dadof2 Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 I could not care less whether trials are on SPOTY or not, Does the winner actually have a personality? What the ACU needs to do (and should have been doing for years) is facilitate the purchase of land for off road motorsport. A £1 or £2 levy on all riders at all events would soon add up to quite a pot. Lotto / sport england would add at leasts as much again and hopefully dealers and importers would contribute a bit. Easily accessible legal practice areas are what the sport needs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentmain Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) All, What is the average age of the competitors in your Club level/ Area trial? I'd say (and i can only look at my area) its about 45. Therefore if we carry on the way we are then in 30 or so years the sport will be virtually gone! Well done! Edited December 22, 2015 by brentmain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizza5 Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 What the ACU needs to do (and should have been doing for years) is facilitate the purchase of land for off road motorsport. A £1 or £2 levy on all riders at all events would soon add up to quite a pot. Lotto / sport england would add at leasts as much again and hopefully dealers and importers would contribute a bit. Easily accessible legal practice areas are what the sport needs. I believe Earls Shilton got some money from the ACU to purchase their first piece of land several years ago, they have just purchased an adjoining piece recently where they have sourced funding from another party and club finds combined. They are pro active in securing land for the future. That said the club is under the M69 motorway and noise pollution is never going to be an issue with the nearest house 1/2 a mile away. Purchase a piece of land within spitting distance of any property, right of way, ramblers rights etc. etc. then you will open a whole can of worms look what happened at Addingham Moorside? So taking into account the above I believe the ACU may be in a position to help, who would take any land purchase on? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanorbust Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) "All, What is the average age of the competitors in your Club level/ Area trial? I'd say (and i can only look at my area) its about 45. Therefore if we carry on the way we are then in 30 or so years the sport will be virtually gone! Well done!" That could have been said of trials in my centre 20/30 years ago, yet here we are with the same level of entries despite lack of "promotion". As has been noted, generations of riders follow one another. In my opinion what will finally do for trials is the eventual expiry of access to land or oil reserves. You decide which will come first. Edited December 22, 2015 by cleanorbust 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabber Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 One thing that does seem to be getting people onto trials bikes for the first time is the experience days that Inch perfect are running. They are blessed with a fantastic piece of land in a beautiful part of the world, but they also seem to have tapped into a lot of latent demand. Good clubs locally for the newbies to get going with too - Lancs County, Darwen, Bolton, Rochdale etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentmain Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Firstly let me say that i believe none of the points raised so far are wrong! There is some exceptional valid points both for and against. One last question. Do we have a sport here.....or is it just a hobby/pastime. If its a sport then surely it needs to be publicised better! Therefore promoted and advertised. The public generally recognise the names famous riders from the past like Miller, Andrews and the Lampkin Clan and possibly will know who Dougie is. However, how many general bikers these days will know who Raga, Bou and Dabbill are never mind the general public. Yet all no doubt will know of Rossi! Gizza5 has made an excellent point stating that the way forward maybe in the purchase of practice grounds and competition land, as did Dabber in highlighting the fact that inch perfect trials are doing exactly this, albeit in the North West. Wish we had something similar in the North East!!! May i also point out i fully agree with cleanorbust with all of his comments because he's right.....mostly! According to the NE guys (and girls) there used to be alot more competitors in the 70s and 80s than now! I guess this is an ACU issue after all if we all feel strongly about our views! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanorbust Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Thanks brentmain for your response. Good point regarding clubs purchasing land. My club owns a superb trials park which members can use any time. An interesting result is that this has created a cohort of riders who help to keep the trials industry going by buying bikes and gear, but who have little or no interest in competing in trials: they don't think they're good enough (they are), don't like queueing at sections or, like hobby golfers, just want to get out for some fun riding sections without the stress of competition. Nothing wrong with that, but they don't swell the entries at trials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadof2 Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 I believe Earls Shilton got some money from the ACU to purchase their first piece of land several years ago, they have just purchased an adjoining piece recently where they have sourced funding from another party and club finds combined. They are pro active in securing land for the future. That said the club is under the M69 motorway and noise pollution is never going to be an issue with the nearest house 1/2 a mile away. Purchase a piece of land within spitting distance of any property, right of way, ramblers rights etc. etc. then you will open a whole can of worms look what happened at Addingham Moorside? So taking into account the above I believe the ACU may be in a position to help, who would take any land purchase on? It would have to be clubs that took on the responsibility of land purchase, individuals could not easily access lotto funding. I have looked at land purchase and lottery funding previously (not with specific relevance to trials). A problem is that when a suitable piece of land comes on the market it is often soon sold, long before a club can get the money together or get a lottery bid approved. What really needs to be in place, and really only the ACU can do this, is a continually built up pot of money and well known contacts in lotto / sport england. Then when anyone sees a good piece of land come onto the market the ACU are in a position to quickly support its purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyboxer Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 Thanks brentmain for your response. Good point regarding clubs purchasing land. My club owns a superb trials park which members can use any time. An interesting result is that this has created a cohort of riders who help to keep the trials industry going by buying bikes and gear, but who have little or no interest in competing in trials: they don't think they're good enough (they are), don't like queueing at sections or, like hobby golfers, just want to get out for some fun riding sections without the stress of competition. Nothing wrong with that, but they don't swell the entries at trials. Interesting, i'm crap................but still enter I much prefer a Trial to just practising Horses for Courses, I guess 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timp Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 The electric bike is helping to get youngsters in to trials. Kids want something they can easily play a out with on the drive and garden at home. Petrol engines prevented that to a degree. This will only grow as newer and better bikes come along. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinsyderob Posted December 25, 2015 Report Share Posted December 25, 2015 The Only way I can see is for more practice areas been made available. Most enduro/road riders I know don't do trials as there is a lack of places to ride other than organised trials. I know this is difficult and I don't know the answer to making more available but until people have a variety of areas to use there bike they won't be so keen to go out and spend there money on a bike they can't really use. Just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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