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Time to send a GB/England touring team abroad?

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36 minutes ago, Daniel Smith said:

No foreign teams in the Exstraliga, you sure about that or just opinion? 

Daugavpils weren’t allowed promotion quite recently because they weren’t Polish

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2 hours ago, Daniel Smith said:

No foreign teams in the Exstraliga, you sure about that or just opinion? 

A fact.

Daugavpils were denied promotion for this reason.

Of course rules can always be changed if there is sufficient will to do so.

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20 minutes ago, arnieg said:

A fact.

Daugavpils were denied promotion for this reason.

Of course rules can always be changed if there is sufficient will to do so.

I`m not sure denied is 100% correct- i think they were given a lot of conditions they had to meet- including Polish junior riders at 6 and 7 etc etc and they politely refused.

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2 hours ago, racers and royals said:

I`m not sure denied is 100% correct- i think they were given a lot of conditions they had to meet- including Polish junior riders at 6 and 7 etc etc and they politely refused.

Wasn't there a suggestion they would have to ride home matches in Poland?

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4 minutes ago, arnieg said:

Wasn't there a suggestion they would have to ride home matches in Poland?

Not sure about that- this season with Covid - yes that could have happened. 

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Daugavpils have an advantage in that there is no league in Latvia and so no, BSPA/SCB that could veto the project on the grounds it will have a negative effect on their home league

That is the scenario that happened here in Hamburg, when our local Ice Hockey team folded. A franchise wanted to set up a team to play in the Russian Continental League or whatever it is called. This was turned down by the German ice hockey federation, because of the possible negative effect to the Bundesliga....

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25 minutes ago, arnieg said:

Wasn't there a suggestion they would have to ride home matches in Poland?

I’m pretty sure that was the case

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Yes, Poland insisted Daugavpils had to race all their home meetings in Poland which of course completely defeats the object of having a Latvian based club, who by my understanding actually do pretty well for crowds etc.

I think people really do need to come to terms with the fact Speedway is finished in the United Kingdom. OK, some clubs still do well enough but over the three leagues, how many? 5 or 6 at a push. Glasgow apparently do well, but their promoters have thrown so much at it and their crowds were starting to shrink.

Even going back 20 years, a crowd in the second tier of anything less than 1000 was classed as poor. Now anything over 6-800 is classed as good. Prices in operating the sport have gone up, riders demand more money etc. Add to that ancient promoters who still insist on putting on a 70's style show, it is no wonder crowds are falling rapidly.

A night out at speedway simply isn't attractive enough for youngsters. Standing in a clapped out stadium, drinking over priced pints of lager served in plastic cups listening to I shot the sheriff whilst watching tractors going round a track half the night isnt worth what they are paying to get in. No matter how good the racing is, which lets be honest is poor to say the least at times.

You can spend the same, or less going to your local boozer with mates for a night out or out for a meal and a few drinks etc.

And that is before you try beginning to explain the way the sport runs. Telling them the exciting number 1 rider for the home side wont be there next week as he is riding for his other club. That number 6 who actually over takes? He is a guest rider and wont be here next week. It just sounds like a farce.

I loved speedway, it was a big part of my youth but sadly it is a thing of the past in the UK. It is no better supported than a lot of non league football now. And the quicker people accept that and move on, the better.

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8 hours ago, Pinny said:

Yes, Poland insisted Daugavpils had to race all their home meetings in Poland which of course completely defeats the object of having a Latvian based club, who by my understanding actually do pretty well for crowds etc.

I think people really do need to come to terms with the fact Speedway is finished in the United Kingdom. OK, some clubs still do well enough but over the three leagues, how many? 5 or 6 at a push. Glasgow apparently do well, but their promoters have thrown so much at it and their crowds were starting to shrink.

Even going back 20 years, a crowd in the second tier of anything less than 1000 was classed as poor. Now anything over 6-800 is classed as good. Prices in operating the sport have gone up, riders demand more money etc. Add to that ancient promoters who still insist on putting on a 70's style show, it is no wonder crowds are falling rapidly.

A night out at speedway simply isn't attractive enough for youngsters. Standing in a clapped out stadium, drinking over priced pints of lager served in plastic cups listening to I shot the sheriff whilst watching tractors going round a track half the night isnt worth what they are paying to get in. No matter how good the racing is, which lets be honest is poor to say the least at times.

You can spend the same, or less going to your local boozer with mates for a night out or out for a meal and a few drinks etc.

And that is before you try beginning to explain the way the sport runs. Telling them the exciting number 1 rider for the home side wont be there next week as he is riding for his other club. That number 6 who actually over takes? He is a guest rider and wont be here next week. It just sounds like a farce.

I loved speedway, it was a big part of my youth but sadly it is a thing of the past in the UK. It is no better supported than a lot of non league football now. And the quicker people accept that and move on, the better.

I agree with a lot of what you say... but also a lot of what you say applies to Poland too, from what I've seen of it this year a lot of it is the same, if not worse than what happens in the UK as I've mentioned in a post elsewhere. Where there is a glaring difference is in the attitude towards the franchise/team and the quality of the stadiums, I don't know how much a beer and a burger is or how much admission is, though isn't it comparative to what it is over here? Why are fans turning up in their thousands every week to watch Rybnik get spanked on a dusty track with tractors going around the track more than the Speedway bikes? And even in Poland you're seeing the rules being stretched with guests being drafted in, riders riding on passports of convenience, heat leaders riding at number 8.

Their crowd levels probably stem back from the days of communism, where there couldn't have been much else to do other than go to a subsidised sporting event, taking your kids and those kids are now the young crowd that we see in the stadiums today.

Now here's a controversial point, I've been to Poland a few times on holiday over the last 10 years and not that many people speak English, it's got better though, the first time I went for example all of the restaurant menus were in Polish, more recently the menus have been in Polish with an English translation underneath as obviously they want to appeal to English speakers to spend their money, you watch a film on TV, a Hollywood blockbuster and it's dubbed into Polish, often by one Polish bloke doing all the voices... so why would you sit in and watch that... or go to the cinema... or Netflix and chill

As more and more Poles learn English they'll join the mass market that is the global entertainment industry... so they should enjoy the glory days while they last because they may not last forever

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54 minutes ago, iainb said:

I agree with a lot of what you say... but also a lot of what you say applies to Poland too, from what I've seen of it this year a lot of it is the same, if not worse than what happens in the UK as I've mentioned in a post elsewhere. Where there is a glaring difference is in the attitude towards the franchise/team and the quality of the stadiums, I don't know how much a beer and a burger is or how much admission is, though isn't it comparative to what it is over here? Why are fans turning up in their thousands every week to watch Rybnik get spanked on a dusty track with tractors going around the track more than the Speedway bikes? And even in Poland you're seeing the rules being stretched with guests being drafted in, riders riding on passports of convenience, heat leaders riding at number 8.

Their crowd levels probably stem back from the days of communism, where there couldn't have been much else to do other than go to a subsidised sporting event, taking your kids and those kids are now the young crowd that we see in the stadiums today.

Now here's a controversial point, I've been to Poland a few times on holiday over the last 10 years and not that many people speak English, it's got better though, the first time I went for example all of the restaurant menus were in Polish, more recently the menus have been in Polish with an English translation underneath as obviously they want to appeal to English speakers to spend their money, you watch a film on TV, a Hollywood blockbuster and it's dubbed into Polish, often by one Polish bloke doing all the voices... so why would you sit in and watch that... or go to the cinema... or Netflix and chill

As more and more Poles learn English they'll join the mass market that is the global entertainment industry... so they should enjoy the glory days while they last because they may not last forever

The top riders in the world ride in Poland so it is more marketable. The presentation over there seems a lot better than the UK music. The prices are dirt cheap (so I am told) and most clubs are bankrolled by local councils/sponsors. 9 times out of 10 the racing is better. Also, the Poles dont really have a decent football league. Their top player plays in Germany and I would be struggling to find any other top class Polish footballers. They dont follow rugby. So thats two huge sports that the UK is associated with on a large scale that Poland arent.

Their stadiums in general are much better. Theres plenty of reasons why it thrives there and not in the UK.

I remember Newport (Queensway Meadows) was classed as one of the better stadiums in the UK. Lets be honest, it was a total dump. When Stoney had it and when the Mallets did. It was a dump. I attended Swindon and Reading regular, both of them were dumps. Hadn't been given an upgrade since the 70s/80s at least. Stoke was an absolute toilet. Glasgow and Edinburgh were rubbish holes. As were 99 percent of UK speedway stadiums.

You have stadiums that are in the middle of a field. Its fine for speedway fans, and I mean proper speedway fans. They would stand in cow dung watching speedway. But newcomers will not like it. And they wont like standing in a crappy, ancient, damp stadium listening to music from the 60s/70s and 80s. Paying nearly 4 quid for a pint of warm fosters in a plastic cup. And whatever the prices of food are etc. Which were no value for money when I last attended so I cant see that of changing.

The sport in the UK has just been neglected, it hasn't moved with the times, the prices are way ahead of the times, is run by a bunch of buffoons, the list goes on. It would take an absolute miracle to get the crowd levels anything like it was even in the early 2000's, let alone the 90's and 80's. Its finished. I am just being realistic. I would love nothing more than it to boom again and my home town and every other club thats lost the sport to get a club again. But it is not going to happen. And the quicker thats accepted, the better.

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18 minutes ago, Pinny said:

The top riders in the world ride in Poland so it is more marketable. The presentation over there seems a lot better than the UK music. The prices are dirt cheap (so I am told) and most clubs are bankrolled by local councils/sponsors. 9 times out of 10 the racing is better. Also, the Poles dont really have a decent football league. Their top player plays in Germany and I would be struggling to find any other top class Polish footballers. They dont follow rugby. So thats two huge sports that the UK is associated with on a large scale that Poland arent.

Their stadiums in general are much better. Theres plenty of reasons why it thrives there and not in the UK.

I remember Newport (Queensway Meadows) was classed as one of the better stadiums in the UK. Lets be honest, it was a total dump. When Stoney had it and when the Mallets did. It was a dump. I attended Swindon and Reading regular, both of them were dumps. Hadn't been given an upgrade since the 70s/80s at least. Stoke was an absolute toilet. Glasgow and Edinburgh were rubbish holes. As were 99 percent of UK speedway stadiums.

You have stadiums that are in the middle of a field. Its fine for speedway fans, and I mean proper speedway fans. They would stand in cow dung watching speedway. But newcomers will not like it. And they wont like standing in a crappy, ancient, damp stadium listening to music from the 60s/70s and 80s. Paying nearly 4 quid for a pint of warm fosters in a plastic cup. And whatever the prices of food are etc. Which were no value for money when I last attended so I cant see that of changing.

The sport in the UK has just been neglected, it hasn't moved with the times, the prices are way ahead of the times, is run by a bunch of buffoons, the list goes on. It would take an absolute miracle to get the crowd levels anything like it was even in the early 2000's, let alone the 90's and 80's. Its finished. I am just being realistic. I would love nothing more than it to boom again and my home town and every other club thats lost the sport to get a club again. But it is not going to happen. And the quicker thats accepted, the better.

I thought Newport was quite a nice little setup tbh, I only ever went to the New Year Classic's though. I don't know if you've seen any of the racing from Poland this year but the racing has mostly been dire with the match score usually never in doubt after the first 4 races. The music seems to consist of Now That's What I Call Heavy Metal Vol 1 from the 1980's as the bloke that does the commentary for Premier Sports seems to like playing Name That Tune and is always mentioning AC/DC, Metaillica, Van Halen etc. I've seen fans drinking from plastic cups.

I agree with all of your other points, especially the lack of other sports and council subsidy... Isn't netball big over there too? Is that an indoor winter sport do you know?

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Daugavpils were never ordered to play the matches in Poland( Covid yes if things in Latvia/Poland  prevented the away teams from going). As i have previously said there were a lot of conditions for Daugavpils riding in the Extraleague- but riding home matches in Poland wasn`t one of them !!!. 

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It’s worth noting that Speedway in Poland is cheap for us but not necessarily for the Polish. The average national wage in Poland is just shy of £10,000 less than the average national wage in Britain (from a quick Google search). A night at the speedway for a Pole may still be better value for money than for a British fan attending in Britain but it isn’t cheap when compared to the living wage. 

I’m not too sure what the costs of going to a league meeting are in Poland but I know the individual meeting at Bydgoszcz the day after the Toruń GP last year only cost £5 to get into and the field looked roughly Championship standard to me. You’re looking at over three times that price to watch second tier Speedway here. When I went to Ostrow a few years back a beer was less than £2. 

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A Polish friend of mine said 'don't run away with the idea that speedway is popular throughout the country.

There are areas where it is popular but a lot of areas where it isn't'.

 

 

 

 

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