Is Boycotting World Rounds The Only Way To Get The Fim To Change The Silly New Rules?

[twinshocked]

You drank the Kool Aid didnt ya?

The FIM letter was not "viscious". They confirm his right to to have his opinion, just do it professionally with no name calling. Sound familiar.

Dear Mr Raga,

Everyone is aware of the ongoing crisis that has been affecting the world of Trial over the past two decades. As far as the FIM is concerned, this crisis has reduced the number of participants and led to a 75% drop in production for the industry. There are many reasons for this: economic crisis, the prices of motorcycles, legislative restrictions in various countries and others besides.

In these circumstances it is difficult to find solutions. In recent years we have invested a lot of effort in improving the quality of our events and in particular their image on television. From this year, we have also changed the rules after a somewhat arduous process of internal discussions.

In this connection, I would like to inform you that we are aware that it was not possible to arrive at a decision that would satisfy everyone. However, we knew that we could not continue without taking any measures, as had been the case for a number of years, and just go on watching the decline of the discipline.

Having said that, we were very unpleasantly surprised by a number of statements made by you at the end of the Indoor Trial of Chambéry, France, held on January 2013 and another at the press conference of the 1st day at the Japanese Grand Prix. We are not surprised by the fact that you are not pleased with the new regulations. You are free to hold that opinion. What we do consider serious however is that you made some false affirmations concerning the decision-making process and referred to members of the FIM such as Mr Michaud and Mr Willoughby in a disrespectful and offensive way. You even accused Mr Michaud of belonging to a “mafia”.

My intention in this letter is to remind you of your duty as a professional sportsman to behave as such when you are in public, by which I mean showing respect for the fundamental principles of sporting ethics.

In conclusion, I am asking you to apologise publicly before the next round of the 2013 FIM Trial World Championship to be held in Sequatchie, USA, on 25-26 May 2013 for the statements you made on the basis of incorrect information and above all for the way you referred to the above named people. We also ask you to send to the FIM a copy of the press release you will issue regarding this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Vito Ippolito. FIM President.

Edited June 14, 2013 by twinshocked

[funtrials]

"I am asking you to apologise publicly before the next round of the 2013 FIM Trial World Championship to be held in Sequatchie, USA, on 25-26 May 2013.....we ask you to send to the FIM a copy of the press release you will issue regarding this matter."

No, I believe deep down it runs deeper than that...they were intent on having him cow to them, so they put a specfic date for him to cower by (25-26 May), AND they need a copy of it as well. On May 27, had he not cowered, they would have taken further Nazi-like steps to keep him in line. They don't want the truth to get out (the truth is that even the top RIDERS hate the new rule!) Better to make an example of him. If he had LOVED the new rule, but still made remarks about those individuals, they likely would have let it slide. Raga was just speaking out from his love of the sport.

When an overlord "asks" you to do something, it's really a COMMAND.

They are very thin skinned.

The tide will turn, as long as they aren't allowed to get too complacent about this issue. They are fighting for manufacturer/importer profits, but we are fighting for our sport back.

Edited June 14, 2013 by funtrials

[rob214]

i would like to hear from any and everyone who attended a trial this year to give their opinion.

i attended the US round, i'm not a fan of no stop. but the event was great. anyone whose been in person, does it really look like a no stop event? not to me. it looked like a "it's ok to pause as long as you try and look like your making an attempt" after a few moments of sitting still a 5 is tossed out. the rule i feel did what it might have intended to try and do, keep riders moving and not sitting still in sections all day. what i do feel is that the new style of riding / rules needs to have the sections that match the style of riding. for me TTC was a mixed bag of sections. i loved the creek sections and didn't care for the hill climbs. yes these guys have big balls and it was impressive to watch but the rocky creek sections were my favorites.

when i ride i can ride almost every section no stop, but i'm a sportsman and my sections are no where near as complex. so watching me ride stop or no stop is not something very special. but i love to see riders hop from large rock to large rock it's just cool. most of the top riders can ride through 80% of the section without a problem, it's the 1 big obstacle thats tossed in to separate the men from the boys that gets the points most of the time. take out that one thing and more riders can do it but you don't challenge the top guys.

this issue isn't about what we can do but how to push the best of the best to the limit of bike and rider to it's fullest. for all those that love the old days they just need to have a world championship for pre whatever year you choose bike / rule you wish. we all have our own idea of fun thats what make life interesting

rob

[funtrials]

Replying to yourself is the first sign of insanity!

Arguably not as insane as giving Fuji and Bou FIVES (see links to those videos here on this great site) for miracously saving a five by balancing then restarting their bikes in recent world rounds when their bikes stalled...incredible, the maximum penalty for displaying world-class balance (no wonder Fuji was swearing so loudly - in Spanish, interestingly enough.)

It's also not as crazy as giving FIVE points for something that only a tiny FRACTION of trials riders can even dream of doing: bouncing, in place, on the back wheel, while the front wheel is incredibly in the air, in an heroic attempt to turn the bike in a tight spot to set up for the next obstacle. That's a FIVE under the new rules! (See Caby doing it in that FIM observer instruction video.)

I wonder if the person who basically invented clutch/hop trials riding, King Bernie, thinks the FIM is ruining our beloved sport with their restrictions on our abilities? He never would have invented those things had the CURRENT rules been in effect! Picture that trials icon riding in a straight jacket, basically. I went to a trials school he put on at a national, and yes, we stopped/hopped/clutched (or at least tried), and loved it. Perhaps if the inventor of that techique spoke up, we could get our sport back.

Edited June 14, 2013 by funtrials

[zippy]

it looked like a "it's ok to pause as long as you try and look like your making an attempt" after a few moments of sitting still a 5 is tossed out. the rule i feel did what it might have intended to try and do, keep riders moving and not sitting still in sections all day.

rob

There was a 90 second time limit for the sections. So the riders would NOT be "sitting still in sections all day"

If 90 seconds was too long then shorten it up to 75 seconds etc....

[funtrials]

it looked like a "it's ok to pause as long as you try and look like your making an attempt" after a few moments of sitting still a 5 is tossed out.

Now THAT'S a clear, concise, easy to observe, non-subjective rule that's easy to consistently apply uniformly from one rider to the next from one checker to the next! (Joking.) You're seeing one of the big problems. That's one reason why this no-stop experiment FAILED already, a few years ago.

[funtrials]

Arguably not as insane as giving Fuji and Bou FIVES (see links to those videos here on this great site) for miracously saving a five by balancing then restarting their bikes in recent world rounds when their bikes stalled...incredible, the maximum penalty for displaying world-class balance (no wonder Fuji was swearing so loudly - in Spanish, interestingly enough.)

It's also not as crazy as giving FIVE points for something that only a tiny FRACTION of trials riders can even dream of doing: bouncing, in place, on the back wheel, while the front wheel is incredibly in the air, in an heroic attempt to turn the bike in a tight spot to set up for the next obstacle. That's a FIVE under the new rules! (See Caby doing it in that FIM observer instruction video.)

I wonder if the person who basically invented clutch/hop trials riding, King Bernie, thinks the FIM is ruining our beloved sport with their restrictions on our abilities? He never would have invented those things had the CURRENT rules been effect! Picture that trials icon riding in a straight jacket, basically. I went to a trials school he put on at a national, and yes, we stopped/hopped/clutched (or at least tried), and loved it. Perhaps if the inventor of that techique spoke up, we could get our sport back.

There was a 90 second time limit for the sections. So the riders would NOT be "sitting still in sections all day"

If 90 seconds was too long then shorten it up to 75 seconds etc....

BEST POST OF THE WEEK!

Yes, just adjust the time limit! 80 seconds....75 seconds....65 seconds, I don't know, but play with THAT figure and not slap a five on a rider for showing incredible skills. Punish him for NOT balancing well, not for balancing well, sheesh.

To balance with his bike up at a 50 degree angle, with his front wheel on a big ledge he had to jump, and his back tire perched precariously on a tiny rock, and then to watch him balance and then hop his back wheel onto a DIFFERENT little rock (still up at the 50 degree angle!), and then balance and then jump up that legde for a clean was one the most memorable rides I've ever remembered - Adma Raga (pbuh), a few years ago. Awesome! But the FIM prefers that these gods remain mortal. But when it comes to trials, I'm an enthusiastic THEIST.

The FIM wants to EXPOSE the Wizard that's behind the the curtain, while I prefer to let him perform his wonderful magic, unchained. Quarterly corporate profit projections of the manufacturer's trials sub-division just aren't a priority for me, unlike the FIM....but the art of man and machine against nature is a priority.

Edited June 14, 2013 by funtrials

[rob214]

There was a 90 second time limit for the sections. So the riders would NOT be "sitting still in sections all day"

If 90 seconds was too long then shorten it up to 75 seconds etc....

ah yes the time limit debacle, personally i don't care how long it takes for a ride through the section. but that rule was bad. a rider goes into a section pulls off major feats of magic over obstacles no mere mortal can imagine and then the whistle blows, sorry your insane yet brilliant riding exceeded the time limit here's your 5. try explaining that logic to non-enthusiast trying to watch trials for the first time.

[funtrials]

There was a 90 second time limit for the sections. So the riders would NOT be "sitting still in sections all day"

If 90 seconds was too long then shorten it up to 75 seconds etc....

ah yes the time limit debacle, personally i don't care how long it takes for a ride through the section. but that rule was bad. a rider goes into a section pulls off major feats of magic over obstacles no mere mortal can imagine and then the whistle blows, sorry your insane yet brilliant riding exceeded the time limit here's your 5. try explaining that logic to non-enthusiast trying to watch trials for the first time.

Ok, I see you're not a fan of say a 60 second rule, no problem, a 110 second rule would allow the best of both worlds: the magic could once again take place (unlike under the new FIM rules), but with no undue artificial constraints, arguably. I personally think 90 seconds is plenty of time, but maybe we should raise that when the no-stop rules are inevitably overturned.

These are examples of undue constraints on me when I ride a section:

roll-back (verbotten!)

hop front wheel sideways (how dare you!)

hop back wheel sideways (verbotten!)

hop whole bike sideways (nein, nein, nein!)

incredibly hop on the back wheel, in place (they're jealous of Bou, so verbotten!)

catch my balance at the top of a huge rock (get along little doggie!)

restart my bike in the section (nyet, says comrade Stalin!)

stop to flick a little rock out of my path with my front wheel (don't hurt that poor rock!)

stop to shift gears

spin the back wheel, to get the mud out, while front brake is full-on

[dadof2]

Most of what you post as constraints ARE PERMITTED under no stop:-

Hop front wheel sideways PERMITTED

Hop rear wheel sideways PERMITTED

Hop whole bike sideways PERMITTED

Hop the bike on the back wheel PERMITTED

Catch balance at top of large rock PERMITTED

Restart bike in section PERMITTED

Why do you have to stop to shift gears - you don't do that in your car

Spin the back wheel to get the mud out PERMITTED

All you have to do is to have the skill and judgement to maintain a hint of forwards motion at the same time

Of course really skilled riders on well maintained bikes don't stall in section and have the ability to ride over little rocks.

Cheers

[twinshocked]

These are examples of undue constraints on me when I ride a section:

roll-back (verbotton)

hop front wheel sideways (how dare you!)

hop back wheel sideways (verbotten!)

hop whole bike sideways (nein, nein, nein!)

incredibly hop on the back wheel, in place (they're jealous of Bou, so verbotten!)

catch my balance at the top of a huge rock (get along little doggie!)

restart my bike in the section (nyet, says comrade Stalin!)

stop to flick a little rock out of my path with my front wheel (don't hurt that poor rock!)

stop to shift gears

spin the back wheel, to get the mud out, while front brake is full-on

all that can be done with forward motion. roll-back has always been a 5

[twinshocked]

I wonder if the person who basically invented clutch/hop trials riding, King Bernie, thinks the FIM is ruining our beloved sport with their restrictions on our abilities? He never would have invented those things had the CURRENT rules been in effect! Picture that trials icon riding in a straight jacket, basically. I went to a trials school he put on at a national, and yes, we stopped/hopped/clutched (or at least tried), and loved it. Perhaps if the inventor of that techique spoke up, we could get our sport back.

Welcome to 3 weeks ago. Schreiber was at the US world round and gave his opinion on the new rules and it was nothing like yours nothing.

[twinshocked]

Quarterly corporate profit projections of the manufacturer's trials sub-division just aren't a priority for me, unlike the FIM....but the art of man and machine against nature is a priority.

So, who's going to build the bikes in your Socialist utopia Comrade.

[rob214]

ok, i guess we're at an impasse, just let me know the rules and i'll ride, with that i'm off to bed. i need my rest so i can ride, hop, stop, no stop and just plane old have some fun on my 2013, disk brake, water cooled, hydraulic clutched / brake, no seat underweight bike. i don't want bad feelings between me and anyone else i'm not offended nor to i want to offend. your opinion is yours feel free to voice it. but i think on this topic i'm done.

good luck, God bless

rob

[axulsuv]

Dear Funtrials ... I wish you knew to whom you speak ... I was at the round in TN. I observed a section . And except for the riders having to link all the components of the sections together on the fly , (aka knowing where the move to do one thing leaves you for the next thing , without the option of stopping and re aiming your trajectory ) I don't see where much if anything really changed ... except for maybe the riders thinking on their own a little more ...

And twinshocked IS one of the best trials riders I know , he is one of those guys that can do all the trick moves on any bike ,a 2013 whatever or a 200+lb honda , and he likes them all ... But like most of us here in the real world , he rides for his own satisfaction , not for anyone else . A true trials rider ... who is always willing to help , teach , instruct other riders to improve themselves ...

Just my 2 cents ,now I'm gonna go replace the coil on my son's TY80 and then fire up one or two of my fantics and play with my kids for fathers day !

And see if maybe they will listen to me on what NOT to do to their trials bikes ...

have a great day ,

Glenn