Ideas for 2021 Season

How to conduct events is a big issue for sure but there's also the problem of possibly not being able to hold the annual meeting. One thought might be to carry most everything forward from last year's meeting. The 2020 season never happened so there wasn’t a chance to try out any class changes, rules changes etc.

Could the event schedule be addressed on the forum? Maybe a separate section where clubs could submit dates and negotiate conflicts?

Meetings are an issue during this time, possible options, forum, virtual meetings. Below are a few that offer free options but do have some limitations:

Zoom Meetings - Free version 40-minute limit on group meetings.

https://zoom.us/

Cisco Webex Meetings - Free version 40-minute limit on group meetings up to 50 participants.  https://www.webex.com/video-conferencing

I found this online sign-up page for the So. Cal Trials Riders group. Looks like it makes online sign up easy.  I'm jealous that they are riding! SoCalTrials Racing Registration — socaltrials.com

Here us So.Cal's Covid page.        SCTA COVID 19 Plan — socaltrials.com

@mike

Thanks for the pointer. Their online signup looks great. We can do something similar.

Great idea right there !  On-line sign-ups.  Someone tell Stu.  We are having a warm discussion about the lack of initiative at NETA on the Granite State Trials Group Facebook page.  I am arguing for some action now.  Stu is saying he wants us to do input here but will not listen to me any more.  I have suggested ways to reduce the group size to under 100, which should be easy, but I like this suggestion a lot.

Here is a stand-alone sign I made that could be placed along our entry drive

for attendees to sign the waiver form without contact with others. 

Hello NETA Family, With March approaching quickly it is definitely time to ramp up our communications here in an effort to return to our Trials events in the 2021 season. Any and all ideas are worth hearing, so please do not hesitate to throw your helmet into the ring with any constructive perspectives on the situation at hand. 

 I would like to start by thanking Dr. Brennan for his professional opinions on the situation from a medical point of view, and I feel that NETA is extremely fortunate to have Hub onboard. His credentials as Chief Medical Consultant for both the AMA and FIM are exemplary examples of his qualifications, and anyone lucky enough to know him in person will surely be aware that his level of integrity is unsurpassed. 

 Also a quick shout out to our NETA Board members, David Scarbro, Bill Bonneau, and Max Parks, for their generous contributions of time and effort to the benefit our NETA Family. Our Rules Committee members, Dave Allen, Leo O'Shay, and Charles Gray also deserve commendation for their continued efforts, especially now with the adaptations we are facing to get our events up and running once again for the 2021 season.

 As of now it is looking like a "Half Season" will be the most likely way to move forward from here, and I am very hopeful that this will be a realistic timeframe for a Mid June to July startup to resume our event schedule. As of now it remains to be seen just what measures might be needed by that time, but I feel we need to ready to adapt with a potential online signup, and maybe some scoring changes as to the use of a scoresheet for the checkers to use without having any direct contact with the rider to punch a card. Some other clubs are using this method, and in my recent conversations they have relayed the following suggestions :

 Online sign up cutoff would be on Thursday night prior to each event, to allow for the time to generate a scoresheet with the list of riders for entered for the day. As all scoresheets would no be available until the end of the day, we might have to post results a day or so later, or perhaps time will allow the scoring to accomplished on a same day basis. I think this might take a try or two to figure out, but either way, we should have a plan in mind when the time comes.

 There is a lot more ground to cover here but hopefully this will get the conversation started to help get our 2021 NETA Season underway in a proper and professional manner that will not impede our future events for many years to come.

 I realize there are a few folks out there that might feel we are being " overcautious" with the continued delay of events this Spring, but it is my perspective, as well as that of the rest of the board that it is imperative that we move forward without exposing potential liability implications by exceeding or violating any local or regional limitations that could end up threatening our future ability to hold events in the future. In other words, it would be better to miss a few events to insure our ability to hold more into the future, than to ruc=sh in a few events to early, only to have it backfire and prevent any more events later.

That's it for now everyone, please feel free to chime in here anytime,

Stuart Preston - Proud President of the NETA Family 

@mike Nice job on the sign in station Mike ! 

I'd like to offer another suggestion if we adopt the clipboard method of scoring. This method has been used successfully for many events such as the SSDT. They issue unique riding numbers to participants on a pre-registration basis and the number is displayed on a rider's bib. I suggest we use everyone's current riding number instead. This might make things simpler when creating scoresheets but, more importantly, existing number plates/decals could still be used without the need for an additional number.

@stevec  > Thank You Steve, These suggestions are very logical and make very good sense to me as well. Dave Allen has mentioned a clipboard with a layer of foam under the scoresheet can enable the checker to simply poke a hole in the scorecard in the appropriate location much like punching a regular scorecard. This is how scoring is done at the Scottish 6 day, and it makes good sense in my opinion also. A waterproof scoresheet formatted with the usual scoring boxes would do the trick simply, and effectively. 

Hey everyone, 

Good to see some positive direction on having events. I agree with Dr. Brennan's advice. Some wise words from a respectable motorcycle base. So what if the season starts in July.  It won't even be a half season. More like a 7/8ths season. That's  just two months late from the normal May season opener. Everyone will have time needed to get their covid situations in order and be ready for a good competitive season! That being said, you have two extra months to get your spring practice in. The snows melting and I got some goooood sections picked out for some overly ready riders!

@jesspriest     Yeah Buddy  ! That's the kind of Spirit that will bring us all back stronger than ever !!! 

• I am happy to see some responses coming in here over the weekend, and have been encouraging others to please join in here as well.

   

   For what it might be worth I would like to remind everyone of a couple of factors involved here please.

   

  Leading up to this time, the precedent has always been, that anytime there has been a topic of debate for our NETA rulebook and it has been found that there is no pertinent existing rule that applies to said topic, we invariably defer to the existing rules that Do apply in NATC Rulebook. A recent example was a few seasons ago when there was a large dispute over the Youth riders and a push for some complicated rule changes to potentially be instituted. When it was found to be too complicated to work out in the time allowed, we simply deferred to the Youth class rules as written by the NATC. That being said I am sure most of you might have noticed that the NATC ruled to CANCEL all Trials for 2020. As we had no provisions for Covid in our NETA rulebook, it was very logical to once again follow the lead of the NATC and do the same. Now we finally have the NATC dates for June 20th as the resumption of the National Trials season, and you can be sure we will be doing the same for NETA at the same time. Finally this week, we got the news we have been waiting for, as the state of Massachusetts has declared it safe for up to 150 people to gather in an outdoor setting. Hub's recommendation and the NATC nationals are within a week of one another, and I see no reason why the June 13th date at Brimfield should not be our NETA Season Opener. I realize some other venues have chosen to have events prior to what the NATC, and our own Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. Brennan have deemed advisable, but I feel we should all feel proud that the NETA Organization has been able to stay on the high road, and will never be able to be accused of holding any events under what could have been considered as an irresponsible date or location in regards to the myriad of state to state limitations that have been so abundant this past year. If some feel we have waited too long, you have my apologies, but speaking personally, and professionally, I can honestly say that I have no regrets. As President of the wonderful group, I am proud to have protected the reputation of the NETA Organization under my watch at what has surely been one of the most surprising times in the long and storied history of the group. NETA is and always will be one of the oldest, and most respected Trials Organizations in North America, and for good reason. I hope we can all be proud of making it through all this unscathed, and be ready to move forward with our season again in 2021.

   

  Stuart Preston - NETA President 

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