Updates

Hello to all of our NETA friends and families,

 It is with a heavy heart that I write this today. After many months of uncertainty, the NETA season for 2020 will have to be postponed altogether. When this COVID-19 issue surfaced back in the month of March, we were all hopeful for a chance for at least a partial season to be able to take place later on in the 2020 season, but now as we enter the month of August some 6 months later, it has remained evident that there are simply too many unanswerable questions to allow us to hold any NETA sanctioned events in 2020. With so much uncertainty as to where our government regulations and limitations are currently standing, as well as where they might end up in the near future, it is simply not worth the potential risk for liability should any future cases emerge as a result of potential exposure at a NETA sanctioned event. To be sure, any future litigations that could emerge would be directed at the NETA Board, and this is a risk that I do not want to see us take. 

With the recent announcement of the NATC to cancel the Nationals we are also making the same choice, and with our fingers crossed for better circumstances to prevail for 2021. Until that time, local groups who wish to hold any “unofficial” or “fun” events will have to get us through, and hopefully, a few such gatherings will occur responsibly during the remainder of 2020. 

With hopes for a brighter outlook for future,

Stuart Preston  –  NETA President

Hello all NETA Members and Family,

With all the goings-on surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, it is time for an update in regards to how it is affecting our proposed NETA schedule for the 2020 season.

Sadly the various limitations that have been set in place in response to the spread of the virus have clearly prevented us from implementing the schedule as written thus far. Even worse there have been extensions to many of these on a state to state basis, and at this point, the state of Rhode Island has banned the gathering of any large groups of people until the end of the summer at least, and Connecticut still has similar limitations at this time, as well as Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, and Maine.

To be clear, we are NOT intending to cancel the entire season and will be looking ahead to the time when 100 or more people will be allowed to gather in one location before reinstating the schedule as currently written. There will be every effort made to provide at least a 30-day notice to all involved when the time comes for the next event to be held. 

Some of the Trialsmasters have been discussing alternate dates for the events that have been canceled with the following proposals thus far :

Meriden Oct 4th 

Springfield Nov 8th

At this time it would not seem feasible to try to gather “Season Points” for any championships for the 2020 season, as the total number of events held in the shortened season would not likely allow for everyone to earn their work credits with only enough time a few events being left after the limitations on groups of people over 100 have been removed. This leaves us with the option of having whatever events we can squeeze in on a week to week basis, and at least we can start to get our NETA Family back together again after such a long and unfortunate delay.

It should be mentioned that the NETA Board has every intention of issuing some credits for those who have already sent in their memberships for 2020, and my instincts are leaning towards a 50% reduction in season membership fees for anyone who signs up for the 2020 season. So those who have already sent in your fee’s at full price could expect a 50% credit towards your 2021 membership, and those who sign up between now and the end of the 2020 season will be charged only half the usual cost of membership. Another option here would be to waive all membership fees for the 2020 season and roll any existing memberships forward from 2020 to 2021. As of now, the board is tied on the vote for this aspect of the membership fees, and we still have many other hurdles to cross until we can determine just how much of our event schedule can be utilized/ rescheduled.  We will reconvene on this in the near future and report back again on this and any other updates at the same time.

I’m sure there are many other questions yet to be answered as time goes by, but this is where we find ourselves for now, and we must all do our best to stay safe, strong, and positive until better days prevail. Although these times have brought on many unprecedented difficulties, I am very confident that the strong bond of the NETA Family will shine through when the time has finally arrived for our events schedule to resume!

As always, anyone with any questions or concerns is always welcome to reach out to me directly, and I will always be ready to do my best to help in any way possible.

Best Regards to All, for Better Days Ahead,

Stuart Preston – NETA President 

207-337-1274 anytime

Hello all NETA members and associates,

It is with a sad heart that I must announce the postponement of all NETA Trials events until further notice, due to the strict limitations now imposed on the number of people allowed to gather in one location at any given time.

We will monitor this as closely as possible, and work with 30-day intervals to try to allow for events to be held as soon as the state to state limitations will allow them.

For now, we are cancelling the first event on the calendar, the RITC Trial School of April 28th. The Wrentham event on May 3rd is tentative and depends on guidance regarding COVID-19. We plan to make a decision approximately 30 days prior to May 3rd. Please check back for updates.

In the meantime, I would like to encourage everyone in our NETA family to stay calm, stay safe, and please try to be there to help any members of our local communities as needed. We are all in this together, and together we will work to help bring the situation under control as soon as possible.

Best Regards,

Stuart Preston – NETA President

1-207-337-1274 anytime

It’s time to signup for the upcoming NETA season. The 2020 NETA Membership Application has been updated to reflect recent rule changes:

• Three classes have changed names and two classes have been eliminated. Click for details.
• Starting in 2021, a rider’s number plate background must match the color of the line ridden (red for “A”, blue for “B” and green for “C”).
• To assist bringing everyone’s plate in sync with the class changes for 2020 and the background color requirement for 2021, NETA is including with your membership a number plate decal with a colored background and improved legibility.

Please print, complete the application and mail it along with a check made out to NETA to the address at the bottom. Check the appropriate box and include the decal request if you want an updated decal for your number plate. Contact David Scarbro if you are unable to print the application and would like to have one mailed to you.

As in past years, the membership fee is $30.00 for individual renewals mailed before April 15th and $50.00 for those mailed after April 15th.

Every spring, the Rhode Island Trials Club gets the season rolling with a day long trials school. You can find it and the rest of the season’s trials events in the Event Schedule. If you’ve never attended, here’s a quick look at what you can expect.

Lunch

Head back to the paddock and enjoy some pizza provided by RITC. Converse with your fellow trials riders, maybe buff a few new scratches out of your bike if you’ve tested your limits a bit. Generally, local trials bike/parts vendors will be on site as well, so it’s a good time to stock up on spares, get some maintenance advice and maybe try on a new helmet. Don’t get too close to the new bikes or you might find yourself going home with one!

Heading Home

After a day in the woods, it’ll be time to pack up and head home at around 4pm. We’re sure you’ll have enjoyed the day and will be headed out with a lot of things on your mind to practice. Keep riding, and we look forward to seeing you at the first championship event of the season when you can put all your new skills to the test!

The getting started guide has been migrated from PDF to the web. This allows for quick navigation to specific sections of the document, the ability to quickly and easily direct viewers to links both within and outside the NETA website (such as to additional documentation, forums, the AMA, etc) and provides the ability to easily modify and update as changes require.

The 2020 NETA Rule Book is under revision and will be published soon. The 2019 Rule Book is on the Documents page.

Rule change proposals and voting results from the annual NETA meeting are below.

Change Naming of Novice Sections to Sportsman	Passed
Name Plate Letter  2″ Minimum (already in rule book)
Number plate background color to match gate color  (effective 2021)	Passed
Reduce # of Riding Classes	Passed
NETA riders  #  to stay on plate  (minimum # size of 1 “)	Passed
NETA to supply conforming vinyl decals to members for plate	Passed
Eliminate Double sections	Passed
Limit to 3 gates per class per section	Withdrawn
Eliminate Vintage “V” gates from events	Passed
Issue Awards per Line ridden eliminate awards per Class ridden	Fail
Change Senior C line from 4 loops to 3 at events	Fail
Five mile loop requirement	Fail
Combine Senior Expert line with Advanced line	Fail

Carl “Coach” Swanson is honored by the Manx Trials Club on the Isle of Man.

Congratulations to Joe Antonelli and Dan Williams on their induction to the 2019 NETA Hall of Fame.