PolskiZuzel

It looks like you have no clue about Polish speedway . They can run meeting with no paying public

If you compare value of Polish currency and the UK currency it is like £1.00 = PLN 5.00

Best speedway rider in history ???...it looks that you were born too late to appreciate the earlier speedway masters .

it was announced yesterday (May 13) in Poland that teleconference took place between the chairmen of the Speedway Main Commission and the presidents of eight eWinner I League clubs. Everyone declared their will to compete in the upcoming season, including Latvian Lokomotiv Daugavpils - . However, in a case of the Latvian team we have to wait a little longer until we receive information on the opening of all borders, so that they can move from Poland to Latvia and vice versa - emphasised Mr Fiałkowski., the deputy chairman of the Speedway Main Commission . Just a few weeks ago the idea appeared that Lokomotiv would perhaps compete on one of the Polish tracks throughout the season, but the club officials from Daugavpils categorically excluded this option. It is also known that the matches will take place without the participation of the public. The league will start on July 11. The fixtures calendar is also arranged for play-offs. - If sanitary rules are abolished and there is a possibility that the League will go ahead with supporters. Competition calendar is very tight. Suffice it to say that the last round of the regular season is scheduled for October 10. eWinner 1st League will be broadcast on the Canal + platform. Two matches of each round will be broadcast on Saturdays (Fridays and Sundays are reserved for PGE Ekstraliga), The hours of these transmissions are to be confirmed but it is thought of 4:30 and 7:00 pm local time . The 1st division clubs will have time from June 6 to 11 to sign with their riders financial annexes .

Leszno vs Wroclaw on youtube - now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xpNPycpXBc&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR313p93PLSjbyJnezUk8hfEq_vLG12xsY58hQR3wLAN77AOBFFP4QxQV2w

the 'number plate' says : we race for you.

The presidents of the eWinner clubs of the 1st Speedway League in Poland, in agreement with the Main Speedway Sport Commission, agreed today on the date to start the 2020 competition. They confirmed the date the July 11, as it was thought of at the beginning of May. Club leaders decided that they would enter the season with the intention of staging play-offs, but on condition that by the time of the play-off, there would be agreement to organize mass events without limiting the audience. Otherwise, the season will end after the main round and the clubs will have to reckon with the fact that television funding will be cut proportionally. Detailed regulations and the schedule of games will be presented in the coming days. Immediately after, the clubs will receive a week to sign annexes with riders regarding new, lower rates per point. Riders who do not sign annexes will not be able to compete in Poland and will have to return the money they received for preparation for the season. In connection with the pandemic, new sanitary regulations will also apply, modeled on the one introduced in PGE Ekstraliga. At the end of June, coronavirus tests will be carried out among the eWinner 1st Liga speedway riders.

The Bydgoszcz daily newspaper Gazeta Pomorska writes today: PLN 60,000 (£12K) for signing the contract and PLN 1,000 (£200) per point - these are the official rates for the 2020 season in the Polish eWinner Ist league. On the last day of April, the Polish Motor Association published new Club Membership Regulations. The regulations have been adapted to the new circumstances, in particular the coronavirus pandemic. We already knew the level of contracts in PGE ExtraLeague: 200,000 PLN (£40K) for signature and 2500 PLN (£500) for a point. Now we know the rates in the first league The regulations read: the maximum remuneration rate paid to a rider riding in eWinner 1st League matches may not be higher than PLN 60,000 (£12K) net, the maximum remuneration rate for a single point gained or bonus in competitions cannot be higher than PLN 1,000 (£200) This means that top eWinner league riders can earn around 250,000 PLN (£50K) in the 2020 season. The top ones will probably get extra apart from the official contract. The new regulations also introduced a ban on riders in the Danish, English and Swedish leagues. Each of the representatives of these countries must sign the statement: "I hereby declare that I do not have a signed contract with the club in Denmark / Sweden / Great Britain to take part in my national league games." Without it, he will not be approved for competition in Poland. (...) The regulations regarding the guest rider have been significantly expanded. Teams will be able to contract any number of them, and even two such riders will be able to ride in the match (this also applies to seniors and foreign riders). PGE Ekstraliga clubs can take advantage of the eWinner 1st League and 2nd Speedway League speedway riders, and I-league riders can reach for II-league riders.

So this proves that money is not the only objection. Commentators seem not taking into account that anybody crossing Polish border is obliged to spend 14 days in quarantine. So to avoid this any foreign rider riding in any of the Polish League is forced (more or less) to stay in Poland for the whole season. Not riding in any other League. And what about GP rounds outside Poland? I don't have the answer for that, but logically thinking if anyone participate in this, on return to Poland for ExtraLeague duties has to go through 14 days quarantine.

They are already being showered with hate messages

I would be very grateful for any information concerning tours of Polish clubs on British tracks in the 60's. I know that ROW Rybnik and Stal Gorzow did ride then in the UK, but have no details. Can you please help me ?

Your reply to my inquiry is much appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you iris 123 for directing me on the right path. Was Rybnik the first Polish club that toured British tracks ?

Is there anyone who could help me in finding results of the Stal Gorzow team visiting British tracks in 1965 ?

Thank you BL65. I've checked Speedway Researcher website, and Yes, you are correct. My thanks also goes to Iris 123, and Robbie B. I was aware about Stal Gorzow tour of 1977. I saw them at Hackney, expecting to see Zenon Plech. Unfortunately he was not in their line-up, although Jerzy Rembas did quite well. Once again, many thanks.

Polish speedway club finances are based on four legs. - writes sportowefakty.pl - 30 percent are receipts from tickets, 20% comes from the local government, 25% from TV broadcasters and another 25 % from sponsors. At the moment, it looks like each of these legs is in a bad way. Many speedway sponsors are transport companies that are already in trouble. In a moment they will be looking how to save their businesses, and not dealing with sponsorships. Local governments will also have more important problems than sport. The Speedway Extraleague, which pays each club an average of 2.5 million PLN (£500 000.00) from the television and sponsorship deals, can not be sure that it will be able to do so. Television has paid for all matches, the sponsor has expectations for exposure. If the conditions will not be fullfiled, renegotiation and reduction of funds will occur - says Mr Kryjom, former speedway manager, on sportowefakty.pl If it would be possible to start in May or June (according to the forecasts of health experts this second scenario is possible), then there will be no big tragedy. - As a last resort, we can extend the season and go in October or even November - says Mr Jerzy Kanclarz, president of Polonia Bydgoszcz . Worse, if it ends as Robert Dowhan, a shareholder of Zielona Góra predicts, who believes that we can slowly get ready for a year without speedway. - It could be the death for our sport - assesses Mr Kanclerz, on sportowefakty.pl because then the domino effect will work. Clubs will suddenly lose almost all influence. Sponsors and local governments can even ask for a refund of money already paid. If clubs lose, players will lose. In this situation, many of them will pray that they do not have to return part of the amount already paid as part of signed contracts.

If anyone of you was is still in doubt who is really financing Polish speedwayspeedway in Poland, here is the answer as “revealed” by the Polish website: po-bandzie.com.pl. Are you surprised? Polish speedway is kept by the local governments. It is the taxpayers' money that makes it possible for construction of new stadiums or renovation of outdated ones. They give the opportunity to contract foreign and national stars . Without television coverage, Polish speedway would run with miserable public interest. Without state-owned companies, it would be much poorer, it would persist in pain and torment as a natural curiosity, but without money from local government it would fall on its face. Truly, I tell you that without local government money there would be no Motoarena in Toruń or Łódź. It would be impossible to modernize the stadiums in Gorzów, Wrocław, Częstochowa, Zielona Góra and Grudziądz. Nobody would even bother about building a new facility in Lublin. Any plans to refresh the infrastructure in Gniezno and Tarnów would probably have to be postponed for many years. Stadiums are just one side of the coin, the other is money allocated for the promotion of the city by the club and the team. In this way, millions of subsidies affect the account of clubs in Częstochowa, Wrocław and Lublin. All Polish clubs get more or less money. If not in live cash, then they are exempt from fees for using the stadium and their necessary repairs. More money from local government means extraliga possibilities. Smaller funds are enough for first or second league. Let's take Częstochowa as an example. The city mayor and the city council lamented about the huge debt, but more than three millions were found. In this way, residents of Częstochowa are paying pay four foreign riders from Danmark, Sweden, Australia, and Norway plus a young man from Toruń for a good result. All this so that the speedway team from Czestochowa would fight for the Polish team championship and the people of Częstochowa had a reason to be proud. Anyway, things are similar in Wrocław. Taxpayers sponsor two Englishmen, an Australian, a Russian and a young man from Częstochowa. In Grudziądz, the strenght of the local speedway club is one hundred percent dependent on money from local government. Grudziadz’s mayor has more to say than the club's boss . Without the support of the town hall Rudziadz team would not even have the right to dream of an extraliga. Taxpayers' money, are spent on speedway, which can only boast six months of competition in a year, and on its own stadium the club can stage only seven league matches. For all kinds of speedway and leage-maniacs, that's quite normal. For everyone else it's quite abnormal. Speedway in Poland has long been an element of local politics. Due to the great interest of fans, city presidents and councillors have become virtual slaves to the speedway tradition. They can't afford to disregard speedway fans, because they will lose election. And although local government debts are growing at an alarming rate, to make potential voters happy, millions for speedway must be found. Meanwhile, education is suffering, health care is dying, and more loans are bursting annual budgets. Local government officials, however, must take into account that citizens will eventually get fed up with long quees at the hospital waiting room, and the expenses for professional sports will start to bother them. It is likely that local government officials will say stop and significantly reduce spending on spring-summer speedway. Then unprepared clubs will remain with a budget hole. Such scenario needs be taken seriously. Meanwhile, speedway is becoming increasingly dependent on city money. (…) Even in speedway cities, not everyone is mad about speedway. And not everyone is interested in spending money on foreign stars. Let everyone answer the question, whether taxes’ money should constitute one third of the professional speedway club budget, consisting of seven players, usually four foreigners. I have the impression that in the end, local politicians will have to answer the title question, who prefers speedway and who efficient health service?

To be honest with you, I am getting bored with all these investigations into corruption. My answer to your question (whether things are better now) is - I don't know. And when it comes to corruption in speedway... I have not heard of any.

With all due respect... What the reports on corruption at large, and perhaps more than 10 years ago in football , have to do with speedway in Poland?? Where do you see connection?

You are giving report that is eight years old. We are talking about now, the presence.

It is interesting to see attendence figures compared with stadium capacity. Here they are compiled by sportowefakty.pl. Club Stadium capacity Home matches Total attendance in numbers Average attendance Average attendance in % LUBLIN 9’812 7 68’684 9’812 100 WROCLAW 14’000 9 115’499 12’833 91.67 GRUDZIADZ 8’000 7 48’000 6’857 85.71 CZESTOCHOWA 16’850 9 124’500 13’833 82.10 ZIELONA GORA 15’000 9 110’000 12’222 81.48 GORZOW 15’000 7 70’750 10’107 67.27 LESZNO 16’700 9 100’760 11’196 67.04 TORUN 15’500 7 53’936 7’705 49.71 The undisputed winner of this ranking is Lublin. All home matches in Lublin were sold to the last place. Some said - half jokingly, half seriously - that if Lublin’s stadium had 20,000 seats, fans, even then would buy all available tickets. In the case of Częstochowa there is an interesting situation, because in the attendance ranking they came first with an average of 13,833 fans per meeting. However, after taking into account the total capacity of their stadium Częstochowa are no longer the leader. Finally, the lack of supporters at Torun’s Motoarena illustrates well the relationship between sports results and attendance at the stands.

To have attendances you must have funds to contract good riders. You won't have attendences if your team is losing match after match. To have a successful team you need riders who will deliver that, and such riders (if available) cost money.

STATEMENT by Maksym Drabik's club - Sparta WROCLAW WTS Sparta Wrocław declares that it is aware of the explanatory proceedings conducted by POLADA against Maksym Drabik. However, we emphasize that no unauthorized substances have been detected in the rider’s body. POLADA did not suspend the competitor, it only asked for additional explanations in connection with the competitor's statement made during the doping control about taking substances hydrating the body a few days before the competition. This action was coordinated by a club doctor and was dictated by the state of health of the speedway rider. We declare full cooperation with POLADA in order to complete the proceedings as soon as possible. The club will not refer to media speculations or comment on matters until the investigation is completed.

Drabik has 14 days to explain his conduct. The first hearing will probably be held in mid-February. It remains an open question what consequences his Wrocław club, PGE Ekstraliga and FIM will have for him. Drabik was tested on September 22, almost two weeks before the final of the individual junior world championship final in Pardubice, which ended in his triumph. It is quite probable that if he is disqualified, the 22-year-old will have to give up his gold medal from this event.

An Interesting article published in today's Polish daily sports newspaper "Przeglad Sportowy" Bartosz Zmarzlik’s , individual speedway World Champion's, victory in Poland's "Sports Personality" plebiscite made the Polish general public aware what the speedway fans had known for a long time. Interest in speedway in Poland breaks records and even football, due to its availability considered as No. 1 sport, cannot be equal in this respect. Polish LOTTO Football Ekstraklasa beats Poland’s PGE Speedway Ekstraliga only in one respect - the amount of money invested in it, but this gap can soon be heavily bridged. Next year's tender for the right to show the "best speedway league in the world" promises to be exciting. Eurosport has already announced its participation in it, Canal + and Eleven Sports will certainly be interested, and there are many indications that TVP, the National Public Broadcaster under social pressure will also wake up in time. In 2018, Canal + and Eleven Sports shared the rights to broadcast PGE Ekstraliga. In total, they paid 60 million PLN (£12 million) for a three-year contract (until the end of the 2021 season). For speedway it was an astronomical amount, almost three times higher than the previous contract. In comparison with football, however, they are "pennies".The rights to the Polish football EkstraKlasa, positioned (in terms of sports level (!)) at 31st place in the world , were sold for a similar period for PLN 440 million! (£88 million). They paid this amount for a two-year contract for the seasons 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. The television money lined up for football have little to do with fans interest in Polish football from the stands or on TV. Poles do not watch it more eagerly than speedway. The average attendance at the Football LOTTO Ekstraklasa is 8,800 spectators, and at the Speedway PGE Ekstraliga over 10,800, and this is only because the stadiums in Lublin and Grudziądz are too small for the needs of the local fans. If more fans could be allowed in, then the average would increase even more. Football matches shown on the coded Canal + channel in the 2018-2019 season were followed by 105,000 fans. Speedway matches in 2019 on the same channel had an audience of 165,450 spectators. Footballers were saved only by publicly available channels, which speedway can only dream of. Therefore, our speedway promotors should be focusing all their energy in the coming months to make the public broadcaster interested in speedway. Matches of PGE Ekstraliga in the most accessible channel in the country would certainly gather over one million viewers in front of TV sets. This would take speedway to a completely different level. Then, nobody would even try to compare our sport with camel races.