Breaking the rules

Now, everyone will have a view on this and in a free society we are of course all entitled to our own stupid views.

 

Mine (which may well be stupid and certainly irrelevant) is that it won't make any difference whatsoever.

 

Why? Because the problem with the FIM is that no-one takes responsibility for enforcing the rules that already exist at World Championship rounds. 

 

For instance, there are rules about Minders not being allowed in sections. But they are ALWAYS collectively in the sections. Wandering around, booting rocks, setting up kickers, pouring water on rocks while pretending not to... 

 

Ask the FIM stewards why they take no action and they tell you that they are not in attendance with authority to act. 

 

They are there to observe the event and make a report after the trial. By which time of course the event is over and done with. 

 

Repeat ad infinitum...

 

Therefore, it doesn't matter a monkey's what observing rule will be in force next year. 

 

Clerks of the course will continue to mark sections to suit themselves, riders will continue to stop and start and – more to the point – observers will continue to observe exactly how they please. 

 

Who's going to stop them? 

 

Why will it be like this? 

 

Because we have been here before! Trials observing rules were always no stop, right up until riders learned how to stop and balance, which made riding sections much easier. 

 

To counter this the sections became much harder, so riders stopped and balanced more than ever. Observers were allowing this – because they daren't do anything else – and the rules were then altered to make it all legal. 

 

It was then taking riders 10 minutes to get through sections, so a time limit was introduced. 

 

Since then of course World Championship trials have got harder and harder and entries fewer and fewer, until the current crisis and rule change.

 

The big problem being that you can't de-invent something. You won't stop riders ‘stopping' and – if the intention is to stop ‘Minders' – that's an impossibility as well. 

 

They will simply go back to entering the trials – which is how Minding started – with riders assisting each other. 

 

Thierry Michaud and brother Fred were in the vanguard of Minding, as Fred would abort his ride to assist his younger brother.

 

The change to no stop certainly removes one headache for the ACU trials committee. 

 

No need to run a stop-allowed series next year. 

 

They can revert to no-stop – in order to help our World Championship contenders...