Sings4Speedway

I think the fact that Kent charged for the SDL meetings says a fair bit (considering riders at this level are not supposed to be paid points money). Plymouth hosted development only meetings in the past at no charge for entry. Sadly a bit of a gulf in class has crept into the development leagues but that is not to say they are not still important, far too many people believe riders just get on a bike and are an instant winner, learning the highs and lows prior to full league racing is a huge part of development for many riders.

Sneaky.....if i was in charge (and thank heavens im not) i would go with Kemp Spooner Rowe Ledwith Jenkins Ablitt Gilkes

Likewise i can't see why anyone would be offended or consider it begging if the clubs are asking for assistance / manpower. Financial aid is slightly different mostly from riders that gripes a little, especially when its the same ones year on year. But for clubs looking to improve things (and especially the dire/dangerous 2nd half pits at Brum).

What was with the random numbers on the Kent bibs at the meet the riders? Kemp 9, Ledwith 13 etc?

As far as i can see there were 4 over 40's in the SDL last season and possibly 1 in the MDL as i never actually know how old Craig Osborne is.

Certainly won't disagree about the craters in the Rye car park but they have been present since day dot. Lighting could be resolved by simply running on weekend days and negating the need for floodlights. The toilets do need an upgrade but that is a comment that could apply to almost every speedway venue. I am not saying the old place is perfect, far from it in fact but stating it is not fit for purpose seems hypocritical from the BSPA. I would still rather see a run down Rye House in operation than lose it forever.

Brave new world but surely a twitter vote is grossly open to abuse?

Plenty of time to drop in a rule that forces a re-declare of a team at crazy late notice and probably some biased addition to machinery that will line the pockets of an insider.

Barring the removal of the ridiculous dirt mounds from the middle what else does actually need to be done at Rye House to make it fit for purpose? Its never going to be a NSS or Adrian Flux but the track is sound and the viewing areas accessible. With no major disrespect intended the likes of Stoke & Buxton but they have run for many years on far lesser facilities.

Apologies Tsunami if that came across wrong i wasn't digging the NJL i was actually praising the fact that the majority of sides bear the main club name which indicates a level of support from the main team despite the dreadful lack of NL teams further up the country.

Now i certainly agree that the BSPA take very little responsibility in this area and in fact actively work against some of the development league setups. The slide in standard of the leagues has largely coincided with the shrinking of teams. When there was a league of double figure teams and riders actively battling to get team places the standard will obviously be up, some of those who competed last year (age irregardless) were far from the standard that should have been appearing but that is a sad reflection in the number of riders actively interested in the sport these days.

The first part of your statement is why the sport has a very limited future, because everyone views it as someone else's responsibility to keep things going. Why should clubs take an interest whether named as their own junior team or not? Because there will be no riders in the future if attitudes don't change. I certainly won't argue either against the sensible choices that Eastbourne have made regarding Uk based riders and riders who have an affinity with fans (thats something the Eagles have always excelled at). Providing all the fixtures get completed on Sundays this year and Reading are able to continue into the next then there is no harm done but that still has to occur. Development league riders want track time yes, but also to be treated with a level of respect as they are putting the same levels of dedication in as the professionals are and in many cases more.

Im certainly not going to argue against the pre-meeting rides as everyone knows these carry an element of risk, even if its laps completed by a sole mascot. If those are Jon Cooks views then he is fully entitled to them, however derogatory they are towards the Development league matches. I look forward to the further developments regarding exactly how Eastbourne will be bringing riders through? Maybe they will be subsidising the track rents on the training/amateur Sundays or re-building the training track?

The main team paying for the medical cover & referee's are precisely the reason why 2nd halves take place after a meeting even with the risk of curfew being hit. Medical cover is expensive, Referee's are expensive and only willing to officiate over another 6 heats before they classify the event as a double header and demand double the fee. However there will be no saving to the Eastbourne promotion in terms of costs. If Reading run on Sundays medical, referees and track hire costs will need to be covered with no actual income to offset those outlays. Whilst teaming up with other events is a financially sensible way of reducing the outlays Reading will still be occurring substantial costs (costs quite likely Weymouth couldn't equally afford). From the releases i have seen its basically Eastbourne joining the ranks of others who care little about the future rider development.

Whilst good news that they are still running i always thought the benefits of running as a 2nd half was to save on track, referee & medical costs? I know Kent had those additional costs to cover last year when running from Iwade and the result is no Kestrels team this season.

Do you think any current promotions genuinely give a toss about bringing on young uns? The vast majority of M/SDL teams are all organised and run by devoted individuals despite clubs/BSPA best attempts to hold them back (i agree the NJL is a little different). Until everyone stops thinking about the next meeting and has a genuine view to the future there will be no future.

Providing the spectator numbers are not skewed by those attending with / because of particular competitors then its fairer. Without straight up polls its not easy to determine how many attend due to being fans of each sport rather than to watch certain friends/family members? However probable large factors for increased interest could feasibly include the additional number of races, flow of meeting, contact between competitors & fewer medical delays after accidents.

Out of interest (and i may regret this) how many of those involved on the stock forums / FB groups are competitors vs supporters? Not sure how many car competitors there are that frequent Buxton on a regular basis but i suspect its far more per event than Speedway competitors. The only "fair" way to make comparisons would be if there were forums from amateur/open speedway meetings where large numbers of competitors opt to compete in.

Enthusiast: I wonder if at some point Gustix will say something positive about current British Speedway? Realist: Not a chance.

I can't say i have noticed a band of Weymouth supporters but suspect they must be there. Have noted Reading, Exeter & Milton Keynes all having a dedicated band of travelling support so its clear the love for some is still there. On a slightly separate not i hope / prey that Weymouth can find a home venue for the upcoming season, surely Swindon would be able to accommodate them? Its only half a dozen 2nd half meetings a season but means a lot to so many.

2.19 LEAVING THE COURSE/CUTTING THE COURSE This rule has been completely reworded. Last year it read as ‘The Clerk of the Course may exclude a competitor(s) who permits a wheel/wheels of his/her motorcycle and/or sidecar to cross the defined edges of the track, or who displaces marking flags with motorcycle/sidecar or any part of the person, unless such action was taken in the interest of safety or due to the action of another competitor.’ Any competitor(s) whose motorcycle crosses the defined edges of the track markers/white line – with any wheel – will be disqualified unless, in the opinion of the Clerk of the Course, the action was taken in the interest of safety for other competitors, or the competitor involved was forced ‘off course’ due to the actions of another competitor ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Probably long overdue but is this a heavy handed approach? How consistent are Clerks of Courses going to be? Is everyone subject to this ruling of just lesser riders? How long until a final finishing order is affected by this change?

Much appreciated although not sure how accurate it is? Stoke valued at a whopping £580 is clearly a huge over valuation or some dodgy accountancy!

Track is certainly better at Kent than it used to be but does largely favour the brave who are prepared to go out to the dirt and go round the outside / find the drive off the bends. very easy to defend going into a corner and without mistakes its incredibly rare to see an inside pass.

I have to agree that a switch to Saturdays would most likely increase crowd levels at the start of the season but could well see them tail off as other competition for things to do increases. The same as the very competitive Kent side that has been assembled this year will keep some fans flocking back week on week but if they start hitting 60+ points against most teams there will be several that slide away again as the level of entertainment drops (that said everyone's views of what makes the sport entertaining differs hence its current woes).

Certainly a very sad outcome and whilst the reasons for not running are various the over riding fact is that largely clubs don't want to host these teams. This is shown even more prominently by Weymouth having a promotion, naming half a squad and then having no available track. With so many midweek tracks it makes a league even harder to be sustainable and despite the willingness of many riders (which is often over looked when NL team selections are considered) this year will see another mass of cobbled together away teams and ultimately more riders lost to the sport.