Hanmer Trail Rating Study
We’re testing how trail ratings and signage shape what riders expect and experience at Hanmer Forest.
About the study
Four trails at Hanmer Forest are rated using the International Trail Rating System (ITRS), with ratings on signs at the trailheads. The survey asks:
- which trail you rode and whether you’d ridden it before
- whether you saw the rating sign and how useful its information was
- how difficult and exposed the trail felt, and how you would grade it against the New Zealand and ITRS ratings
- your views on trail ratings in general
- optionally, your age band, riding experience and local or visitor status, with a comment box throughout
We don’t ask for your name, email or any injury information. Please don’t include names or other identifying details in comment boxes.
Want to be interviewed?
We’re also looking for riders for short follow-up interviews. This is separate from the survey and optional, and contact details are kept apart from survey answers. Simply send me an email at nick.emerson@canterbury.ac.nz, or click below.
Register interest in an interviewYour information
How your answers are used
Responses are anonymous and reported only as grouped results, which may appear in academic publications and reports to Hanmer Springs MTB. Stored within password protected drives at the University of Canterbury and kept for 10 years.
Interview sign-up details
Your name and email are used only to contact you about an interview, are stored separately from survey responses and not shared. You can ask for them to be removed before an interview takes place. Handling follows the Privacy Act 2020.
Withdrawing
You can stop at any time before submitting. Once submitted, anonymous responses can’t be identified and so can’t be withdrawn. Taking part or not has no effect on your relationship with the University, Hanmer Springs MTB or Hanmer Forest.
Questions or concerns
Researcher: Nick Emerson, nick.emerson@canterbury.ac.nz, University of Canterbury. Approved by the University of Canterbury Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC 2026/81/LR-PS). Complaints: Chair, Human Research Ethics Committee, human-ethics@canterbury.ac.nz.
A trail rating describes trail features and is not a guarantee of safety. Ride within your ability and conditions.