FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Event Format

Under 16s require a chaperone. However there will be a chaperone waiver option for 15/16 year old in 2024

2024 Categories:
Ages are taken as age on 31st December 2024 for the 2024 season.
Hope PMBA Enduro Series 
Men : U15, U18, U21, Senior, Master/30+, Vet/40+, Grand Vet/50+
Women : U16, U21, Senior , Master/35+
Unisex : Hardtail (additional to age category)

PMBA E-Bike Enduro Series
Men : U40, 40+
Women : All
Please note legally you must be 14 to ride an ebike – so this event is for ages 14+

Hope Academy (8+)
Men : U11, U15
Women U11, U13

Hope Women Series 
Women : U16, U21, Senior, Master 35+, Grand Master 45+

 

All events are “Ride with your mates” when you sign on you also select a start group, we set 12 riders off every 5 mins – you can choose a time that suitable for your group of mixed ability mates. However the fastest riders should choose the last group, we also advise anyone aiming for a podium to choose one of the last groups too. Early groups are best for the slower riders. The whole point of the group set off is to avoid congestion at stage starts, and the fast riders last means they have less chance of catching slower riders on stages. Your call but if your hunting podiums and set off early and have to overtake on stages that is your situation to deal with, don’t expect extra gaps from the start marshal.

Is PMBA Enduro for me?

PMBA Enduro events range from “Grassroots” to “National” level over the series, a true mix. We hope there is something for everyone and are happy to take questions to help you make the right event choice. All rounds of the series have off-piste stages, ie if you have only ridden trail centre and think a “black” is as tough as it gets you’ll be in for a shock. Natural of off piste stages are unsurfaced and have rocks, mud, roots and can be very technical. Gisburn’s off pistes stages are a good introduction into to racing these sorts of trails if you haven’t before.  All events, and all stages will always have “B-lines” round any unrollable drops and jumps so don’t worry if that’s not your thing.

  • Gisburn Forest. Mix of trail and mildly off piste. Not too technical so a great place to do your first enduro.
  • Graythwaite Estate, Epic by name, Epic by nature. Full on technical stages set in the most picturesque landscape and idyllic race arena in the parkland in front of the manor house.
  • Lee Quarry and Havok Bike Park, our adventure round, a big loop and fun stages, with plenty of airtime available if you want it.
  • Llangollen, we turn one of the best DH centres in the country to a Enduro Venue. Expect steep, fast stages and a big climb back to the top.
  • Kirroughtree Forest, loam central; another great camping location with many racers taking the family along good to gain experience of off piste trails without being overly technical.
  • Grizedale Forest, , big elevation and technical stages makes for a big day out.
  • Ae Forest, Awesome off piste single track descents for National level enduro, and great trail centre stages for the grassroots events.

Our official video’s from past events are a great window into that to expect and all are located on our YouTube Channel

 

Under 16s

All PMBA Enduro events are available for ages 11+, however we strongly advise that parents entering children under 16 contact us beforehand, so we can advise you of what the event might entail and give you the information you need to make an informed judgement on the suitability of the event for your child. All under 16’s must be chaperoned, the chaperone must stay with the child on the transitions for the full event, and make sure they can ride the stages safely in practice. Chaperones must be 18+ they maybe another racer, or a support rider; we do not charge for support riders. Chaperones can be in charge of multiple U16 riders but all must ride the transitions, as a group.

For the U16s Gisburn and Kirroughtree are the most suitable events, while there are immensely talented 12 year olds riding enduro rounds such as Graythwaite should only be entered after serious consideration and discussion with the organiser.

All Hope Academy and Hope Women events are for ages 8+ and are much less technical. However parents should ensure their child has the appropriate skill level to take part – Chaperones are required for under 16s

Entering

Entering the events is really easy, get yourself an account on SI Entries is the first step.

And go the series entry page https://www.sientries.co.uk/series.php?series_id=612

Select the events you want to enter and follow the on screen instructions to complete the entry and make payment – all done 🙂

All under 18s will need their parent/guardian to create an account and use that account to make the entries. U18s are advised to create their own accounts too.

There is a minimum age of 13 to register with SiEntries. Under 13’s parents just needs to register with SiEntries, start making the entry and when asked for the “Person to Enter” select ‘Somebody not registered with SiEntries’. On the next screen they can add all the details of your U13 child. The next time you come to enter their child their details would be saved and come up in the Person to Enter drop down list so you don’t need to type in all the details again.

The SI Entries FAQ is also a useful link to have, its here.

Do you have a reserve list for full events?

We do not run waiting or reserve lists, however we do ask that racers who can no longer attend can sell on the entry (no profiteering) to other racers. We suggest the best place for this is the relevant Facebook event page, or our Facebook Group “Enduro Chat: PMBA Enduro” 

These are linked also to on the individual event pages of the website here.

Refund, Cancellation & Transfer policy

All PMBA Enduro events have the following policy.

Cancellation :
Cancellation upto 31 day before the event : £15 admin fee
Cancellation within 31 days of the event : Not Available
Email pmbaenduroseries@gmail.com for Cancellations

Transfer to another entrant.

Entry transfer/selling on : FREE if you use the “Substitution” button within SiEntries
Entry transfer/selling on : £5 if you require us to login and do it for you.
(Possible at any time while entries are open, usually upto 5 days before the event)
TOP TIP : Getting the replacement racers SiEntries number, surname and post code from them makes substituting very easy!

Transfer to another round
Transfer to another event upto 31 day before the event : Yes, you may be required to pay additional costs, moving to a cheaper event does not generate a refund.
Transfer to another event within 31 days of the event : Not Available
Email pmbaenduroseries@gmail.com for Transfers to another round

SMK Events / PMBA Enduro reserves the right to modify or cancel the event if circumstances beyond the control of the organiser should arise. This includes cancellation of event due to extreme weather, acts of God, violence, civil disobedience and war.
If the event is cancelled we will not be liable for costs of travel fares, hotels, or any other expenses that may be incurred.
It is your responsibility to ensure the race is going ahead before travelling. We will do our best to inform you if the race has to be cancelled but we do not accept liability if we are unable to contact you. We strongly advise that you check before making travel and accommodation arrangements.
If the event is cancelled we would endeavour to reschedule if possible, and transfer all entries to the new date. Please be aware that we may be unable to refund or part refund any entry fee. We are also may be unable to transfer your entry to another event. We will always allow entries to be sold on upto 7 days before the rescheduled event, this will be via the “Substitution” button within SiEntries.

Extreme weather cancellation
We will endeavour to reschedule the event.

What and where is my SI number?

When your logged into SI Entries your SI number is next to your name

Your SI number
Your SI number

How do i transfer an Entry?

Transferring an entry you have sold is really easy; just login to www.sientries.co.uk  and click on “My Entries” select the event,  then clocking “Edit” followed by “Edit/Substitute” and finally “Substitute” will get you to the page below. If you have the racers SI ID, Surname and Postcode you can easily find and transfer the entry to them. You’ll still be the entry owner, but the participant details will be transferred over. All events have viewable entry lists, so the 2 parties should be able to see one name swap to the other on the online list.

Can I photograph at your events?

The simple answer is yes, you can. Spectators can access parts of the course and anyone is allowed to take photographs. You will of course be subject to the same rules as spectators, some area’s will be difficult to reach, and you absolutely will not be allowed to use the course as a footpath to access the other area’s. You also will not be allowed to ride on the stages, you may ride on the transitions. Drones are tightly regulated

Getting increased access
To have more access than spectators you can register with us, at sign on, to be a photographer and get a photographer wristband. You will be required to read and sign a safety briefing, and show us your documents to collect your photographer wristband. This will not give you complete access, nor free reign of where you can photograph but you will have more freedom. To do this there is no charge from us here at PMBA Enduro, however we do require that you prove to us that you have at least £3M PLI, and that you carry with you at all times, and show us, a risk assessment for the task of photographing an enduro event. Risk Assessment should show knowledge of selecting a suitable and safe place to locate yourself, identifying places a rider may leave the track/crash outside the tapes & safely moving location. We would also expect to see a list of activities to avoid such as “Leaning over tape”, “Standing in a B-Zone” and “Walking down a stage”.  Without either of these things a photographer wristband will not be issued, and you will be purely a spectator with a camera. All photographers, like marshals are required to wear a hi Viz top, you can bring your own or borrow one from us.

Drones
While drones are not completely banned from PMBA Events, if you wish to use one you must be fully compliant with the law and posses the required license, include use of the drone in an extensive risk assessment and follow all guidelines on safe distances. We understand this is very restrictive to the use of drones but it is the correct and safe level to expect from drone users.

E-Bike Information

November 2023 update:
After a great test year in 2023 I can confirm that all 2024 events will have ebike classses
UK law says you must be 14 to ride an E-bike, therefore this is the minimum age for the e-enduro’s.

E-bike Specific Rules 
1) All ebikes must be legally bicycles under UK law. ie not chipped, modified or derestricted. Anyone caught with this modifications you will be banned for life. It’s that simple, I’m only insured for bicycles and if any of the strict definitions of an ebike are not met then its a motorbike. Please understand this.

2) We are not monitoring battery use, or number of batteries used in the event – this is unlimited. However Extra e-bike batteries may not be carried on the person/rider , and only changed in tech zones (Usually HQ / car park / campsite).

3) All E-bikes will set off on the lap first, as a group. There will be reasonable cut off times for the start of each stage, or maybe just a maximum time to complete the whole course. Next group off on the day will be the women’s group, and the aim is to not have too much mixing, which given you should be faster on the transitions should pose no problem. Extra time will be allotted if there are unforeseen hold ups, transition times wont be testing, but enough to meet the aim. It will be a learning year for me and my marshals, and we welcome constrictive feedback after each round so that we can maximise your fun and the smooth running of the event.

4) Scrutineering: If a marshal asks to check your bike for legality, at any point of the event weekend, at the campsite/car park/HQ/arena, or during the event on any transition or just before you are about to start a stage, you must allow it at that exact moment. Failure to do so will cause you to fail scrutineering and be ejected from the event, there is no option to re-present the bike for testing.  Random checks are planned.

We expect a little self-policing on the legality of E-bikes, if you are suspicious of a fellow racer especially if a few of you think that a random check is due then please mention it to a marshal. As you are all hopefully going to riding as a group first on course this should help with identifying cheats.

BEMBA Colleagues, and I suppose rival series Western Bike Events have this great blog on exactly why legal ebikes are so important. Its so well written, referenced and researched that rather than just summarise it and claim it as my own I will link it from our “competitors” website.

https://www.western-bike-events.wales/news/the-legal-and-safety-implications-of-derestricting-e-bikes-a-cautionary-tale-for-mountain-bikers

 

Can I get a VAT receipt ?

Yes, as of 1st October 2019 SMK / PMBA Enduro is registered for VAT so for all payments after that date you can get a VAT receipt.

Our VAT number is GB 332 7720 13