Northern squads battle through
The resurrected Inter Centre Team Trial took place over the weekend of August 16/17 with the Northern Centre entering teams in all the available classes. The trials were at the Bob McGregor Trials Academy, Dunlop near Kilmarnock, a disused quarry with most of the sections manufactured from the quarry rockery.
It was the youth class on Saturday which had a very disappointing entry of just 5 Centres, totalling only17 riders , frankly a poor showing by the 16 Centres that chose not to send a youth team.
It was never going to be anything but a whitewash of the Northern team, and indeed the squad did finish last of the five teams, but all credit to them for taking part in the knowledge that their’s was likely to be a fruitless exercise.
Yorkshire fielded the winning team with East Yorkshire second, the Scottish ACU were third and the Cornwall team were fourth with Northern upholding the honour of the Centre by taking fifth.
In the Adult trial classes held on Sunday, both Northern’s Elite A and Expert A teams finished fourth overall with Northern Elite B in 8th. The Elite A team was Cameron Brice, Tom Swindlehurst and Wilf Shuttleworth with the Elite B team being Will Brockbank, Joe Hiley and Connor Anderson. The fourth placed Expert team was Richard and Dan Gaskell and Jimmy Johnson. The Elite winners were the Scottish ACU with Yorkshire winning the Expert category.
Let it be put on record here and now, the Centre as a whole should be proud that Cumbria fielded four squads, with the results to a certain extent being immaterial and the four riders, Cameron Batty, Will Edmondson, Tom Joel and Toby Jackson for whom the whole experience was one new to them, did their best and should be proud of their efforts. Their enthusiastic Team Manager was Anthony Hayhurst whilst Anthony Brockbank managed the three adult teams.