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[Guest Yamaha_dude]

The sunday after next is my comeback trial i havnt been trialing for about half a year for various reasons and it should be interesting at this trial as it was the first trial i ever did and the first on my yam, now it will be the first on the gasser, cant wait to compare results.

The question i want to ask is, year after year are the sections the same in club trials?

Any help appreciated

YD Richard Longstaff GD

Edited November 16, 2004 by Yamaha_dude

[ridgrunr]

Are the sections the same year after year? Sometimes if the same guy is setting the sections in the same place they can be very similar year to year. That said, I also believe that the sections evolve and get harder as time and years pass. Part of the reason is that the bikes get better and better, so the sections become harder to keep up with the bikes.

Often I've seen cases where a rider drops out for awhile, say a year or so, then when he comes back he discovers the sections are way more difficult than they were when he was riding before. The guys who are still riding in the class haven't really noticed the difficulty increase cause they've grown up with it.

It's sort of like seeing a nephew for the first time after three years. The folks around him don't see the everyday growth, but when you look at how he was a point "C" compared to how he is now at point "G" there's been a huge change. Trials is like that.

Another problem is that many guys stay in the same class riding together for a long time. As they get better, the section difficulty increases along with their skills which adversly affects riders trying to break into the class. That's one of the reasons why we often see such huge jumps in difficulty between the classes. A rider may be top dog in the Intermediate class, but when he tries to move up to Advanced, he gets absolutely killed. This makes it very unworthwhile for a rider to try to move up, so he stays where he is and the class difficulty slowly grows with him instead of him moving up.

It seems the hardest part for a Trials marshal to remember (I'm as guilty as anyone) is to set the section difficulty directed towards the lower half of the class. If the upper half finds the sections too easy they can then move up. That's supposed to be why we have classes.

Unfortuantely, usually it's not like that though. Usually sections are set with the upper half of the class in mind, to keep it interesting for them, but this kills the lower half of the class and any new riders trying to break into the class. It's a viscious circle.

[outlaw dave]

This topic has been talked about lots - but Ridgerunner makes some very good points. - Many riders go back to a Trial the year after they first rode the event and find the sections way too difficult. - This has happened many times in Canada. - I think that if good sections can be used year after year and still be a challenge for some of the riders, why not keep them the same? - Obviously the terrain will dictate where this is possible, but surely this is the reason why riders remember sections such as Pipeline and Hawk's Nest. - We are all losing too many riders because the events have been made to cater to the top riders in each class - You should NOT need a calculator to add up the scores.

[bikespace]

After 17 years rest, I found the difference in difficulty of sections was just about made up for by the difference between a Fantic 301 and a GasGas Pro.

So in 6 months the difference between a Yam 250 (same era as the Fantic 301) and the GasGas should more than cover it.

Enjoy

[neonsurge]

I guess it depends on the club and the amount of land available. Since starting riding competitively again (and I use the word "competitively" in the loosest possible sense) I guess I've ridden 20 or so club trials and have never ridden the exact same section twice. Occasionally they'll start or end the same, or a previously-used section will be run in reverse but it's never identical. There are some "classic" sections but there's always a twist - instead of exiting a gulley up the left over the big rock, it'll run up the right over the slippery roots, that kind of thing.

As I've said before, I have nothing but admiration for the people who lay out the courses. In our club we have all levels of ability from national experts to complete novices and in the "club day" trials at least there's always something for everyone without the top guys getting too bored or the beginners getting intimidated. I'd love to get involved in course design, but I just don't think that I have the experience yet.