Trials and Social Distancing

[johnnyboxer]

I see that outdoor 'non contact sports' may go head and resume later this month, so that leads us onto the sport we enjoy

Apart from section queues, I think some good measure of social distancing, can be achieved and Club and Centre Trials

Nationals and bigger events, like Scott and SSDT with large amounts of Spectators may be more tricky

Just before lock down I was at the Cleveland National and they had sectioned off and roped off sections, so spectators and riders were 'distanced'

Punch cards were abandoned, in favour of marker boards by Observers and 2 Observers per section (not necessary at a Club trial)

Practice grounds - I see our local one is reopening tomorrow and working on a permit system, with just 2 vehicles per day there

Trials are going to be different for a while and section queuing needs addressing for sure, especially at smaller venues, with large number of sections on a smaller land area

Edited May 7, 2020 by johnnyboxer

[on it]

3 minutes ago, johnnyboxer said:

I see that outdoor 'non contact sports' may go head and resume later this month, so that leads us onto the sport we enjoy

Apart from section queues, I think some good measure of social distancing, can be achieved and Club and Centre Trials

Nationals and bigger events, like Scott and SSDT with large amounts of Spectators may be more tricky

Just before lock down I was at the Cleveland National and they had sectioned off and roped off sections, so spectators and riders were 'distanced'

Punch cards were abandoned, in favour of marker boards by Observers and 2 Observers per section (not necessary at a Club trial)

Practice grounds - I see our local one is reopening tomorrow and working on a permit system, with just 2 vehicles per day there

Trials are going to be different for a while and section queuing needs addressing for sure, especially at smaller venues, with large number of sections on a smaller land area

And this is why we have the ACU governing body to sort this ! but   A good start would be all events turn into pre enter NO ENTRYS ON DAY =helps with parking   and along with acu membership we get a race number as in scotland ?(goes on bike & observes boards done to suite ) riders wear color bib for which course there on as in ireland  =  no queues around the secretarys car should work well at club center level,  nationals? different format you get you number sent to you. As for section queues   tape from begins cards out  6ft say  1rider /bike in there at a time  riders own responsibility  for  distancing along with walking sections ,  .The only problem with all this is riders are going to have to get there act together 

[johnnyboxer]

2 hours ago, on it said:

And this is why we have the ACU governing body to sort this ! but   A good start would be all events turn into pre enter NO ENTRYS ON DAY =helps with parking   and along with acu membership we get a race number as in scotland ?(goes on bike & observes boards done to suite ) riders wear color bib for which course there on as in ireland  =  no queues around the secretarys car should work well at club center level,  nationals? different format you get you number sent to you. As for section queues   tape from begins cards out  6ft say  1rider /bike in there at a time  riders own responsibility  for  distancing along with walking sections ,  .The only problem with all this is riders are going to have to get there act together 

Just asking for your views as the ACU committee will no doubt be reading all viewpoints 

[sherco70]

Washington state, USA, has reopened off road trails,  which includes trials areas, but continues to ban group events,  so some progress in our part of the country and a big part of maintaining sanity. 

Art

[lineaway]

We never lost riding areas. Just 4 events have been canceled locally so far. I have not ridden other than home. No reason to risk a chance encounter along the way.

[retromlc]

Apart from signing on I can't see a problem, the W.H.O Actually now say 1 meter apart and it's how long you stay near someone, the 2 m distance has been reviewed, most of the time, if not all the time I don't think at a trial I'm nearer than a meter anyway, if everyone brought their own pens and wore gloves then signing on issues are resolved

[trialsrfun]

Online pre event entries with a maximum number of  riders would seem to me the most responsible way forward at least in the short term.

[Deano3]

I agree with trialsrfun, enter on line and limit size of entry would be best way forward in the short term.

otherwise an entry of over a hundred would occur at a lot of events with riding not being available for so long leading to lots of issues

[johnsandywhite]

15 hours ago, trialsrfun said:

Online pre event entries with a maximum number of  riders would seem to me the most responsible way forward at least in the short term.

A great idea. The only problem is that some Clubs have to pay the Land Owner for the use of the land.

Restricting entries would limit what Trials a Club could afford to run.

[evo boy]

I can't wait to get back to trials but I can't see it happening in the UK anytime soon ? but I hope I'm wrong

[Junglejeff]

At a trials this weekend we did ok.Did the masks for sign up and they put up a shield. 2 guys in each group scored to limit contact. Kept our distance well walking sections. We had some elbow and fist bumps to say good ride.There were times were people that don't believe it's a problem did not distance properly as people's fear levels of this varied quite a bit.

[ChrisCH]

First outing last night and it was OK.  Probably half the people we would normally expect so it was fairly easy to show willing.  Made for a more relaxed evening as well.  Nice to be back although I ache this morning.  Looking forward to the next one.

[rabie]

On 7/22/2020 at 2:09 AM, Junglejeff said:

....There were times were people that don't believe it's a problem did not distance properly as people's fear levels of this varied quite a bit.

this is the real issue for me (as an organiser), all it needs is for some photo to get out (of some riders not doing it right, because they don't think it is an issue/real/etc) and the wrath of the do gooders / authorities / etc get us in trouble

[Junglejeff]

On 7/26/2020 at 3:47 PM, rabie said:

this is the real issue for me (as an organiser), all it needs is for some photo to get out (of some riders not doing it right, because they don't think it is an issue/real/etc) and the wrath of the do gooders / authorities / etc get us in trouble

Its pretty crazy these days.On the way home from the trials I stopped at a friend's house.He was sick as a dog and I got him to hospital.He has been on oxygen for 12 days now in icu.He believed it was all bs and took no precautions. I entered his house and had a mask on but still got tested 5 days after my encounter. The covid is not slowing me down much but I stay away from crowds and social distance.It is a pita sometimes but nothing I can do.Our governor is cracking down again now but honestly it will not help much.

[nigel dabster]

On 5/7/2020 at 4:57 PM, retromlc said:

Apart from signing on I can't see a problem, the W.H.O Actually now say 1 meter apart and it's how long you stay near someone, the 2 m distance has been reviewed, most of the time, if not all the time I don't think at a trial I'm nearer than a meter anyway, if everyone brought their own pens and wore gloves then signing on issues are resolved

if you cant see a problem you dont understand trials? What happens when a rider gets stuck under a machine or foot jammed in wheel? we cant social distance and help him or her? an older observer falls over do you help them up? A rider breaks down at the bottom of a stream do you help push the bike out?