1 valve

Is there a date set for when Beaumont Park can open up for practice sessions?

Does anybody know what (if any) restrictions will be in place re social distancing and or crowd limitations for the planned first meeting?

He doesn't risk his life sledging for our entertainment. The reference is to the the time he broke his back snow sledging down a hill. He is however a great tryer on the speedway track, who like many before him would benefit from learning where to take risks and where not too. That said, lets hope it doesn't lead him to become "just a rider" and that he remains a racer...just a safer one.

Although not ignoring the current potential risks that may still be present at the proposed start of the season. It is worth considering. - By the time May 1st arrives the vast majority of the age group who attend speedway will have been vaccinated. - There is a good chance that somebody who has been vaccinated will not be able to pass on the infection to somebody who has not been vaccinated. - The majority of speedway venues will be able to operate within the confines of a social distancing policy inclusive of crowd limitation helped by adopting advance ticket sales only. - For the first couple of months social distancing measures could include the mandatory wearing of face masks (no exceptions - including health reasons - sorry but if you cant wear a mask you can't attend) - For the big events like Cardiff - The volume of tickets already sold would be sufficient for the GP to be held within the percentage of capacity allowed and if travel limitations are still in situ, then those folk should have the cost of their ticket refunded so long as they did not buy them whilst the restrictions were in place (or via insurance if purchased via credit card?) From a risks analysis perceptive, Covid is going to be with us for many years to come, perhaps for ever. However, like so many other pandemic type of diseases such virus's once understood (and Covid is well understood by those who need to know) are manageable & whilst there is still a massive need to be vigilant and patient in how we go out and about once lockdown begins to be eased, there is a strong case for a positive outlook for the not too distant future. That said, if folk do indeed remain "in fear" then they should by all means, stay safe and stay at home.

Well now that the 2021 line up has been announced and the fixture list published its time to look ahead to the new season. I guess the big question remains. "will crowds be allowed back by May 1st to enable it all to happen" . Boris's announcement on the 22nd should give a strong indication as to what to expect.

Where there is a will there is always a way to be found. The question is do British speedway promoters have the “will” to find the answer? sadly, it looks like they prefer to continue to adopt a short term solution as the easy route around the issue. Unfortunately this choice is at the expense of a continued accumulation of a long term loss of support for the sport.

Apparently shale is the preferred surface for the foreign stars of stock cars which the promoters want to attract to Odsal.

Not quite fact. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Government enacted the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 on 26 June to provide temporary flexibility to companies as to how and when they hold their AGMs regardless of what is mandated under their articles of association. Under this amendment meetings are permitted to be held, and any votes cast by electronic online means.

I asked because mot probably the stadium will still be a Nightingale Hospital.

Do you think Cardiff 2021 will go ahead?

The point was made that dog racing could survive 2021 without crowds but speedway couldn’t

Was there any further news on this?

A tad over a million pounds. Did that include the cost of the land or just the build?

Remember this money is only a loan and the monies “allocated” for each sport still require individual clubs/organisations (they who will have responsibility for paying back the loan) to apply for their own individual loan. In doing so one of the criteria they will need to meet is to demonstrate the losses they will make from not having crowds in attendance or similar forms of income such as sponsorship I.e. no event/crowd no (reduced) sponsorship money. They will also need to show how the loan will be paid back. The term “winter sport” is a bit of a red herring and only applicable because of the period of time the loans will be available the “winter” months of Dec - March. Clearly some sports operate throughout the year both indoor & outdoors thus this latter element is not a consideration for the eligibility of applying for a loan.

Yes It is, But doesn't run during the period the loans are now being made available to apply for.