ShadowCaptain

Not sure I agree with the premise that speedway did something wrong that started the decline. Was the problem not that speedway did nothing while other sports worked hard to modernise, and to retain existing supporters and get new supporters?

What impact is this decision likely to have on the size of the crowd at Cardiff? Will there be more people there because they have not been able to watch the other GPs, or fewer people without the welter of publicity. If they do not have the rights to the GPs, then our friends at a certain broadcasting organisation are unlikely to publicise the GPs during the league matches. Suspect that the latter is more likely, as people find other sports to go. If this is the case, then IMG (if it is they who are involved in the negotiations) may be going to lose twice for not being able to come to an agreement.

TWK - The person who wins an individual meeting is the best rider in the meeting. The point of a GP series is that whoever accumulates the most points over a season is the best rider over a season, and deserves the accolade of World Champion. Mark Loram winning the world championship without a GP win was unusual, but his performance was the most consistent across a variety of tracks. A rider winning the single meeting championship may have gone through a series of qualifying meetings, but could easily be in that championship meeting by only finishing in the top six of all of the qualifiers. Much more opportunity for a fluke victory there than across a GP series accumulating points in each meeting. Speedway is concentrated in about five countries, but there are excellent individual riders from other countries, too. How can any qualification system take into account the claims of the individuals as well as the claims of the major speedway countries? No matter how many disputes there are about the claims of some riders who are not in the GP series, fifteen of the top riders in the world will compete in the series, joined, in each of the GPs, by another rider with a claim to be in the series. Difficult to deny that the rider who gets the most points from that series is a worthy World Champion.

So, the rider who gets into the semi-finals on seven points and count back draws the inside gate on a track with a single line, and strolls into the final where, courtesy of his win in the semi-final, he gets gate pick in the final, takes the inside gate, and wins the GP, collecting more points in two heats than he managed in the previous five! So many things broken in speedway, and they change a bit that works!

At the high levels, sport is no longer pure. High level sport is primarily for entertainment and, mostly, exists because there are companies prepared to pay enough money to keep the sport going in exchange for advertising. There may be a fair system for selecting riders for the GP series, but that fair system is not required by the organisations who own the GP series. Their objective, depending upon the company and the sport, is either to maximise their profit from the sport, or minimise the cost of their associated advertising. There are very few sports that could continue to survive without commercial support, and if IMG want Tai Woffinden in the GP series to maximise their profit from Cardiff or to help a deal with a broadcaster, then that is business, and the purist can rail, but it is not going to change. When has speedway been any different in that respect? When speedway tracks had attendances in thousands and tens of thousands, the majority of the promoters were in the business to make a profit by entertaining and attracting the supporters. They were not there to run speedway, with the crowds as a by-product. It is with the decline in attendances that more promoters are running speedway for the sport, not for the profit, and are reliant upon external funding to keep their tracks open.

But we HAVE progreessed, TWK. The old qualification system almost ensured that all the best riders in the world were NOT in the final, because qualification took place on a geographical system. If, to make an extreme example, the best riders in the world were almost exclusively Danish and Swedish, then many of them would have been excluded, because their qualification route would be through the Nordic final. Similarly, there would be British riders who could get through quite easily, through the British final and, perhaps, the Inter-Continental final, whereas there is hardly a British rider who is worth a place in a World Championship in any format. Chris Holder would not have had a route to the final, unless he became 'British' for the qualifiers, and that would not be acceptable to those who claim that Tai should not be in the GP series because he is not 'British'. Even if Tai Woffinden is in the GP series as a token, the line-up for the series is VERY strong. Would TWK prefer it if there was a single F1 world final, with other countries staging qualifying rounds that anybody could enter? The world champion in any sport should be required to beat 'the best of the rest' consistently, and in changing conditions.

No; I can differentiate between them! Unlike some of the harum-scarum riders in the PL, Ludvig is a very 'comfortable' rider, and there is planning in his racing, instead of going for any available gap. I like his style. He has a chance to become as good as Fast Freddie IMO.

Successful teams require two elements to be successful - an injury-free season, and riders whose averages improve. Robbo is a class act, and, after a difficult season with some horrible injuries, could improve his average and be the number 1 rider that this team will need. If unaffected by their injuries, the Worralls could improve their averages massively, and Ludvig (another class act) has visited all the PL away tracks, and should give extra impetus to our away record (lots of near misses, but...) Happy to be proven wrong, but suspect that Claes may not improve during the season. He came to the Diamonds with a reputation of being hit-and-miss, and his great end to the season gone did not fully mask some very poor meetings previously. The question whether Andrew Tully has also reached his potential could be pivotal to the success of this Diamonds team. I am with the others on here about Jason King. Given his ability, he could be a tremendous reserve for the Diamonds, but only if he is fully fit, and wants to race. So many boxers want a fight too many, and get hurt. I do not want any rider to get hurt because they ride a season too many, or ride when they have lost their keeness for the sport, but get persuaded back into it.

Not helped by the guests they paid.

Thanks for that, Dave. So, the Plymouth promotion would pay the cost of five riders for three away matches, which is fifteen journeys, or the approximate equivalent of two away matches to be paid for by the home leg of the qualifier. It is extra expense, and there is an extra heat, but the 4TT usually provides really good racing, hopefully enough, WITH PROPER PUBLICITY to attract an increased crowd to cover the increased cost.

Genuine questions. Is the 'home' promoter responsible for the travel costs of visitors, or only the basic points money? Also, would the travel costs for Plymouth riders not be the cost from their home base to, for example, Ipswich, rather than from Plymouth to Ipswich?

I am not a fan of Poole, but, on my few visits there for important meetings, they are very good at hosting important meetings. Some other tracks, when they get an important meeting, treat it the same as a regular league match, so that it is not a 'special' occasion. The problem is geography. For anybody travelling from the northern tracks, the costs increase massively, not just in fuel, but because of the possible requirement for a hotel or lodge room. Birmingham (on my visits, a really professional, customer-orientated, operation) could have provided an easily-accessible location for the meeting, but, presumably, the track is not FIM standard, and there is a meeting restriction from the council and... We have good tracks, good promotions, and good locations, but we do not have them in the same place. Such a long drive to Poole!

Scunthorpe are the Premier League champions by virtue of their success in the play-offs. Simple. Congratulations to them on winning; their success was deserved. The bit that was wrong was the absence of any trophy for being top of the league at the end of the league season. Other sports that decide their champions through a play-off system also award a trophy for being top of the league when the regular fixtures are completed. Play-offs add excitement, bring in supporters, and provide a meaningful conclusion instead of unattractive friendlies or individual meetings. They should be retained. The winners of the play-offs should be 'Premiership Champions'. But, there should be another award, perhaps 'Premier League Shield' for the team that finishes top. Then, honour is satisfied, the league is not devalued, and the complaints of TWK might be resolved. Unfortunate that speedway took a great concept from other sports, and managed to make it a subject for controversy. Teams need promoters, but the sport needs planners.

So it is! Nicki - He's behind you!

Could be an interesting secondary debate, TWK. Have the traditionalists kept speedway going, or have they prevented speedway from attracting new supporters? No matter how much people go on about rule changes, team changes, the effects of the weather, and the impact of the GPs, the truth is that speedway does not have a product to sell to people who do not know anything about speedway. Get a product, get some supporters, then worry about rule changes. The SWC joker is ludicrous. I have typed on other threads that any competition at international level should be devoid of artificial gadgets. The best rider or the best teamshould have the best chance of winning. At the local golf course, I get a handicap, to make a game of it. Not many handicaps in the Ryder Cup! If league speedway needs something to make matches more even, then let them do it (although I would get rid of the TR, too), but no artificial advantages at international level, please!