Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to both sets of rules. With the "stopping-allowed" rules, quite a lot of trick-riding skills can be displayed by riders, who can bunny-hop, backup and re-position themselves all they like while they assess the next obstacle in the section. But they can also stand there with one foot on the ground for as long as they like, and be penalised only one point for this display of "non-riding". These "stopping-allowed" rules also allow riders to take excessive amounts of time to negotiate a section. And the sections themselves take on a different form, as they evolve to accommodate these rules.

Obviously, the more freedom to perform "trick-riding" that is permitted, then the more difficult the sections must be made in order to discourage an excessive number of clean rides. In fact, the sections soon cease to be formed from natural obstacles, but instead are a series of individual obstacles separated by tightly-taped areas, where riders must hop around to position themselves for the next obstacle in the section.

The advantages of non-stop are brought about by the re-design of the sections that's required by these rules. There is no longer an opportunity (or need) for the riders to perform special tricks, as each section has to be designed as one continuous, non-stop obstacle. As a result, these non-stop sections will continue to cause penalties from riders of varying skill levels, but they will have a lower tendency to be dangerous or intimidating.

I'm going to go back in history now, to when I first started competing in the fifties. I remember being instructed to "Keep your fingers off the clutch!" It was considered extremely poor riding to touch the clutch, for fear of inducing wheelspin when it was re-engaged. But, with the growing popularity of lightweight two-stroke machines, ultra low-speed riding (using the clutch and brakes) soon became the norm. The old Hugh Viney style of riding, with heavily-flywheeled fourstroke engines pulling solidly down to around 200 rpm, soon went out of favour. Along with these low-speed balancing acts came the down-side of the new style. The sections became "nadgery", which was a derisive term applied to sections which used tape to force tight turns. The game became more about twisting and turning between tapes than about defeating a natural obstacle, such as a mud-hole or a steep climb.

So it progressed to the modern "stops-allowed" trial, where only half a dozen riders can compete effectivley at the world level. And even here in Canada, we have to sub-divide our tiny population of expert riders into a special "Champ" group, who are prepared to tackle these special sections -- sections needed simply because of the rules which encourage trick-riding.

So, we see two ways of handling the challenges brought about by these modern sections. The FIM, which allows stopping, puts a time limit on each section, to control just how long a rider can remain stationary. This is not an option here in Canada, as we have enough trouble recruiting observers, let alone finding a timekeeper for each section.

The ACU has opted for another solution -- they will not allow stopping in a section. This has the effect of making sections less dangerous and intimidating, as well as causing each section to be negotiated within a reasonable length of time. The ACU has gone one step further -- they have also banned the use of minders. These changes to the rules have also been designed to encourage a much greater participation in the championship class. As a result, the ACU has cut back on the number of classes at national championship rounds; there are now just the Championship class, and the supporting Expert class.

So there you have it. On the one hand we have trials with plenty of trick riding, but with very few competitors and a need to force riders to complete sections within a time limit. On the other hand, we have trials with plenty of willing competitors, and with sections completed in a timely and exciting manner, but lacking much of the spectacle of the special trick riding which can take place while the bike is not moving forward.