Summer Series Round3.pdf (7.74 kb)

Needless to say the events of this week are nothing short of horrific. We hope everyone in the club is safe and well and still have a roof over their heads.

The trial this weekend at Timaru will still go ahead and Mike has assured us we can get plenty of fuel in Timaru. This maybe a good opportunity for some of us to get away from town for a day and try to forget the destruction at home. So pack up the family and get away for a while, even just a few hours might be good for you.

Graeme Hibbs has been in contact with me and and has decided to postpone the Alexandra round of the South Island Champs until the end of the year. He felt it was too soon after the earthquake to expect people to travel away for a few days leaving their families at home. Reluctantly in the end I had to agree with him, although I did feel some of us might be glad of a chance to escape for a while. A new date will be decided soon so keep your eye on this site for details.

Firstly I would like to Rave about how fantastic the Summer Series has been so far. For me, one of the key factors has been the Spectator Friendliness of both Graylees Road and Lower Living Springs. At Living Springs, I spent some time in conversation with a Dad and his three sons aged from about 8 years up to about 14. I didn't have to explain to them what Trials is about because the action was right in front of us. I am confident that we will see this family again. We are taking this spectator friendliness into consideration with layout for our Timaru Trial. I believe that 3 Spectator accessable sections if that is possible, should be the aim for our future Events.

Back to The Mick Andrews Weekend. Al Duthie take a bow. I reckon we need more combined Classic and Modern events as the numbers entered speak for themselves. Given the work involved in Laying out a trial surely it would benefit both small clubs to share this load. And anyway I can't get enough of seeing these beautifully restored classics being ridden with enthusiasm.

So ends the Sermon from the Mount er Wheelchair.

Cheers, Mike Rowley

Mick on the Ossa. Photo by Will Gittoes.

Well Mick has been and gone and what a great weekend it was. Congratulations to Allan Duthie who did a brilliant job putting it all together for us. We should also thank Alan and Isobel Honeybone for providing Mick and and his lovely wife with somewhere to stay and for their awesome hospitality on Friday night. We now have some photos in the gallery for you to look at. As always, I have tried to put a name to each one but if I've got it wrong or you can help me out with a name or two let me know. (see below)

Specail Thanks to Trev Wylie and Will Gittoes from the CustGP website for their contributions. 

Danny Spencer in training. Photo by Trev Wiley.

Billy Bultaco?? (A.K.A. Matt Fear from Ashburton, Thanks Stu.)

Moto Trials is now underway for 2011. May the year go without a “hitch”?         

It is the last year of my tenure as commissioner and I have been contemplating my options. MNZ will be advertising to appoint a new commissioner this year but have also asked if I am interested in reapplying.          

 For me the last year has been one of “much dialogue and little achieved”. I have tried to facilitate resolutions. I am not sure if facilitating is what you want [or need]. With the limitations of most communication being of email/web type it is difficult to bring consensus to the level where clubs are eager to “get behind” a common theme. In fact the converse seems more likely.         

 I have a feeling that a more dictatorial approach may be simpler and more effective but it is not an approach that comes easy to me. In fact, for the time I have been doing the job I have spent most of my efforts trying to “adjust” your systems to suit your desires [by majority].        

  I have some more years left in me and could continue to work for you and by now you will know what you are getting [in me] BUT if there is another candidate for the job I urge you to seek support of your peers and put your name forward. An injection of enthusiasm is often ‘very good medicine’ and being replaced may well be the tonic that I need as well.         

   As I previously stated: Mostly I have been trying to ascertain what it is that most of you want and trying to document that facet of the sport.  It seems to have been a long time achieving little. I started out trying to streamline communication and then tried to introduce you to MNZ web [I don’t think many of you read here] but if I am about to be replaced I want to draw your attention to the REAL problem the sport faces before I fade into obscurity. That is: 

“Where have all the young ones gone”? Used to be the name of a song but now something we need to talk about. The demographics again for those who may have missed them in the past newsletters:         

We [in Moto Trials] have:…. approx 20 riders under 17 years old                  

Approx….. 25 riders between 17 and 35 years.                  

 Approx…. 30 riders between 35 and 45 years.                  

Approx…. 70 riders between 45 and 55 years.                  

Approx…. 25 riders over 55 years.

The above should worry anyone who is concerned about the future of the sport. If you asked anyone what sport was involved with demographics similar to above they may answer a Golf Club. They would not link it to a national figure of what some of us consider ‘extreme’ motorcycling.         

 I will still be your commissioner at the AGM workshops on May 20 – 22 and our feature topic will be…”Growing our sport”. Please consider coming to Palmerston North and making a contribution to your sport.                                                                                                                                     

Jim Henderson          

summary.pdf (8.73 kb)