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iris123

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Posts posted by iris123


  1. 5 minutes ago, poole keith said:

    The Royal engineers won the fa cup in 1875  shall we call them world club champions??

    There was something on the international scene discussing that

    https://medium.com/soccer-stories/before-the-world-cup-who-were-footballs-earliest-world-champions-8aebac11429a

    Plus wasn't there an English club that won something called the world championship? Was it Bishop Stortford v Juventus or something.... 


  2. The Paris meetings in contrast were billed as world championships. As were maybe one or two others ?

    There was even a world championship in the UK that Jack Parker won in 1931 was it ?

    All so confusing. And i d think it shuld be left as it is and not revise things

    As i posted elsewhere. If you look at my profile, there is an old poster advertising that World Champion Sprouts Elder was coming to Hamburg in 1930....

    • Like 2

  3. 23 minutes ago, BL65 said:

    For comparison purposes:

    When Barry Briggs won the world title in 1966, he had to compete in three British Qualifying Rounds, a British Semi-Final, the British Final, the British-Nordic Final and the European Final before contesting the World Final. His total number of rides on the way to becoming champion was 40.

    In the 1934 Star Championship, each track was scheduled to hold an eliminating contest to determine which two riders would be their representatives in the Wembley Final. Jack Parker beat three riders in a qualifying heat at his home track, Harringay, to progress to a final where again he defeated three riders. In the final at Wembley, he scraped into a semi-final by finishing third in a heat behind Eric Langton and Ron Johnson. He won his semi-final and then beat Langton and Ginger Lees in the final. His journey to the title saw him compete in just 5 races. Jack Parker had a fine record in his career but a handful of rides in the Star Championship in 1934 was not enough to prove he was the best in the world at that time.

    1934 was the season when the Lea Bridge team relocated to Walthamstow in August. As Lea Bridge closed before having an opportunity to stage an eliminator, the National Speedway Association nominated Dick Case and Dusty Haigh to represent Walthamstow.  This decision was taken as the final was due to be held on 23rd August, shortly after Walthamstow opened. As a result, either of the Walthamstow riders could have sprung a surprise and won at Wembley by emulating Parker through a third place in a semi-final and then grabbing two race wins. Not inconceivable as Case had finished third in the championship two years earlier. Neither progressed beyond the semi-final, however. Winning a championship by only contesting three races would have been very different to the 1966 journey of Barry Briggs to the world title.

    Yes, but to contrast how many rides did Briggo have to get the 1958 title ?


  4. That is obviously true subsequently. But at the time i guess they were known as the best rider in the world. In a small circle at least

    Just look at my profile and there is evidence of such. That when Sprouts Elder came to Hamburg in 1930, he was billed as 'Weltmeister', World champion. Due i think to his winning such a meeting in Argentina. And as i pointed out Ray Tauser was known as the person who won 3 world titles as such in the one season....and i am sure that is still mentioned today, when if rarely he is mentioned. The recent documentary on him for instance. But then the subsequent media interest from that 


  5. Think that is slightly unfair. Sure we have had a number of mentions, even a thread or two on the subject. Not sure how often you can keep going over old ground

    For instance think it was also mentioned on the Ray Tauser (Tauscher) thread that he held 3 world championships in the same year what with the Paris and Australian versions...

    • Like 1

  6. 1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

    I've sent the admin team messages in the past but never receive an acknowledgement...not sure if that's normal?

    Strange that. I have been trying to get in contact informing them that they have inherited a lot of money. I only want their bank details so i can send it off. But not a dickie bird

    • Haha 1

  7. These are the objective reasons that led to the cancellation and which were also explained in a conversation with the ice speedway union:

    Environment/climate:

    The event is no longer affordable from an ecological point of view. The district office recognizes that ice speedways use methanol and that the sport is classified as CO2-neutral. However, an ice thickness of 18 centimeters is required for motorcycles to drive on the ice surface. For comparison: For normal use, the ice is only four centimeters thick. In order to achieve the required thickness for the race, the ice must be built up from mid-December. This requires around a million liters more hot water than if the event did not take place. The thicker the ice layer becomes, the more electricity is required (several 100,000 KWh more) to keep it frozen. Not only citizens, but also the administration are currently required to save electricity and water. Otherwise, the system would not use up the additional effort required for two weeks of ice speeding in three months. The event therefore currently does not fit the time

    Use of stadium:

    The ice surface is used outside of the event by sports clubs and ice skaters who attend the public ice skating rinks. Because of the event, we have to lock out an average of 1,500 ice skaters per day for 14 days. This is met with little understanding given the shortness of the season in which the ice rink can be used.

    Work deployment:

    The ice rink employees work in a 3-shift system so that the ice can be used for racing during the event. However, the district office can no longer carry out night operations for the heavy ice build-up. The ice stadium's machines are also not suitable for quickly rebuilding ice that has been broken by the motorcycle spikes

    .Financial loss:

    The event is a financial loss for the district: the income from the event is offset by the expenses for electricity, water, personnel and the loss of income from ticket sales. The income from renting to the ice speedway union does not by any means outweigh the expenses and loss of income for the district office.

    https://www.berlin.de/ba-charlottenburg-wilmersdorf/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/2023/pressemitteilung.1383341.php


  8. I do remember this time last year they put out the skating hire shop and I think catering for tender to try and extract more money for that..

    I was sceptical this year's meeting would run because one or two ice rinks looked to be in trouble due to the energy problem caused by the war in Ukraine, which was the reason I found the news on the tenders. 

    The one thing that does fall a bit flat, is talking about the number of fans it attracts to a City like Berlin. 8,000 over a weekend is a drop in the ocean really. The ice hockey gets more I think for one game. Concerts and theatre etc ..without mentioning football

    One other stadium is having trouble in Berlin. Home for ice hockey and speed skating etc

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rbb24.de/sport/beitrag/2023/10/eishalle-erika-hess-stadion-geschlossen-eishockey-eiskunstlauf-fass-berlin.htm/alt=amp.html


  9. Press release today doesn't sound good

    PRESS RELEASE ICE SPEEDWAY UNION BERLIN Berlin Ice Speedway Press release 231026 Was that it for the Berlin Ice Speedway? Currently no approval for the 49th edition of the capital spectacle The tradition of ice speedway racing in the Horst Dohm Ice Stadium in the Berlin district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, which began in 1975, continued after the Corona-related forced break in March of this year. The cult event was held for the 48th time on March 3rd and 4th, but now it should be over.

    In a letter from the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf District Office, School, Sport, Further Education and Culture Department - School and Sports Office / Sports Promotion Department dated June 29, 2023 to the Eisspeedwayunion Berlin (ESU), which has been organizing since 2014, it was informed that "... the district office is currently not intended to cooperate with the Eisspeedwayunion Berlin e. V. to hold another event, to conclude a new contract or to continue a contract that may have been concluded.” At the same time, the contract offer last made on February 28th is revoked, which all together means nothing other than the death knell for the traditional event. But the ESU is not giving up. After all discussions and offers to change or adapt the course of the event were unsuccessful and letters remained partially unanswered, the ESU is currently turning to higher-level authorities and the public.

    The new second chairman, Marco Hübner, says: “Of course we need a certain lead time for an event of this dimension and are now trying to make our voices heard in other ways. We are a registered Berlin association and are talking about an event that has been going on for 48 years. We have been commissioned by the FIM motorcycle world association to organize another world championship race next year, which is currently not possible. That is why we are demanding that the responsible office allocate appropriate venue space here in the city of Berlin, which we are legally entitled to as a Berlin club.” The lack of understanding at the ESU about this unpredictable blow to the neck also grew immeasurably because the Horst Dohm ice stadium has recently been extensively renovated and modernized with large amounts of tax money. A new ice processing system was installed, which was intended to significantly reduce the energy costs for ice formation. The loudspeaker system was also replaced and a new LED display wall was purchased, which makes no sense for public ice skating alone. Marco Hübner also points out that ice speedways use methanol and that the FIM classifies the sport as CO2-neutral

    In addition to the public, the ESU is now also writing to the governing mayor of Berlin in the hope that he can make a difference. “Unfortunately for God we are forced to turn further because we have been so cornered. We've now reached the point where if we don't get a venue, we'll have to dissolve the club. A club can only exist if money comes in to cover all running costs,” said Marco Hübner again. He also points out that the event, which was always very well attended, represented great added value for Berlin, both in terms of image and financially. International drivers, team members, officials, etc., but above all thousands of spectators stayed overnight, consumed everything possible and generated sales while sightseeing. You don't want all that anymore?


  10. Saw Jim riding at Wimbledon in the Riders Championship during my first proper season . One of those quirky things, that Jack Millen, having qualified( checking up quickly it seems Jack never rode in a final, which must make him one of the best in that division never to have), must have been injured, so Jim replaced him. But having a low-ish average only came in as reserve. From memory, which is poor, it might have been one of the finals badly affected by rain and Cyril putting down bags and bags of sawdust to get the meting on. But Jim got a few rides 

    The next year having qualified, he must have had the same fate as jack(?) as Brian Havelock was riding

    Sad to see these riders who i remember watching going of to the track in the sky 

    • Like 1

  11. I think Egon made so much money on the Continent with little of the hassle that came with British speedway, it wasn't worth it for him . And then he had the side show of his singing career and concerts. Which he usually put on as part of the long track weekend as well . Where it was and to some extent still is a weekend event with people camping out at the track

    • Like 2

  12. 20 hours ago, Ghostwalker said:

    Emil was leading the standings of SGP in 2013 when he was fenced by (don't remember who) in the Latvia GP. Emil broke his arm
    there and missed the rest of the season. It's likely he would have been world champion that year even if Tai wasn't that far behind.

    It was back then that he looked awesome, and as i said, i thought he looked likely to win a title at some time. But like Chunky points out, you haven't won it until you have won it


  13. 12 minutes ago, Bavarian said:

    Here is another female speedway rider. She's wearing a Sparta Wroclaw racesuit, but she ain't European. Who is she?

    1492304909_FemaleSpeedwayRider2023.thumb.jpg.ab41da5d21cdb265076c34174fc1a943.jpg

     

    I did see Craig Boyce praising a young female rider the other day. Don't know anything about her though. Is this her ? Anike Loftus. 

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