anything on a bike; this can be detrimental to Centre Experts who do not venture out of the Centre. Many sections are made very tight and require a huge amount of skill to be able to manoeuvre around. This was not the case in ‘the good old days’ when Experts were on a more even playing field i.e. you did not need to hinge the bike in the middle to get round.
So the proposed Elite Expert route will keep all the budding Super Stars happy and encourage the ‘normal’ Experts who will ride the white route with a mix of the blue route.
The Elite series would probably be fewer rounds so as to get our best to compete – no events could clash with the Major Nationals.
The Centre grading has not been implemented over the past couple of years and no Intermediates have moved up to the Experts. This has resulted in a hugely congested Intermediate Class and actually with nowhere for them to go if they were upgraded, as the present Expert course would be beyond most and, those good enough do not want to be upgraded to ride the present Expert course.
New Expert class
So the proposed new Expert class, which would ride on a good majority of the blue (Inter) route, would be the ideal class for the Intermediates who will be upgraded this year. They will have an achievable target to aim for. They could upgrade and enjoy 2 years in the Expert class without struggling too much. If they win no awards they can be downgraded after 2 years (or less in special circumstances).
Novices
Some genuine Novices, who have made their way from the beginner class, get frustrated when very experienced good riders win Novice awards. The same I have observed in the Inters – sometimes an ex champion denying a ‘genuine’ Inter his award. These good riders are not ‘pot hunting’ – simply there is no class for them to ride at Centre level. At most Group trials there is a class to ride in. The answer is to put all riders into their true classes. This will make the sport more enjoyable for everyone and may even bring a few more of our ‘ex stars’ out, most of them would then ride the Over 40 or Over 50 class. E.g. Star Group has 10 -15 riders compete in their Over 50 class each month at Group events and it is the most hotly and keenly contested class with some very good riders showing their skill on the Red route. The severity of the Red route seems to be spot on.
Girls and Ladies
The ACU and FIM have encouraged these classes at National and International level with the goal one day for Trials to be part of the Olympic Games. It is a condition of the Olympic Committee that all sports considered, run European, Latin American and World Championship for Girls, Ladies, Youth and Men. The FIM has now achieved this in Trials. No Centre at present in the UK has catered for the Girls & Ladies although there is a National series. So why doesn’t the good old South Eastern Centre set an example and be the first Centre to cater for the Girls. We could get few entries at first but, unless we try we will never know what the outcome would be. No extra routes would be required as the Girls would probably ride the red route and the Ladies either the red or blue, at the discretion of the organising clubs.
Again – encourage the development of the sport
There are at the moment being drawn up: SE Centre Trials Combine, Rules, Conditions for organising clubs, Championship Rules and Riders Poll/Survey – All of those you will hear about in the not too distant future.
Working Together
I recently attended a meeting at Rugby, together with other organisers, riders and those who have an interest, to discuss rules and all matters related to this years British Trials Championship of which we are running a round in the SE Centre on the 16th September 2007. Everyone could have their say and although my club and others were against the proposed marking method, the overall view of the riders outweighed the others. The majority opinions prevailed, swayed by the riders and let’s face it, the riders have to ride it. So decision accepted, forget old thoughts, and move on. It will be beneficial to the Centres if our clubs do the same, the majority of the opinion of everyone involved should prevail.
Specialising
On some issues I feel we should take on the policy adopted by the Trials & Enduro Committee at Rugby and these will be proposed in the Agenda – on some matters dealing with issues on individual Championships i.e. British Bike or Elite Class, only those who are organising, riding in or have an interest in, will be invited for their views. This makes sense because we need experienced views on the subject discussed, as an example – if you asked a lot of solo organisers and riders about sidecars, most would not have a clue. The aim overall is to improve on everything we do.
Keeping up to date with Combine news and information
We should try to be more on top of this, as an example – I tried to get the main Solo Championship award, to present to the riders at my bike club night, to my amazement I found that there was still a dispute some 5 months from the event and the Centre Champion may not now be the Champion. I spoke to the rider and he had not been informed about the dispute. This is not good for the Combine – in future Stephen and I will try to keep you all more informed on news and updates. It would also be useful if you could let us know of any important issues or news related to your area.
I do appreciate that for most clubs, events are run with very limited help and these new ideas might not be very appealing, however, we can make things better by helping and encouraging each other and sometimes a spurt of enthusiasm can ignite a few others. I am always willing to help and discuss issues with anyone.
I hope to see you all at our next SE Trials Combine meeting on the 19th April at Blindley Heath the start time is 7.45pm.
Jim Connor
Notes
A reminder to those clubs who may not yet have paid their subs, please sort out the payment as soon as possible.
The Combine has a web site which you will find at www.SouthEastTrialsCombine.org.uk
and gradually more use will be made of it as a place to find information, news, events and possibly rider surveys after each trial (as we do in the NKTC www.nktc.org.uk ).
To those clubs who do not have their own website but would like to have some information about themselves and events or trials results include on our site, I am willing to make space available if you get in touch with me. There’s no cost involved, just keep it simple.
Steve Westley