FEDERATION OF BRITISH POLICE MOTOR CLUBS

 

RULES FOR THE NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE TREK CHAMPIONSHIP

 

Rule 1 - Governance.

 

1.1        There shall be a meeting which will take the form of an Annual General Meeting at the end of each championship year.

 

1.2        The Annual General Meeting shall appoint a National Trek Secretary for the forthcoming year.

 

1.3        The venue of the Annual General Meeting shall be at the discretion of the National Trek Secretary.

 

1.4        Trek organisers and competitors shall be informed of the venue of the Annual General Meeting.

 

Rule 2 – Rule deleted

 

Rule 3 - Event Dates.

 

3.1        The National Trek Secretary must be notified as soon as practicable of the intended dates of each event.   Such notice must be given at least twelve weeks prior to the date of the event.  

 

3.2        There must be at least three weeks between each event.

 

3.3        The final event of the year may take place no later than the first full weekend in October.

 

Rule 4 - Entrant Qualification.

 

4.1        The competition shall be an individual and team event.

 

4.2        Qualifying entrants shall be persons who, at the date of an event for which they have entered, are current members of a club which is affiliated to the FBPMC.

 

4.3        Persons outside this category may be invited to take part in a “Guest Championship” and be considered for a “Spirit of the Event” award, but are excluded from National Trek Championship points.

 

4.4        Rule deleted

 

4.5        All entries must be sent to the event organiser so as to reach him or her prior to 28 days before the date of the event.

 

4.5.1     Any entrant who cannot comply with the 28 day requirement of Rule 4.5 will be responsible for making his or her own accommodation arrangements.  

 

Rule 5 - Qualifying Dates / Awards.

 

5.1        The National Motorcycle Trek Championship will commence on 1st January each year.

 

5.2        The trophies will be presented at the Annual General Meeting arranged as per Rule 1.1.

 

5.3        The trophies may be made available for presentation at the FBPMC AGCM for the preceding year’s competition.

 

 

Rule 6 – Qualifying Teams

 

6.1        Riders who intend to join together as a team for an event shall declare an agreed team name to the organiser(s) in advance of the event.

 

6.2        Teams may consist of:

 

·         A minimum of two riders in any one event, and

·         A maximum of three riders in any one event, and

·         A maximum of five riders in any one season -

 

provided in all cases at least two of the riders at each event shall be ‘qualifying entrants’ in accordance with Rule 4.2

 

6.3        Subject to Rule 6.2, where two riders wish to enter as a team for an event, they may, by mutual consent, be joined by another rider who may be another ‘qualifying entrant’ under Rule 4.2 or an invited guest in accordance with Rule 4.3.

 

6.3.1     Organisers shall not form ad-hoc teams from individual riders, nor supplement a team consisting of only two riders with another rider, without the prior agreement of each of the riders concerned.

 

6.4        A team name may not be used at more than one event in any one calendar year, unless, at subsequent events:

 

·         Rule 6.2 is satisfied, and

·         at least two of the proposed riders have competed under that team name at the first event in that calendar year at which a team of that name competed

 

6.5        Teams who do not finish an event with at least two of the three riders nominated to compete for that team before the start of the event will not be eligible for team championship points for that event.

 

 

Rule 7 – Championship and Championship Points.

 

7.1        If a Motorcycle Trek Championship comprises of fewer than three events, the championship will be declared void.

 

7.2        In order that event organisers may stand an equal chance in the championship, those riders and teams who compete in all Championship events will forfeit their worst scoring result.

 

7.3        At the conclusion of each event in the championship, the event secretary shall rank each competing rider  who is a ‘qualifying entrant’ by virtue of Rule 4.2, in order of merit in accordance with his or her event score, where necessary taking into consideration any tiebreaker applied by virtue of Rule 17.2. 

 

7.4        The National Trek Secretary shall duly award to each individual rider who is a ‘qualifying entrant’, championship points for each event.  Such points shall be equal to that rider’s ordinal position in the order of merit in that event.  Competitors who are invited guests by virtue of Rule 4.3 will have ‘Guest Championship’ points allocated separately by the same method. 

 

7.5        At the conclusion of each event in the championship, the event secretary shall rank each competing team formed in accordance with Rule 6 in order of merit in accordance with their event score. 

 

7.6        The National Trek Secretary shall duly award to each team which qualifies under Rule 6 ante, ‘Team Championship’ points which shall be equal to that team’s ordinal position in the order of merit for each event.

 

7.6        A rider shall be deemed to have entered the championship when he or she competes in an event. Without prejudice to Rule 7.2, where a rider does not compete in any or either of the other events in the annual series, the National Trek Secretary shall award that rider championship points for each such event and the points awarded shall in each case be one point more than the points awarded to the lowest ranked rider at the championship event attended by the greatest number of riders. This shall apply to both the individual and guest championships.

 

7.6        A team shall be deemed to have entered the championship when that team competes in an event. Without prejudice to Rule 7.2, where a team does not compete in any or either of the other events in the annual series, the National Trek Secretary shall award that team championship points for each such event and the points awarded shall in each case be one point more than the points awarded to the lowest ranked team at the championship event attended by the greatest number of teams.

 

7.7        The order of merit for the individual, guest and team championships shall begin with the lowest total championship score. 

 

Rule 8 - Rider Responsibilities.

 

8.1        A rider shall be responsible for all expenses incurred by him or her and his or her personal companions in respect of food, accommodation etc, whilst attending an event.   Failure to comply will result in disqualification from the results of the event.

.

8.2        In order to ensure their eligibility to score maximum points in a Trek, a rider must complete the full event on the machine he started with.   However, any rider who suffers machine failure or physical incapacity prior to completing the full event may submit, to a member of the organising staff, their Answer Sheet(s) for marking of those clues that have been visited, and answered, prior to the machine failure or physical incapacity becoming apparent.   

 

8.3        Any competitor who is reported by the police for any infringement of the Road Traffic Act whilst taking part in the event must inform the event organisers as soon as practicable. For an event in Northern Ireland, the term ‘Road Traffic Act’ shall be substituted with ‘Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order’

 

8.4        Any competitor involved in a “reportable” road accident must inform the event organisers as soon as practicable.

 

8.5        Any Road Traffic offence detected whilst taking part in the event will result in disqualification from that event.

 

Rule 9 - Event Secretary’s Responsibilities.

 

9.1        Regulations published for an event shall show that riders are bound by these rules.   The entry form shall include a certification that the rider accepts these rules and is eligible to ride as per Rules 4.2 and 4.3.

 

9.2        Entry forms will contain a Declaration of Indemnity against the organising club, the FBPMC region and the FBPMC.   The indemnity must be signed by all competitors and their passenger(s).

 

9.3        The secretary / organiser of every Trek will hold a Briefing during the early part of the evening prior to the Trek taking place.  All competitors must be apprised of the location and time of the Briefing.   Any competitor who is not able to present at such a Briefing must make his absence known to the organiser(s) in order that he/she may be briefed later.

 

9.4        The secretary / organiser of every Trek shall send to the National Trek Secretary details of the results of those riders and teams eligible for Championship points in order of overall merit.

 

9.4.1     The results list shall include the competitor’s full name; club; whether they are        competing as a member or guest of that club and score.

 

9.5        The secretary / organiser of every Trek shall, in the Entry Fee of all competitors in National Motorcycle Trek Championship competitions, include a levy for the purpose of providing replica trophies to the award winners in those competitions.

 

9.5.1     The amount of the levy referred to in Rule 9.5 shall be determined at the National Motorcycle Trek Annual General Meeting.

 

9.5.2     The secretary / organiser of every Trek shall forward the sum of money, levied in accordance with Rule 9.5, to the National Trek Secretary as soon as practicable after the completion of their event.

 

9.6        The secretary / organiser of each event will be responsible for ensuring that all aspects of the event are legal and that these rules are complied with.

 

 

 

Rule 10 - National Trek Secretary.

 

10.1      At the conclusion of each championship, the National Trek Secretary will arrange publication of a full list of the results in the FBPMC magazine.   A copy will also be sent to the National Motorcycle Secretary.

 

10.2      The National Trek Secretary shall maintain, or cause to have maintained, a Bank Account into which money levied in accordance with Rule 9.5 shall be paid.

 

10.3      Any balance accumulating in the Bank Account referred to in Rule 10.2 after the provision of Replica Trophies, shall be used to benefit the Motorcycle Trek ‘Community’ as a whole.

 

Rule 11 - Mileage.

 

11.1      No event shall be organised to cover in excess of 150 miles without a compulsory stop.

 

11.2      No event shall consist of a total mileage in excess of 220 miles unless special circumstances apply which have been approved by the National Trek Secretary.

 

11.3      No event shall consist of a total mileage in excess of 250 miles in one day.

 

Rule 12 - Maps and Grid References.

 

12.1      For every Trek, organisers and competitors will use Ordnance Survey maps to a scale of 1:50,000.

 

12.1.1.    The use by event organisers and competitors of enlarged 1:50,000 scale maps is banned.

 

12.1.2   The use of any form of Global Positioning System equipment by event organisers or competitors is banned.  

 

12.1.3   Rule deleted.

 

12.2      There will be no more than 8 grid references in any one leg of an event.

           

12.3      The event shall be organised so that all grid references are capable of being visited.

 

12.4      Competitors shall not be required to visit more than 75% of the grid references in any one leg of an event.   The grid references of the start, lunch and finish locations will not be included within the number to be visited.

 

12.4.1   It shall not be necessary for a competitor to enter consecrated ground or private property in order to visit a grid reference.

 

12.5      Event secretaries / organisers must forward details of all relevant maps and grid references, the latter may be in up to ten figure format, to competitors at least two weeks prior to the event.   When ten figure grid references are used, the last two figures may be 00, 25, 50 or 75 only.

 

12.6      The notification at Rule 12.5 shall include the edition number and the publication date of the maps used by the event organiser.

 

 

Rule 13 - Route.

 

13.1            The route chosen by a competitor shall be that which he or she considers to be the most convenient means of visiting the number of grid references required to be visited by Rule 12.4.

 

13.2      When choosing a route, competitors may ignore any roads shown in blue or white colour on a map.

 

13.2.1   The only exceptions to Rule 13.2 will relate to a blue road, when the National Trek Secretary has given his approval to its use, and a white road which has a fully metalled surface and is the only access to and egress from a particular grid reference.         

 

 

Rule 14 - Time.

 

14.1      Competitors will not be timed; however, they may be given a time at which the event will close.   This time will have allowed all competitors reasonable and adequate time to have visited the number of Grid References required by Rule 12.4.   Failure to return by this time may render a competitor liable to a penalty.

 

Rule 15 - Marshals.

 

15.1      Event secretaries / organisers shall have the discretion to place clearly visible marshals at any convenient location.   Such a marshal shall only be used to convey information of an urgent nature to competitors.

 

Rule 16 - Questions.

 

16.1      At each grid reference will be found the answer to a question.

 

Rule 17 - Scoring.

 

17.1      Recommended scoring to be as follows:

 

                        20 points per correct answer.

                        20 points per correctly identified photograph.

 

17.2      Event organisers may instigate a “tie-breaker” to be used to differentiate between competitors having the same score.

 

Rule 18 - Breaks.

 

18.1      There must be a refreshment break between the legs of an event which will last for a minimum of 20 minutes.

 

Rule 19 - Competitors.

 

19.1      A competitor shall be the person identified as the ‘Rider’ on the relevant Entry Form.

 

 

Rule 20 - Vehicles.

 

20.1      Competitors must use a motor vehicle with no more than three wheels.

 

 

 

General Information.

 

These rules have been drawn up by a cross section of competitors in order to clarify previous rules.

 

These rules will be adopted from 1st January 2010.

 

Amendments from the previous rules are shown by underlined text.

 

Clarification of any aspect of these rules can be sought by contacting the National Trek Secretary.

 

These Rules are strictly guided by Regulation 5(b), Motor Vehicles (Competition and Trials) Regulations 1969, thereby allowing a Trek to be run as ‘an automatically authorised event’ for which no special permission is required.