AFCB Wildcat

As I've said, this was my first meeting at Wimborne road for a very long time so I didn't know what to expect although I'd read about the ongoing track problems on the forum. When we arrived at about 4:15 the starting gate looked like a potato field and the bends looked a bit patchy to me. I'm no expert on track prep & as I said, a bit out of touch, but after reading on here about problems with lack of shale on the track and the lack of availability of fresh material, I was surprised to see the tractor removing material from the area where the hole appeared and dumping it on the infield before the start of the meeting. To be fair, after the track work following the incident, there didn't seem to be any more issues. The sun was shining & there was a stiff drying breeze so inevitably it was going to get dusty but it wasn't that bad. I've seen much worse. The attendance I thought was a bit disappointing and the racing wasn't that exciting unfortunately but I'll give it another go on Friday weather permitting. I found Matt's interview a little concerning. It kinda reiterated my views on the situation. The Stadium in such a prime town centre location cannot be sustained by Speedway alone and the situation with the landlords mean some worrying times ahead I think. It's such a shame because it's location is its biggest asset in my opinion. We had a nice afternoon in town having a few drinks & a bite to eat before the short walk to the stadium. I really hope for a positive outcome but I view the current situation as being very concerning. Especially with the problems with speedway as a whole at the moment.

Where did that big pile of shale dumped on the grass by the tractor before the start come from. Did that cause the hole? It's right by the area they're working on.

No I didn't know that so 2 in a week after a long absence, thank you

Hopefully the track will be okay. I'm really looking forward to this as it's my first time seeing the Pirates at home for over 15 years. I've only been able to watch league speedway at Lakeside & Eastbourne since the demise of Weymouth as they were weekend tracks but now that unfortunately they are no longer options I hope it's a bumper crowd & that Poole run some more weekend fixtures in future.

Due to working night shifts for the last 16 years and thus only able to do weekend fixtures, this will be my first visit to Wimborne road since the demise of the Buccaneers so advice would be appreciated. I'm obviously a bit out of touch on how things work these days. Can you buy e tickets online and do they take card payments on the gate? I don't do cash! Also with the stadium operation problems, have the catering issues been resolved for food & drinks and is there a bar? How early should I arrive before tapes up to get a decent seat in the stand. I'm assuming it's first come first served rather than allocated seats? TIA

It's not just prices that have changed over the years. In researching how much they had changed in other sports, I found a Chesterfield v AFC Bournemouth program from a div 3 away game I attended in 1985 amongst my speedway programmes. There is a section giving details of their upcoming away trip to Derby County at the old Baseball ground. They say that the cheapest admission on the away terrace is an "extortionate £3", which is £9 odd in today's Monday. In describing the ground it says " The ground is situated in an unsavoury area. Some houses around the ground have been demolished in a slum clearance scheme, the others have been occupied by immigrants and the area has some of the qualities of a ghetto" In today's money that would equate to "a vibrant cosmopolitan area rich with cultural diversity"

They justify this by saying that the gigs are their main source of income now because they don't make so much from recorded music these days with most people streaming from the internet or illegally downloading. At one time bands toured to promote the albums.

That's true, and looking at historic football prices it tells a similar story. 1975 admission prices seem to have been between 50p for a 1st/ 2nd Division game and £1 for the league cup final. It's also true though to say that since then, top flight football and probably Rugby too, has been rebranded and and is no longer just the domain of working class people. Many working class people have been priced out of top flight football but the old terraces once their domain have been replaced by magnificent stadiums where the plebs have been replaced by the prawn sandwich brigade, new breed of happy clappers and football tourists who can afford the eye watering prices. Speedway as a product and the Stadiums it's held in unfortunately haven't moved on enough to attract people in numbers who can afford to pay the extra money now involved.

I just found an old programme from 1975. The programme was 10p. On the back were details of the next week's Blue Riband individual meeting. Admission for this was 75p for the grandstand, 60p for West stand & terraces and children 50p & 42p. Prize money for the event was, winner £50 and a portable TV (value £85!! ) 2nd £30 and 3rd £20. An inflation checker calculates this at about £14 admission for an adult and 2 kids with programs!

Out of interest, how does this compare pro rata to admission prices from the 70's heydays? My Dad wasn't in a highly paid job but he took me and my sister to Poole every week and to Weymouth on Tuesday nights in the summer holidays. We didn't buy drinks or food unless it was out of our pocket money but we always had a programme each. Can anyone remember what the admission prices were then? I can't!

Does anyone know if there is going to be a stream for this one?

It's a bit of a mystery isn't it? Looking at the company's website it appears that they are a subcontract engineering company offering CNC milling and turning services rather than being a design authority. I guess you will have done the same but doing a Google search, nothing comes up at all about this company and a speedway engine other than the page that you linked. I would be interested to know more about it and you would have thought someone in Speedway circles would have been involved and/or know something about it?

I clicked the link and so far nobody has died. It is a link to UK research and innovation website which gives details of funding given to a company called P Mason engineering to develop a new 500cc engine for Speedway/ grass track etc. use.

Yes you're absolutely correct in my opinion, it would be "what about me?" When I was at school 40 odd years ago I remember the girls protesting that the uniform code was sexist as they couldn't wear trousers and it was changed. So then all the boys turned up the next day wearing skirts. Did they really want to wear skirts? No. Did they do it because they were sexist and hate women? No. It was as you say, "what about me?" If it's been accepted that it's sexist for girls to have to wear skirts then it's sexist for boys to have to wear trousers, that was the point. This is the same mentality where people are saying, we've indulged you in celebrating your sexuality, what about me? Sad maybe? But not right wing, homophobic etc.

I would agree with that. With so little time between the start of the stream and the 1st heat and after the failure of the cast option it didn't give long to sort out the problems so I ended up with a crude mirror of a phone screen on my TV with peripheral icons via Google home app. It did the job so I stuck with it as experimenting further meant missing more of the action. If it hadn't been for the unfortunate lengthy delay I would have missed half the meeting. Having said that, I too was impressed with the production and will certainly purchase again if I can resolve the casting issues. I can't believe the comments on social media complaining about the cost of the stream though.What do people expect FFS ? After putting on a meeting at considerable cost with no paying spectators in the stadium, coupled with the production costs of the stream. "Too expensive" "short sighted" they are all moaning It cost me £38 for the takeaway we ate while the 4 of us watched it & only £11:95 for the stream. I know which I enjoyed the most!

Not got any apple products unfortunately. My phone and Chromecast worked admirably for the football streams on AFCB TV and the Belle Vue meetings. Epic fail on this one though

Well it's not gone well so far! I want to watch it with my family but although the cast symbol appears on the stream, it comes up 'error' when I try to connect to my Chromecast. It doesn't seem to be available through my TV browser. My phone is only a cheaper android so tried again with my wife's S20 plus. That's got smart view but for whatever reason it's not detecting my Chromecast or TV although next doors tv seems to be an option Tried screen mirroring on mine but just kept stopping. Eventually got screen mirror to work on the S20 but with all the phones icons round the outside but that's better than nothing. So just in time to watch an ambulance and lots of people sitting around. What happened to Rory??

Exactly my point. That would be the perception so although there is nothing to say it isn't allowed it would be vilified. I don't give a toss about anybody's sexuality, why do I even want to know? Just seems odd to me that anyone needs to celebrate their sexuality anyway but anyone 'straight' would be by default 'right wing' for doing so.

While there's nothing to say it's not allowed, it would be seen as a homophobic slur against gay pride and anyone involved would vilified as haters.

Thanks, I'm sure it will be fine then. It's just that I know some live sports streams and my Virgin TV go app block casting or screen mirroring. I suppose to stop it being being re broadcast to a larger group like in a pub for instance. I watched most of the football season on streams and in the FAQ's it said they couldn't be cast as it was against league rules or something but when I pressed 'watch live' the cast symbol appeared anyway and I cast to my TV no problem.

Thanks, I'm definitely going to support this initiative. I hope it proves profitable for the Tigers and continues after the lockdown. I don't get to see live speedway since the demise of Weymouth as I can't attend weekdays. My only live speedway in recent years apart from Cardiff was weekend breaks in Eastbourne, but now due to the popularity of staycations, availablity of accommodation is limited & expensive. I might even become a Tigers fan if I can watch them every week

Do you know if you can Chromecast the Glasgow stream from phone to TV? I'm fairly new to streaming having only streamed the British Final & Craven memorial meeting for speedway before, both of which let me cast to my TV. Also, is it available to watch on demand once purchased if I can't watch it live?

I don't expect anything. My concern is how this situation moves forward. I have no knowledge of the lease details so I'm only going on what I've read on here or bits and pieces I've seen in the media. From what's been said, we have a situation where the lease holders don't want to operate it as a sporting venue but from what you've said it was gifted to the people of Poole as a sporting venue so it would seem they are in breach of the lease conditions by operating the venue as solely a carpark? Apart from the glass enclosure which was primarily for dogs, the stadium is just the same as it was 50 years ago when I first went there so it needs significant investment for its future use as a sporting venue. Who makes that investment, I don't know? The landlords (the council) certainly won't, the lease holders don't want to and the speedway can't afford to which is my concern. So where do we go from here? I certainly wasn't suggesting that moving the track was something that could be done easily to accommodate Poole Town and obviously the loan situations to develop their current home complicates things but if it's future is as a sporting venue for the people of Poole it has to accommodate more than Speedway.

Yes, exactly that. I know times have changed and I haven't been to Wimborne Road regularly for many years but when we were kids we could make our own way there easily and lots of kids and families from local estates walked there. If it was out in the sticks somewhere and only accessible by car I think attendances would plummet.

Geography maybe, but different administration isn't it? I think it comes under East Dorset then & Poole is BCP. It's all a bit confusing round that area. I've seen the address given as Ringwood Hampshire but it's not my neck of the woods so I'm sure. As you say though, not viable as a Speedway venue.