Leliwa

Our prezio said that he was always interested in speedway 'Interested' my ass!!

Yah, you can easly add the other 6 eLiga country stadiums to the list as not a single one is immune to this type of idiocy. Sometimes I wish we could cut the attandance by half and finaly have an easy going attitude toward this sport.

ready to help

Agreed. I used media example because for us speedway fans in Poland it is a sore issue. Seems like the only time they talk about speedway on national TV is when something bad happens, accidents or any kind of "scandal". I do not have to explain what it does to sports popularity. Indeed it is a complex issue. I would really like speedway to be amongst most popular sports in Poland but I do not think it is there (yet, and any more at the same time). But than again, maybe I'm biased because being a speedway fan I'm not happy with what we have and would like more and more of it But one thing is certain, and I'm sure most speedway fans in Poland would agree, our speedway authorities are not doing enough to extend sport's popularity right now. Hope this will change.

Number of spectators does not necessary translate into overall popularity of the sport on a national level. Without a doubt, number one sport in Poland is football, despite the fact that just few years ago number of spectators at the football games was just half of what we got at speedway meetings. Football gets bigger crowds now with the rise of the level in our leagues. But as far as popularity, speedway could not even compare (except for 60s and 70s when 100 thousand crowds were turning up for some large speedway events, but that is a thing of the past). Unfortunately, speedway cannot compare with many other sports like volleyball, track and field, winter sports and some other, simply because speedway is a niche sport, popular only is some places in Poland and it gets very limmited covarage in the media. Just like someone mentioned, try to ask about speedway in Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz and some other major cities and you are in for strange looks and 'what the heck you mean' answers. Try to find information about speedway on national TV in Poland. Close to impossible. You will get extended coverage of anything but speedway. And coming to speedway towns, just look at the indicators. Tarnow, Zielona Gora, Leszno are places where apart from speedway you do not get other chances to watch sport on the higher level. And than you have Wroclaw, large city where you have more of a choice. And despite their speedway team being on the top in Poland right now they get just and average attendance. Maybe this last example shows the real popularity of our sport. We do not need to like it but that is the fact.

After ten long years Jacek Rempala returns to Tarnow. Nice. He will have to fight to get on the lineup, we cannot expect much from him really, but for older fans it is sooo nice to have him back in Tarnow. It will bring out the memories. Happy to see him back.

And we are quite happy here. It brings to mind 1993 when young Tony Rickardsson signed with Unia Tarnow. Who knew back then that only a year later Tony will be crowned a world champion. I hope that we will continue on this tradition on signing future champions Suprise, suprise, Marcin Rempala is going to talk with the club about him staying for next season. I wonder what it means. Possibility 1 - management is fearing that Tomek might be gone so it comes naturally to keep young Rempala. Possibility 2 - not getting good enough offers, young Rempala is desperate to stay in Tarnow Possibility 3 - one that my good friend Champion would have much to say about Let's just say that it concerns nocturnal activities generally speaking

Peter Ljung is going to sign with Unia Tarnow for minimum 10 matches the management announced today. Janusz Kolodzej is very close to finalising talks with Unia, which makes me a very happy camper!

To fill the void after Scott’s departure you mean? What viod? Last season he was only a back up to Tony, got more rides only after Tony's departure from speedway. We are filling void after Tony, supposedly with Rune, since he agreed to terms with us. And frankly speaking, after Nicholls' performance last season he will not be missed much in Tarnow.

Well, not my favorite rider but, considering how limited is the market this year and the need for Tarnow to replace gap left after Tony’s retirement this is the only possible move. The gap will not be filled completely, but Holta is 10+ point riders so should be ok. More news and speculations from Tarnow camp: Talks with Tomek Gollob and Janusz Kolodziej are ongoing. I really hope for successful completion of the negotiations although one has to always consider that one of them could choose to ride elsewhere. An absolute must is signing of Kolodziej, he is our local boy and loosing him means loosing a lot of fans support. Jacek Gollob would like to stay but his contract would have to be restructured after his terrible season. Stan Burza will consider his options, one thing is certain, riding in lower league will allow him more rides that he had in Tarnow, so he has a lot of thinking to do. Hlib is uncertain, but letting him go right now would be bad from the business point of view. It was too large of an investment to let him go right now. Marcin Rempala, hmmm, here is the question mark. My feeling is that he will be gone. As far as new names few are being mentioned around. Rafal Szombierski from Rybnik is one of them. He is interesting in coming to Tarnow but he has a running contract there and Rybnik club wants to get too much from this. Next year he will be free to go anywhere and they will not get a penny so no wonder. Other name floating around is Tomek Chrzanowski. We will see how it goes. There are still some money issues being solved but I think in two weeks time we will know more or less what to expect next season.

On the contrary, true Polonia fans will always want Torun to be there in E-league. Just to taste another victory over local rival. Am I right Mateusz, or am I right?

I think it is fairly clear by now that Jason and Hans will remain in Wroclaw for the next season. At least that is how it seems. Subedei, Tarnow’s financial problems are being straighten out, and now with two big companies: Zaklady Azotowe and Poldim buying shares of the Unia Tarnow ZSSA it looks like we should be all right financially for near future. The question if Tomasz will stay in Tarnow is going to be answered soon. I have a feeling that we will part with him, and it is not because of finances. It is no secret that Gollob was one of those Tarnow riders that got all the money on time throughout the season. He was supported by the City of Tarnow, and city authorities are quite happy with the promotion they got through this arrangement. To this extend that they are willing to support team star in coming season. The question is, who the star will be. There were some developments in recent weeks that might suggest that Unia will look past Gollob for that matter. But, these are just speculations, who knows how it will end up. Anyway, we are in for some interesting off season moves here in Poland.

You did not understand what I meant. I'm saying that if anything Gollob, Rickardsson or Nicholls are the only riders who are actually being paid. As for the second part and the quote, do you imply that the track in Tarnow is actually unsafe? Come on, give me a break. I could just the same look out for many quotes from riders and coaches who commented favourably on our track throughout past few seasons, but I do not think this is the point.

Hi, there can be just one answer from me come to Tarnow. Seriously though, the choice is yours, both places guarantee good speedway, there is a lot at stake for all 4 teams so it will be good competitions. If you chose to come to Tarnow I can show you around the town, small but nice historic place, and the stadium. Just let me know and I will provide you with some contact details. best,

There is no doubt there are problems in our club, and I'm pretty sure there are financial problems. But, the likes of Gollob, Rickarsson will be the last riders to feel the financial problems. It is much of the issue for other guys on the team. So, I do not think it has anything to do with Gollob, Kolodziej and Hlib refusing to ride. As for the magical term "the track is the same for everybody", sure it is, fully agree here. But maybe some did not see the point of just riding circles on such track as the one in Rzeszow, when every attempt to complete seriously could create a very dangerous situation for all riders involved. I did not see the point and did not want them to ride. What kind or riding was it? fighting to stay on the bike, riding like they just passed a license exam? I will risk an opinion that the only reason nobody got hurt on Friday was because they did not complete on the track. As I said before, I do not have a problem with the track that gives asset to home riders because they know its ins and outs. But the track has to be safe and safety should be always a priority. I question if safety of riders was the priority in Rzeszow on Friday. I do not think I'm biased here, if such thing would happen in Tarnow I would criticise it just the same.