Major Shoulder Surgery for Andrew Schmidt

[Sherco Qld]

Disapointing news from Queensland .Major shoulder surgery for Andrew Schmidt last week after a nasty tear of the right shoulder at the 3rd round of the Queensland titles.

Wishing you a speedy recovery mate, see you on the bike next year.

If you want me to take your new KTM 520 for a run,just give me a call.

Scott[/code]

[jmclean]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery. When I saw him all bandaged up at the trial the other week, my heart just sank.

I don't understand what's going on up here this year regarding increased section difficulty. Some people seem to think that just because a trial is a state title round, that you must increase the level of difficulty.

The reality is people at the top of a grade will always finish at the top of their grade regardless of the level of difficulty. The problem lies in that it screws the rest of the field who consequently suffer greater levels of fatigue and have a higher probability of making mistakes that result in accidents.

When setting sections we must keep the levels of difficulty appropriate for ALL riders in each grade, not just the front runners.

Jim

[Steve Holzhauser]

Hi Jim,like you, I wish Andrew a quick recovery.
I'm sure everyone else in trials do not want any unnecessary accidents to riders in any of the grades.
The subject of sections and degrees of difficulty, has always been a hard area to get right in any grade, to cover the wide range of skill levels covered by blue plate riders is even tougher.
Your observation of the sections being more challenging is interesting to hear, as I feel the levels set on day one to be near where blue line should be.
Over a period of the last four to five years I feel the gap has widened quite subtantually between blue and yellow line.
Many trials, especially on the blue line are of no challenge at all for the more skilled c grade or veterans, with a whole days ride taking no marks off many of the riders.
This has been achieved by the continual backing off, of blue line and a notable increase in severety of yellow line.
Maybe why this has occured is to encourage more new comers to move up from clubman level prematurely ?
By lowering the standard of the blue line it has given a false sense of achievement to these riders coming up from clubman level.
It then shows when they are presented with sections that are well within the paremeters of what they should be comfortable with riding on a blue plate.
What should be kept in mind, is riders must be competant in their bike control over the day and show this over a period of time to be capable of moving up a grade and possess some degree of confidence at the new challenges they are to meet.
Some of the veteran riders that are not getting clean days or are finding sections a bit tougher, are starting to say the sections are getting too hard for them,but when pressed about how much time they spend on their bike, or how much practise they are doing, it becomes obvious why they are sliding down in results they are posting.
Just because they were capable of better rides when the were a bit younger and fitter does not mean sections should be eased off to suit their failing or less polished skills.
Now this lowering of the level of the blue line really is showing up when the mainly young riders move up to yellow line. If you look at any of the results it is very easy to see, so in reality you are short changing these young riders by not giving them a solid grounding at blue level.
Blue line, most people consider, should be wheels on the ground sections for the most part.
It should now be taken into account the modern trials bikes lend the riders greater assistance, and these bikes do smooth out what previously would be considered challenging.
I have noticed in Victoria and South Australia they have a few extra splitters in sections and call it a blue + line. This to me is a clear indication of riders not being of a standard to have a blue plate, and reinforces the marked step between blue line and yellow line.
I think, even at this level, (blue) riders must learn to use basic front or rear wheel hopping with control, to negotiate very tight turns as these are a skill that must be mastered, to a degree, before any rider can move up the ladder to their yellow plate.
It is very, very rare to find a section in blue line that requires this skill and I feel this is an area that is being neglected in a young riders developement.
To try and encourage the clubs section setters to use an area in a section that will require this skill, will work in two ways,the first is, it will always take a point off a rider who has to foot and pull his machine around to set his required direction,thus encouraging riders to practise this skill and develop a higher degree of machine control.
The second benefit is dangerous steps and daunting drop offs may not be needed to take points away from the higher skilled blue riders, and as Jim rightly points out , much to the detriment of the other riders still developing their skills.
That's all well and good, you may say, you have been around the block and the hard challenges are less daunting to you, but trials is all about machine control, regardless of age and experience, it still requires practice, and even after thirty odd years of riding I feel I'm still improving, and yes, this is achieved with practice.



I was at the section and actually saw Andrew's injury occur.This section was a real bottleneck with every grade using it.It was one of the few sections that had a few different lines available to the riders.The line of choice by Andrew was with out a doubt the most difficult and dangerous of the lines he could have picked.Now in saying this I am not being critical of Andrew, as he may not have seen the easier route, but it is an unfair accusation to lay the blame on harder than usual sections and the organising club when there was a much safer line to be used.
Trials clubs that do have schooling days, should be mindful of not only teaching riding skills, but also encouraging riders, from a young age, to look hard at the sections that they are to ride, and try and find a line that may suit them better than what the few previous riders may have used.

Make no mistake if you wish to compete, either just for the enjoyment of a ride with your mates, or to try and master all sections presented, to be satisfied with your ride, at the end of the day, it is up to you to put in the effort, not only on the bike with practice, but also in achieving a degree of fitness that will see you through the event without weariness or exhaustion catching you out.It really does not matter if you are a youngster or much older than you really like to admit, it is your responsibility to be mindful of your capabilities in the selection of the challenge you set for yourself.

After day one at this event I made a point of congratulating Joe Luft, as I thought he and his helpers had set a trials course that was of a challenging standard that could only encourage riders to bring out their best.

[sherpa t]

[Steve Holzhauser]

My post was submitted with a positive intent.


Steve.

[Neo]

sherpa t,

I’ve thought long and hard about your accusations.

But I can’t see how you can possibly be talking about Steve.
I love watching Steve at any event. And I have never seen him garden or jump cues or do anything that was not covered in the MA rules, or his own personal “high code of conduct”…..Are you sure you are attacking the right person???


Steve,
Nick names are mainly a bit of fun. But they are also there to protect an identity from what can be a nasty Internet community. Being a moderator on this forum, I delete a lot of junk (as early in the morning as I can get to it). But it always concerns me just what else, these nasty individuals, will try next.


Best of balance.

Neo

[jmclean]

Sherpa T
I suspect your words were to be taken in jest. Even so, it comes out wrong.
Could you please remove the post...and an apology to Steve would be best.

Back on topic. Has anyone heard how Andrew is fairing?

Jim

[sherpa t]

Your 100% right Jim.MyBiggest Apology to Steve and fellow Forum readers for my previous negative comments.It was not meant to be such a personal attack on you Steve, Im sorry.

[Neo]

Just a thought….(which is close to my heart at the moment )
But with Keith’s permission, would you guys (Steve & shepa_t) prefer to have some of your posts removed from this thread?

Send me a PM or post it here and I run it past Keith.

Best of balance.

Neo

[Tony C]

Neo,
does the role of moderator also include the role of censor?
One would think anyone posting on a subject should "look before they leap".
Albeit some of the posts may be hurtful but I would think that within 24 hours, all is forgotten or forgiven.