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old bob at herne bay

Will British Speedway Survive ?

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On 3/24/2020 at 1:37 PM, barrybishop said:

Hey,

   It is a heartbraking situation for us all and even more so for anyone who has to make considerable financial investment to bring speedway to the public in the first place.. Riders, Promoters, Management, and I am sure our govening bodies too.

But all this really does not compare in the effort of our nation(s) right now to protect us all against Covid 19 and I wish you all well and keep healthy and safe.

As to the question of if we can all survive this... I am always very positive about the future and what lays ahead but it will take an effort from everyone involved in speedway from our fans to our governing bodies to ensure that we succeed. Promoters and riders cannot do it alone... never could, but even more so after this.

Keep safe, check in with your elderly relatives and if you need a chat reach out to me anytime. No need to be lonely.

Well said Barry, thank you and you and yours stay healthy and safe..

 

 Slightly off topic British Speedway has never needed a man to oversee the Sport for the benefit of the sport as a whole any more so than it does now, however as usual the BSPA cant see the wood for the clouds or is it the Trees ? :D, to my way of thinking Barry Bishop is head and shoulders above anyone on the present management committee, and would not be afraid to make decisions that would benefit the WHOLE sport not just decisions that benefit the few, he should be leading the Sport in this hour of need..

Edited by greyhoundp
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Might seem an off topic question, however how many British riders ride in the Premiership and how many in the championship who should be in the prem?

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Well done Sir Bazza, friendly little club  nice stadium over on the island:t:

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On 3/26/2020 at 8:28 AM, greyhoundp said:

Well said Barry, thank you and you and yours stay healthy and safe..

 

 Slightly off topic British Speedway has never needed a man to oversee the Sport for the benefit of the sport as a whole any more so than it does now, however as usual the BSPA cant see the wood for the clouds or is it the Trees ? :D, to my way of thinking Barry Bishop is head and shoulders above anyone on the present management committee, and would not be afraid to make decisions that would benefit the WHOLE sport not just decisions that benefit the few, he should be leading the Sport in this hour of need..

Totally agree for me he is a breath of fresh air, he runs a good night out for everybody and the main thing is he caters for all ages.The track in itself for me is a Championship track ( minimum) decent racing and as a few days break in the summer is a decent option to say Torquay or Weymouth.Would Mr Bishop take on more responsibility??? i doubt it he knows his fresh ideas and input would be difficult to push through i hope i am wrong though.It would be great if Barry, Lee Kilby, Neil Vatcher was part of a team that could push speedway in the UK a bit further forward probably wishful thinking.

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I think it's time british speedway in a sense looked after it's own clubs, it's own riders and it's own fans.  No restrictions on when you can run your speedway night, a less is more club offering on the league front with more focus on the individual element for British Riders and Championship.

There is no better time than now really to act once this is all over, it's likely a few teams will be lost but with limited riders to go around and the necessity really to run more on the days thay benefit your business in terms of crowd size etc. Then less clubs isn't a bad thing until more young british or commonwealth riders are coming through the system 

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1 hour ago, Falcon1983 said:

I think it's time british speedway in a sense looked after it's own clubs, it's own riders and it's own fans.  No restrictions on when you can run your speedway night, a less is more club offering on the league front with more focus on the individual element for British Riders and Championship.

There is no better time than now really to act once this is all over, it's likely a few teams will be lost but with limited riders to go around and the necessity really to run more on the days thay benefit your business in terms of crowd size etc. Then less clubs isn't a bad thing until more young british or commonwealth riders are coming through the system 

Spot on....

The operating model simply doesn't work, as has been proved by the sports' ever diminishing following whilst it has stubbornly been continually followed, so what a gilt edged opportunity to re look at every facet of the way the sport is ran in the UK and deliver something better..

Less could really be more for British Speedway..

Less meetings maybe, but if everyone of them were credible, worth winning and tangibly mean something, then what a leap forward it could be..

 

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I obviously don't know when we will come out of lockdown and speedway can resume, but unless other countries open their borders and travel restrictions are limited, then will there be enough riders in the country to stock the teams? Does anyone know how many Aussie/American riders are still based over here. Perhaps the BSPA could be devoting some thought to alternative competitions to 7 man team league meetings.

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Think we should all share our thoughts on how speedway could be run in this country say next year onwards and all have an open mind opinion on each suggestion rather than falling out. Could come up with some blinding ideas 

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1 hour ago, Chadster said:

I obviously don't know when we will come out of lockdown and speedway can resume, but unless other countries open their borders and travel restrictions are limited, then will there be enough riders in the country to stock the teams? Does anyone know how many Aussie/American riders are still based over here. Perhaps the BSPA could be devoting some thought to alternative competitions to 7 man team league meetings.

The standard would have to be dropped across the board but without overseas riders there are still enough British riders to fill every team. 

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12 minutes ago, Ben91 said:

The standard would have to be dropped across the board but without overseas riders there are still enough British riders to fill every team. 

Just out of interest how many British riders are there currently ?

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3 minutes ago, iris123 said:

Just out of interest how many British riders are there currently ?

I’m sure it wouldn’t take long to work that out if you want to do it. It would significantly water down the product as I said but teams could still be filled if the only option was to use British riders exclusively. 

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3 minutes ago, Ben91 said:

I’m sure it wouldn’t take long to work that out if you want to do it. It would significantly water down the product as I said but teams could still be filled if the only option was to use British riders exclusively. 

I wanted you to tell me, seeing as you seemed to know. You saying that you don’t know or don’t want to tell me ?

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Well there are 19 senior Teams which means 133 British riders would be needed, I for one dont think there are enough British riders to go round, just to make up a team of seven British riders would most likely mean having some riders trail round a half lap or more that would not bring in spectators. I realise the sport would need to make decisions just to get teams on track, but very much doubt that would be a way forward.

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Just had a very very quick check of British riders with Premier/Championship teams and i made it 44 riders, so even if there are 50 riders  its nowhere near enough to have British rider only teams even if all of them rode for two teams.. which just shows what a poor state the sport is in in this country..

Edited by greyhoundp
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3 minutes ago, greyhoundp said:

Just had a very very quick check of British riders with Premier/Championship teams and i made it 44 riders, so even if there are 50 riders  its nowhere near enough to have British rider only teams even if all of them rode for two teams.. which just shows what a poor state the sport is in in this country..

Shurely shome mistake !!! 
 

But we have had over a decade of diluting the product and where has that got us ? As you say, what the sport doesn’t need is more of the same.....

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