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AlanF

Work Permits - A Novel Approach

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You can be pedantic at times.

 

My suggestion is for Riders who are of Premier League standard or worse. NOT Australian Champions.

 

They would be riding in order to qualify to race here - not win Championships.

So you want a meeting for riders who are not, "an elite sportsperson or qualified coach recognised by your sport’s governing body as internationally established at the highest level" to try and qualify for a work permit that requires that you are, "an elite sportsperson or qualified coach recognised by your sport’s governing body as internationally established at the highest level"

 

I see no issue with that at all and can see the UKVI agreeing to it. Then laughing that everyone who rides in that meeting is clearly not good enough so can shove off!

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The only thing I can add to what I have aready said is that I was talking about new untried Australian Riders - not the Stars. It was only an idea to find the best of young Australian talent for our Premier League.

Exactly.Untried riders!!! And how do you choose them?If you put 16 untried riders together from Australia,NZ and Argentina.....they might be 16 who want to have a go at PL or worse.They might also be the 16 worse riders available.Someone is going to win and someone is going to come second,no matter how bad they are.........Why would the authorities grant visas to those guys or girls?

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Exactly.Untried riders!!! And how do you choose them?If you put 16 untried riders together from Australia,NZ and Argentina.....they might be 16 who want to have a go at PL or worse.They might also be the 16 worse riders available.Someone is going to win and someone is going to come second,no matter how bad they are.........Why would the authorities grant visas to those guys or girls?

I give up. As I sad, it was an idea.

 

Perhaps you are right and it isn't a great idea.

 

I was looking for a way to filter out the Riders who were not so good in order that we only got the best of the yougsters.

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A return to the 1999 criteria would shake things up.

 

To qualify for a work permit for the first time the overseas rider must be:
USA The top rider excluding those already in the UK.
Australia The top three riders excluding those already in the UK.
New Zealand The top rider excluding those already in the UK.
Czech Republic The top two riders excluding those already in the UK.
Poland The top two riders excluding those already in the UK.
Others The National Champion of their country.

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You can be pedantic at times.

 

My suggestion is for Riders who are of Premier League standard or worse. NOT Australian Champions.

 

They would be riding in order to qualify to race here - not win Championships.

Look at the field for the aussie champs. Half of those are only Pl standard.

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What if it were an untried Romanian?

Hes probably be given a team place Berwick where the fans will claim that that if he was given decent kit and sponsors he'd be good. But he wouldn't.

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What if it were an untried Romanian?

Do you really want me to answer that?

 

If he is a bona fide Speedway Rider - no problem.

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Australia actually poses reasonably strict requirements on Brits wanting to work there.

 

British and Australian speedway are also not really comparable in terms of employment prospects. You can't make a living riding speedway in Australia, so a few European riders going over for a 2 or 3-month working holiday cannot really be said to be taking employment away from the locals. In fact, they probably help bolster the meetings in many cases.

 

By contrast, Britain has a professional speedway set-up offering 8 months of fairly regular employment, and it's not unreasonable that if Australia has restrictions on Brits working there, then speedway should not be exempted as a professional industry.

 

I'd have no problem with reciprocal working rights between the UK, Australia and New Zealand (after a certain qualification period), but given the fuss about immigration in both countries, I can't see that happening any time soon.

Yes, however to clarify my point, both nations have strong cultural and economic ties, and there still is The Commonwealth of Nations. You could say that adds strength to the situation regarding Australian/NZ riders in GB. I think Aussie riders present far more positives for British League racing than negatives, and any problems British speedway is having are not the fault of Australian riders.

 

You are right, there is a strong case for an easing of the qualifications regarding work visas for Aussie/NZ riders.

 

 

The only thing I can add to what I have aready said is that I was talking about new untried Australian Riders - not the Stars. It was only an idea to find the best of young Australian talent for our Premier League.

I think the real concern is that young Australian riders (untried) may find it more difficult to get that first team position, which is so important to the future development of a speedway career. Your promoters are not dills (mostly) and very few of our riders given the chance in League racing turn out as abject failures.

 

The way our State and national title are organised now is a fairly stringent test of young riders any way. Only the top 8 are seeded (gp riders, State title podiums) the rest go through a qualifying meeting to fill the remaining positions.

 

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Yes, however to clarify my point, both nations have strong cultural and economic ties, and there still is The Commonwealth of Nations. You could say that adds strength to the situation regarding Australian/NZ riders in GB. I think Aussie riders present far more positives for British League racing than negatives, and any problems British speedway is having are not the fault of Australian riders.

I wouldn't disagree that Aussie/NZ riders are usually good servants to British speedway, but Brits can't go to work in Australian industries without extensive qualifications regardless of our cultural and economic ties. Speedway can't be exempt from the regulations that apply to every other industry, and in fact Australia already receives special treatment in that we allow qualification from state rather than national titles.

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