You VOTE for your favourite trails by rating and reviewing the trails you have ridden. You can rate and review as many trails as you have experience of. Each rating for each trail then gets added up to create the Trail of the Year Index. This rider driven index is dynamic i.e. it changes every time a riders posts a new trail rating and review.

• The campaign to find the Trail of the Year runs until the middle of the summer at which point the final Top Ten Trails of 2024 are published and the winning trail or bike park in pole position is announced. The date to announce the winner will be shared later in the year.

I can't see the trail I want to rate on the main campaign page?

• If your trail isn’t on the main campaign page  (i.e. not enough ratings this year to qualify yet) then use the search service or find it on the Trail Map.

Do all ratings overall years count or just this years?

• Trail ratings and reviews are aggregated over 2024 i.e. this year only, to be eligible for the 2024 Trail of the Year index rankings. The totals for 2024 are only visible on the main Trail of the year campaign page.
• Previous years ratings and reviews don't count towards the campaign trail score and 2024 award (but are retained and still visible on the listing page and within the 'Review' tab) across the wider site.

How often can I rate and review a trail?

• You can rate and review the same trail a maximum of once per calendar year, so if you have reviewed in previous years, we invite you to vote and rate again (this keeps the listings fresh, allows for opinions to change as trails and us as riders develop over time and means you can still vote in the campaign each year). 
• If we suspect the same user is attempting to game the system and write multiple reviews in the year for the same trail, then we reserve the right to delete their reviews and or ban them from the system. 

Can I zero rate listings?

• If we suspect a user is attempting to game the system and write negative zero score ratings with no review context to undermine another trails score on purpose, we reserve the right to delete their ratings and reviews and or ban them from the system.
• Similarly, if a user gives for example a 5-star rating for one trail in the leaderboard and then zero rates another or vica-versa then regardless of content written in the review both ratings will be removed from the index. It's just a more subtle form of obviously gaming the system and the likelihood of validity is close to zero. Valid, credible ratings and reviews only.

Can I swear and be offensive in reviews

• Any reviews with profanity or offensive language will be removed and the user banned

Can I change my rating and review?

• If you want to change your review or rating, then if you registered and logged in first you can do this. Otherwise, you can't I'm afraid. In case of real concerns or you wish to register then claim a review post rating please get in touch on the contact section of the site. 

Why do some trails show in the index and others don't and then some drop out through the campaign?

• Each month we increase the minimum number of reviews to qualify. So, it goes (by way of example not fact) each month from a minimum of one, to two, then four, then eight, then 18 reviews etc. Levels out around fifty as the minimum but may well go higher. So, if you are a ride spot you need to continue to drive reviews please all the way through the year to keep in the campaign index. 
• As of 5th August the minimum is 50 ratings to qualify for the campaign leaderboard and we expect it to continue rising.
• We reserve the right to amend the minimum ratings or score for qualifying as per campaign popularity and integrity. 

How do you decide who ranks higher when the score is the same?

• If two listings have the same rating score, then the listing with the higher number of reviews ranks higher.

Why do you ask for a review as well as a rating?

• As well as being lots of competitive fun (keep it polite and decent please) the real value of the Trail of the Year campaign is in the feedback trail communities and other riders get to read on their trails. So, please keep it useful for others reading. 

The campaign leaderboard has disappeared! why?

• At points in the campaign, we remove the campaign index from site visibility. At no point though whether the campaign is visible or not do any ratings or reviews written not count toward the campaign index. 

I can't post a vote or rating? I see a swirling wheel of death?

• Some users report a swirling wheel of death and the site hanging when they go to vote. Occasionally this is due to poor network coverage but 90% of the time it's because users declined or dismissed the cookie consent banner when the site first loaded. The site like most sites needs cookies to function properly. You can accept (or decline) all cookies at any time just look out for the pizza with three green spots on the bottom left of any page. This should address the problem.  

I'm an MTB brand or business. Are there sponsorship opportunities?

• If you are a trail or MTB related business and interested in sponsoring a prize for riders reviewing or a prize or donation for the winning trail or bike park please get in touch. These will be used to promote the campaign and incentivise riders to rate their trails. 

Many thanks and get rating and voting.

Published: 21/05//2023