Fifteen year old Joel Edwards is out of trials due to a hand injury sustained while training riding his AB Jitsie Beta. The Pontypool youngster is ranked tenth after the opening Class A and B Youth Trials Championship at Bracken Rocks. A distal fracture of his right hand required a two and half hour operation to pin and wire his right hand wrist joint. During the surgery it was found that part of the radius had pierced the muscle. The Pontypool boy has an enviable record in Youth trials including Class D and C national championships, many Welsh titles, including also being a member of the Welsh Centre in the Inter Centre Trials Team. Last year he finished tenth in the A.C.U. Class B age group championship. Joel attends Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllw School in Pontypool. Due to the injury he will miss the Otter Vale's second round championship trial at Sidbury on March 21. There recovery time is not yet known.