woofers

I really, really miss my Saturday nights at Arlington, but unfortunately I fear that speedway is not going to re-appear in the southeast of England. Look at a map of where speedway clubs are located and there is really only Poole in the south. I live in the Crawley area , Poole is too far for a regular fix of speedway adrenaline. Where else is there to go? In the past I would travel to Reading, Swindon, Rye House, Lakeside, Sittingbourne (Kent). With the demise of these clubs, the fact that attendances did not increase at their 'rivals' shows either a tribal mentality where supporters cannot switch allegiance to keep the sport alive, or they just can't be bothered at all. My motto has always been "any speedway is better than no speedway", hence my support in the National League days, but I understand that level has been diluted now. I rarely look at the speedway press / website now, and too be honest some of the televised racing last year was dire, anything from the NSS being the stand out exception. I shan't be travelling to Cardiff, the experience I've done many times and enjoy but the racing was dire last year. I try not to be a 'doom' merchant but it's difficult to see an upside at the moment, but if there can be a speedway meeting at Arlington, whatever level, I'll be there.

12 passes in 23 races

I hope you and associates are successful. One thing the last 10 months have shown me is how easy it is to ‘forget’ speedway. Saturday nights have revolved around Arlington for almost 20 years but with no other speedway in the vicinity, other things have taken its place. I no longer log in to this site or the BSPL to see what’s going on, I have no team to support. When I watch the coverage on Eurosport I can see, as an outsider, what a challenge it is to get folk interested. The meetings are drawn out and take far too long. Sam Ermolenko is not very articulate and for all his experience hopeless at media duties. Kelvin Tatum is brilliant, knowledgable and well spoken but unfortunately he is one man band. Abbi tries hard but overdoes the enthusiasm a little. It really does show that speedway is a spectacle that needs to be experienced live, the sounds, smell and sheer speed cannot be captured on TV. I, for one, will be beating a track to Arlington as soon as you are up and running. Good luck.

There is a particular section in the meeting certificate (which the Clerk of the Course must ensure is completed and given to the Referee before the start of the meeting) as follows:  “We being the TEAM CAPTAINS certify that all monies due to each member of the Team have been paid as per the Riders Agreement except as listed below” Regardless of whether this section shows nothing, or there a list of unpaid riders on the certificate, the referee would know about it. But what would the referees duty be, even if they were aware of riders not being paid? Report it to the BSPA? Include it in their meeting report? Or pass the certificate over and assume someone else follows it up? And what does “paid as per the Riders Agreement” mean? Would the team captain be privy to contractual arrangements? Anyway, this really belongs in the past Eastbourne thread, or a General Speedway discussion rather than tainting the current one which is forward looking.

I think there will be a limit to just how many times people will be prepared to watch the same riders no matter how you dress it up.

Fair play to you Steve for owning up to that. I just hope that something can be rescued from the Eastbourne / Kent situation next year otherwise it’s a sad story for speedway in the south east, non existent, and many supporters won’t return in future.

From the 2020 Speedway Regulations document, Definitions. Season - The period from 15th March (8th March when Easter falls in March) to 31st October (both inclusive). Meetings may only be held outside this period where specific written permission of the SCB has been given.

How long had the riders not been paid for? There is a particular section in the meeting certificate (which the Clerk of the Course must ensure is completed and given to the Referee before the start of the meeting) as follows: “We being the TEAM CAPTAINS certify that all monies due to each member of the Team have been paid as per the Riders Agreement except as listed below” If it’s as long as being suggested, either the certificates were signed in ignorance or unchecked, or there was a list of unpaid riders on the certificate each time which the referee would have known about. But what would the referees duty be, even if they were aware of riders not being paid? Report it to the BSPA? Include it in their meeting report? Or pass the certificate over and assume someone else follows it up?

It’s a limited liability company so there is no apportionment of debt or responsibility to shareholders. Les would only be liable for any monies owing under a directors guarantee that he may have signed up to.

I’m the same, I’d go but would probably pay each week, as the season ticket savings are usually marginal anyway. But….I’m not sure I could stomach NL level ‘racing’ on the basis of the NL / ‘second halves’ I saw this year. It was miles away from the product we saw when in the NL of 2017 and 2018. With respect, many of the guys struggled to turn the bikes and the races were more akin to strung out ‘demonstration’ or training laps. No one is going to do a 100 mile round trip to watch that regularly. To be honest the whole structure of British Speedway needs a review, the Premiership is tedious with just 6 clubs (and Wolves won’t support that again). It is laughable to an outsider that with the current Premiership / Championship set up, the same riders race against each other on a regular basis but in different leagues and clubs. At least with the lack of national media coverage we are saved the embarrassment of that being ‘exposed’ to other sports people. (Or perhaps that would be the kick start to making changes?)

Seems a bit harsh to exclude Shanes in heat 3 when clearly it was a problem with the track that caused him to fall.

Do you know why ?

Would guess Lawson and Kerr were the two ‘leavers’, Kennett the retiree, and lionsfan2012 the first to state £50k on speedway updates. Wonder which Promoter objected to the Team GB U23 fixture taking place, despite it being scheduled in an Eastbourne ‘protected slot’? There is a wealth of information in this article that sheds new light on the actual running of speedway in Britain and locally at Eastbourne, some of which will put the ‘know all’s’ on here back in their box, but other aspects that have never been spoken about. It’s a fascinating and insightful Q&A session, and as far as I can make out, open, transparent and honest - something Ian Jordan has always been. I will miss his enthusiasm, bravado and telling it how it is.

Ian being honest and forthright, and accepting responsibility. I am sad that he is finished with speedway completely.

Such as?