British Speedway

[*JJ 510]

20 hours ago, AFCB Wildcat said:

I was disappointed that a major club couldn't even point us in the right direction. 

 

The promotions of 'major clubs' don't care about training; everybody knows that speedway riders come from Denmark and Poland!  My experience was that training schools, amateur racing and Development League (ie MDL/SDL) teams were run by fans and enthusiasts who were barely tolerated by the official promoters; which is why they are struggling, and it is difficult to start riding.

[mikebv 10,242]

7 minutes ago, *JJ said:

The promotions of 'major clubs' don't care about training; everybody knows that speedway riders come from Denmark and Poland!  My experience was that training schools, amateur racing and Development League (ie MDL/SDL) teams were run by fans and enthusiasts who were barely tolerated by the official promoters; which is why they are struggling, and it is difficult to start riding.

Which is why there is suddenly the focus on as many teams as possible putting out riders in the NDL as they can..

Hoping some come through.. 

Covid restrictions have (and will probably continue to do so), caused any flow from overseas to cease to a trickle, hence home grown talent is required.. 

And quick!!

The big elephant in the room also though is how the U24 League in Poland hits and if they start taking the best young riders over there.. 

[Sings4Speedway 3,246]

58 minutes ago, mikebv said:

Which is why there is suddenly the focus on as many teams as possible putting out riders in the NDL as they can..

Hoping some come through.. 

Covid restrictions have (and will probably continue to do so), caused any flow from overseas to cease to a trickle, hence home grown talent is required.. 

And quick!!

The big elephant in the room also though is how the U24 League in Poland hits and if they start taking the best young riders over there.. 

The problem being that NDL is (or should be) fairly high up that ladder from riders who are starting out/have limited experience. Realistically it should be Introduction days, Amateur Practice, Amateur Meetings, Dev Leagues, NDL (or youth route, dev leagues NDL) however sadly the opportunities are few and far between for the early ones leaving promotors to track riders who aren't ready on the hopes that they will make a rapid breakthrough or get dropped when the next rider who shows a glimmer of talent shows up

[martinmauger 584]

At Hull, Craven Park, the planning permsssion to run speedway was basically: meetings to be staged March til end of October, engines allowed to run 7pm-10pm curfew, on Wednesday nights apart from sometimes an afternoon press day, the odd Bank Holiday or other 'off-night' due to rain offs, fxture congestion, etc.  Air horns were banned from mid-1995 or so, though folk I knew living nearby (opp main entrance, 2 streets to the right) told me they couldn't hear the speedway half the time.  So no practices or training sessions were permitted (though 'a little bird' told me they sometimes DID occur on Tuesday nights !).  The late Big Alan Grahame I recall had special dispensation for the stadium being available all day from 12 noon for practice as the likes of Frank Auffret & the late Tony Childs hadn't been on a bike for quite a while.  Think Frank borrowed a modern lay-down for the day and the meeting, while Tony used his own older 4-valve JAWA upright, complete with a 'banana seat' & wore his circa 1970's Savoy Tyres leathes.  So, yeah difficult running speedway in many stadia with limited track time, especially at CP where 1995-2003 ish rugby pitch corners needed to be lifted and replaced and also dog track sheeted.....

Edited November 12, 2021 by martinmauger
added pp info, spelling

[Fortythirtyeight 838]

20 hours ago, Pieman72 said:

Why are you protecting the promoters and riders we who pay their wages and keep the sport afloat  expect more. I think your living in the 1970's !!

Not protecting anyone, just answering a rather silly post.

 

[Fortythirtyeight 838]

21 hours ago, *JJ said:

The promotions of 'major clubs' don't care about training; everybody knows that speedway riders come from Denmark and Poland!  My experience was that training schools, amateur racing and Development League (ie MDL/SDL) teams were run by fans and enthusiasts who were barely tolerated by the official promoters; which is why they are struggling, and it is difficult to start riding.

You never did come to Redcar, did you, or Berwick who also have a great enthusiasm for junior speedway, or even Edinburgh despite their restrictions. 

[*JJ 510]

55 minutes ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

You never did come to Redcar, did you, or Berwick who also have a great enthusiasm for junior speedway, or even Edinburgh despite their restrictions. 

No, too far. Edinburgh is about 350 miles from here! Plymouth, at over 200 miles, was far enough in one day, certainly at my age.

[*JJ 510]

21 hours ago, Sings4Speedway said:

The problem being that NDL is (or should be) fairly high up that ladder from riders who are starting out/have limited experience. Realistically it should be Introduction days, Amateur Practice, Amateur Meetings, Dev Leagues, NDL (or youth route, dev leagues NDL) however sadly the opportunities are few and far between for the early ones leaving promotors to track riders who aren't ready on the hopes that they will make a rapid breakthrough or get dropped when the next rider who shows a glimmer of talent shows up

This is true.

[Fortythirtyeight 838]

2 hours ago, *JJ said:

No, too far. Edinburgh is about 350 miles from here! Plymouth, at over 200 miles, was far enough in one day, certainly at my age.

Then please don’t make sweeping statements that aren’t true. Quite a few clubs do care and take great effort to encourage youngsters in the sport.

Oh, and a local lad from Redcar travelled to Kent for his home meetings and we have a very young junior regularly attending Redcar sessions from Plymouth so, if your dedicated enough, there are opportunities !

Edited November 12, 2021 by Fortythirtyeight

[Pieman72 588]

18 hours ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

Not protecting anyone, just answering a rather silly post.

 

Just asking why was it silly? I'm just so worried about the number of tracks closing or in dire straights. Now Birmingham are making changes for survival.  Unfortunately the BSPA are sitting on their hands while genuine supporters are organising and addressing the critical situation. Realisticly 6 teams for 30 race nights is financially unsustainable.

[Fortythirtyeight 838]

6 minutes ago, Pieman72 said:

Just asking why was it silly? I'm just so worried about the number of tracks closing or in dire straights. Now Birmingham are making changes for survival.  Unfortunately the BSPA are sitting on their hands while genuine supporters are organising and addressing the critical situation. Realisticly 6 teams for 30 race nights is financially unsustainable.

It was ‘ silly ‘ because the powers that be will release news as and when it suits them, not the fans so what were you expecting ? a personal email ?

Clubs have closed because of bad management , others for slightly different reasons , that has always been the case in speedway.Speedway is now a very minor sport, probably only fit to be called semi professional but just won’t accept it.  Can you enlighten me what ‘ genuine supporters ‘ are addressing ? . Most are on this forum complaining about anything and everything and whilst I’m not going to defend the BSPL , it’s their money that’s keeping what little is left of the sport running so they are entitled to make whatever ludicrous decisions they wish until such time as an independent body comes along and sorts the mess out, if that ever happens. They will be the judge if 6 teams for 30 race nights is financially viable, not the fans.

Meanwhile , they’ve told you what to expect, more of the same….

 

[Pieman72 588]

I can see where you are coming from but entrusting our fragile sport with these remote individuals is rather naive. There are genuine supporters who will empty their pockets to keep their beloved sport but the way in which the sport is managed is rather haphazard. Ultimately no fans equals no speedway this is conversation that needs to be carried on.

[Fortythirtyeight 838]

34 minutes ago, Pieman72 said:

I can see where you are coming from but entrusting our fragile sport with these remote individuals is rather naive. There are genuine supporters who will empty their pockets to keep their beloved sport but the way in which the sport is managed is rather haphazard. Ultimately no fans equals no speedway this is conversation that needs to be carried on.

I’m not naive in the way speedway is run , non of us have any choice of how the sport is run. We can simply not attended, that’s a ‘ fans ‘ prerogative but don’t kid yourself that fans are going to have a say on how the sport is run under it’s current set up. An independent body might change that . This ‘ conversation ‘ has gone on since 1928 when the sport was brought into the UK and has gone on , in changing volumes, ever since !

[Humphrey Appleby 13,941]

1 hour ago, Pieman72 said:

I can see where you are coming from but entrusting our fragile sport with these remote individuals is rather naive. There are genuine supporters who will empty their pockets to keep their beloved sport but the way in which the sport is managed is rather haphazard. Ultimately no fans equals no speedway this is conversation that needs to be carried on.

I think in fairness, the sport would also not exist without the promoters keeping it alive with their money and time. We can shake our heads some of the decisions, but the COVID situation is really been close to terminal for what was already a sport needing critical care. 

[Pieman72 588]

So why is British Speedway on life support and European Speedway is healthy?