That £3 and why on-line is the best

Riders might like to know that following the recent Northern Centre Board meeting, the centre has put in a formal letter of complaint to the ACU with regard to the £3 administration charge they apply to withdrawn entries. Obviously, being the ACU no effective reply has yet been received and we also learn that at least one club is considering organising their own on-line entering system to avoid this nuisance. Riders also need to accept that for clubs, the on-line entering system is definitely preferable to the clubs for several reasons:

 1) clubs know in advance the number of entries and the ability of the riders so the course can be set out accordingly

2) the secretary doesn’t have to sit in his van and deal with a load of money which needs change organising in advance

3) it is increasingly difficult to  pay cash into the club’s bank as banks are closing branches

4) advance entries enable the production of an entry list for the information to all at the start

5) advance entries allow for the production of a results sheet that only needs the scores filling in after the trial (typing out the entry names takes longer than entering the section scores).

We understand that for some riders, advance entries are difficult to confirm for numerous reasons, but equally, those who put on events also have to make the commitment to get out in advance and set up the  trial, so commitment works both ways.

Certainly, at the moment the dire lack of entries is having a detrimental effect on the sport, not only in the Northern Centre but nationally, as we have picked up via social media that clubs in other locations are experiencing the same difficulties.