Severity of Sections

[chrisw]

Hi All,
been checking out the forum on the Trials web site, in particular the thread with regards to Andrew Scmidt and his recent injury, there are some interesting comments wrt section severity.
I suspect that there has been a tendency for the B grade lines to become very close to A grade in difficulty, and there does seem to be a significant gap between C grade and B grade. I notice that some individuals seem to be having some difficulty having recently transitioned from C grade to B grade.

I don't like the idea of C & C+ sections, it is hard enough for the observers as it is - (accordingly I can't see the "OpenFree" Trials revolution taking off as it will require a lot of observer involvement).
Steve Holzhauser made some interesting points in that C grade should be able to be completed with both wheels on the ground, the corners can be made tight so that you need to foot to bring the bike around - thereby taking points off (therefore not needing any dramatic steps or drop offs to separate the top riders), those that are good enough can hop the bike around and not loose any points.
I also agree with Steve wrt training, it is probably unrealistic to expect to compete successfully at a level higher than Club grade without training on the bike on a regular basis.
Accordingly the following is offered as a starting point, & I encourage input from trials devotees, particularly wrt inclusion and size of rock steps, logs etc:
(Hi Seiko in advance - I know you still don't like logs)
Intro should be suitable for beginners.
Club grade should be a step up from Intro but suitable for "social riders". This grade might expect to be able to handle off camber turns, full clutch control etc.
C grade should be a step up from Club grade in technical difficulty, but without large steps or drop offs.
B grade should include steps and drop offs but still within the capability of the Masters Riders.
A grade should be a step up from B but still leaving a margin of difference to the Expert grade.
Expert grade should be severe enough to still take points from the top riders in the country.

Additionally I note that Classic used to ride the Intro line but more commonly ride the club line.
I believe that Classic ought to be able to be riden without the need to ‘slip” the clutch.

Post Classic (Twin Shock) typically ride the club line, however the QLD Twin Shock Masters the Post Classic can opt to ride the C grade line (if they are endorsed) or the club line, but the winner will be from the higher grade line.

Regards
Chris Williams

PS Please keep responses constructive.

[David Lahey]

Thanks Chris

The severity levels you mention sound fine with me. I especially like Steve Holzhausers comment about using turns in C grade to widen the score spread.

Twinshock and Classic pose a special challenge for section setters due to the wide range of rider capability in the one class. The current idea seems to be to make the sections so that the top riders score very low totals but are generally still able to be separated by the end. This is probably the best we can hope for with all Twinshock or Classic riders in the one grade.

I congratulate the section setters in the SE Queensland clubs who walk that fine line and manage to get the Twinshock section severity so close to ideal. It is appreciated.

[DIESEL DAN]

I'm happy with the victorian grading system. I would be happy to go on to c+ next year after looking at B grade lines on the weekend