Great Central

Richard Lawson is I think 22, but Gareth Isherwood is under 21 and deserves a place. Must be an oversight by the BSPA. Gareth came fourth in the Weymouth round last year and made the Final as one of the reserves but didn't get a ride as far as I can see.

This is excellent news and is reminiscent of the early Chamionship series run by Peter Oakes. Well done, and a big thanks to all the promoters who have committed to running a round of the Championship, and a series containing this number of rounds, sends out a message that British speeedway is taking youth speedway seriously. It shouldn't stop there however, since the sport needs to retain the riders, not let them go like a previous U15 Champion, namely Dan Greenwood. Best of luck to all competitors and please support it well - no excuse this year for not knowing when the rounds are. One final plea to riders, parents etc - just because you haven't made the grade at say 17, don't give up, there is still time!!! Martin Widman

Bryn, You are of course one of those many volunteers who make it all possible so whilst we have a slot at the "top of the Forum", I shall take the opportunity before we get relegated to pass on my thanks to all the officials of the club, the volunteers who contribute in many guises, the helpers, supporters and riders who make the STR meetings an enjoyable experience. The sportmanship is brilliant and the help provided to riders with encouragement, riding tips, machine preparation tips etc is invaluable. I think that 16 meetings have been held this year plus 4 practice sessions so a tremendous effort from all who help and run the meetings. Finally, a big thank you to all the promoters who hire out thier tracks without whom the whole thing would not be possible. Only sorry that because of the weather and other committments, we never made it to Sittingbourne - great little track and always well run. Martin Widman

Yes, Len has been known to charge for entry but at all other tracks the entry is free. The STR Club is a great club for riders of all abilities, but it really is about riding and the club is not geared up to handle lots of spectators, however I am sure that they will welcome spectators, the same as Scunthorpe do. There isn't an announcer at every meeting but when there is, it certainly adds something to the meeting, but since the club is run by volunteers, these jobs can only be achieved if volunteers step forward. The racing is of mixed standards, and this year the club introduced an U15/250cc class to try and give encouragement to the youngsters, but you can guarantee that at whatever standard, the races are fiercely fought but in a sporting manner, that being the culture in the club. It has been going for 15 years now and long may it continue to do so.

No George isn't riding at the moment. Apparently he has just started college and is giving speedway a miss to concentrate on his education. Not sure if that is permanent or not. Agree that he was a good rider, and an excellent prospect for the future but took that bad injury at Sheffield.

Phil, where on earth have you been - the Forum has not been the same lately without your charming and witty comments!! At least you got a letter - we only found out through a chance conversation with Malcolm Vasey at the CL4's, reinforced by the post from RH at Scunthorpe. This may well explain why some riders didn't turn up for what was supposed to be a prestigious meeting in the speedway calendar. I feel really sorry for the Scunthorpe promotion who went to great lengths to put on this meeting and did a fine job too without the support of the governing body. It is really encouraging that the BSPA put so much effort into the next generation of British speedway riders, and I shall be emailing my views to them in due course.

BSPA event and Kyle was not invited to participate. He is not alone by any means, and doesn't this just show the contempt for the youngsters, and their parents/he;pers that formal notification has not been thought necessary. I was hoping to get through at least one day without getting angry but not to be. I must stop looking on the Forum!! Best wishes to Kyle in Australia - I am sure that he will come back a better rider but isn't it a pity that he has to travel half way round the world for such support.

Nathan, Not sure if there is a post code for the stadium since it is out in the wilds, but if you go on the BSPA web site, and then go to the Buxton web site, there are directions to the stadium. From the SW, take the M6 to Stoke, then to Leek and then the A53 would be my way, but the locals may know a better route for you. Enjoy the day, and if the weather is fine, there probably isn't a more spectacular track in the country.

Nathan, Just look at the thread that Scunny Stag set up on "Training Days". He does keep it updated when he gets the information. As far as I know it is the most accurate picture of what is going on and where.

Yes indeed some wishful thinking there. Apologies.

Is it any wonder that the kids and their fathers give up when you see this saga of miscommunication, lack of communication etc. I have to say that when Peter Oakes ran the championship, we knew well in advance what round we were doing, and when apart from when riders dropped out at the last minute. Apart from the Camarthen round, assuming my memory is correct, no contribution was made to the riders then, even though we were travelling up to Edinburgh and down to Weymouth, but then fuel wasn't the £1.22 per gallon it is now. I feel sorry for the few promoters who have stuck out trying to promote this competition against "perceived" falling interest from the BSPA. At least the likes of Weymouth and Buxton etc can't be accused of doing nothing. This is a competition that must not be allowed to die, and I thing the suggestion of making it U16's is a positive step forward.

Hopefully all the riders were informed before he/she went on holiday. Best of luck to all riders and let us hope for good weather on the night.

Steve, Thanks for the update about George. I was only recently looking at the programmes from the U15 championships in 2004/2005 thinking what has happened to all the riders not riding now and now we have one answer. I saw the crash at Kings Lynn and it wasn't nice. It is especially tough to get back into speedway when the lads have stopped riding, get good jobs and suddenly have money to spend on themselves instead of the bikes and equipment.. Why not come and join us in the STR next year - all meetings on Sundays, good racing, friendly atmosphere, plenty of advice available and a good confidence booster. Give George our best wishes. Martin and Chris

Richard, It may be worth adding Reading to your list as they are running every Sunday now. 10am -3pm but you need to book by ringing Pete Seaton on 07711529189. Details also on Reading website. Great little training track which looks like it is under threat from development so this year could be the last. I sincerely hope not. Martin

Richard, It is an open practice. Start time is 12 and it runs until 4pm. Contact is Dave Tattum on 07789 028 003. I would add it to your thread in case somebody wants a practise, instead of racing at Scunthorpe.

Vince, I can only agree with you. A good piece of work from Richard. Richard, this is long overdue and something which should benefit everyone. It may even prevent clashes of fixtures - how often in the past has there been a dearth of events only to find three on the same day!! I think Stoke have a practice on the 4th May which clashes with the Amateur meeting at Scunthorpe.

And that is the nub of the problem - where are these riders and why are there not more of them. This has to be resolved, or we can say goodbye to British riders in Britsih speedway. Sorry to be dramatic but I can see there aren't the riders on the training tracks coming through.

Phil, Whilst I have no involvment in the U15's anymore, I do have an interest in seeing the young speedway riders develop because they are the future of Britsih Speedway. I don't entirely agree with all of your comments but you do make some valid points so I will just add a few points trying not to add to the slanging match that this thread seems to be developing into.. When my son Chris first registered an interest in the U15 championship, I think there were 23 riders available at the start of the season with a couple more joining as the year went on. 7 rounds were declared in April and you knew where you were riding at that point The next year was I think very similar so rather worryingly, in 2007 only 8 riders registered. Where are they all, or is youth speedway so badly organised that that's all there are for a National Chamipionship. Even if you add the 250's, you won't get to the numbers present in previous years. Pretty depressing picture mirrored by what I see at training schools. You state that people shouldn't bite the hand that feeds them which sort of implies a threat but I am sure that it isn't meant to be, however Peter Oakes does U15/U18/U21/Academy League?/Oxford CL Director of Speedway?/Coventry Team Manager/ Daily Sport Ice Hockey/speedway reporter/Speedway Star reporter to my knowledge. Is that giving enough direction and support to youth speedway - I think not and I am sure that Peter may think so as well. It probably isn't his fault either, it being more likely the body that runs speedway in this country but I do know that getting young riders to ride at Cardiff took a lot of Peter's persuasion to make it happen and was resited by many. Too many people talk about developing youth speedway but don't turn it into action. Peter has at least done that and it really looks like he needs some support. Scunthorpe are taking some stick at the moment for having a strong CL team but who is running a mini track with a top ex rider tutoring, and who runs regular winter proctice sessions. They do and will reap the benefit in the future. To all the parents that have children coming up through the ranks in youth speedway, write to the BSPA and SCB to express disatisfaction with how it is going, then maybe someone will sit up and take notice. Previuosly stated on here by me is that there are about 150 riders in Denmark on 125's(can't remember the exact figures) which has a population of one 1/8th of Great Britain's. Who is doing it right and who is producing the world champions?

Is the last post referring to the UK U15 Championship being canceleld?

It definitely needs at least one person dedicated to youth speedway, and someone not doing half a dozen other jobs. The problem is how do you get the BSPA/SCB to see it the same way. If this trend continues, there will be few youngsters coming through into the main teams. I have previously stated figures, and forgive me if they are slightly wrong this time, but I think it is over 160 youngsters in Denmark on 125cc bikes. Their population is only 12-15% of Great Britain's so make your own comparison. You can probably count the number in this country on 2 hands and 2 feet, and they aren't competing in races week in week out.

So on the 12th July the BSPA/SCB sent out an e mail asking promoters if they wish to run U15 Championship meetings -that's over half way through the season. It doesn't give them much time to get organised. This is a total let down to the riders, and to their parents who may have invested heavily for this championship. In 2004, it ran with 7 rounds from April to September, I think. Similar format in 2005 so what has gone wrong - no committment from the top to further youth speedway, with a few exceptions. There were promoters willing to run, Weymouth being one, and I am sure there are people that are willing to help organise, both this and the Academy Leagues but both are clearly being run on a shoestring, both financially and resource wise by the bodies governing speedway in this country. Is it not time for a change before speedway in this country becomes defunct through lack of youngsters coming into the sport and more importantly sticking at it? How many times have we heard that a rider has gone grass tracking or Moto x because he/she can at least get regular rides?? Please BSPA/SCB, open your eyes to what is happening in the real world.

Just another disaster - when are the SCB going to put in someone who is fully committed to youth speedway. The current encumbant cannot possibly, under any circumstances, do the job properly given the number of other jobs that he is doing. How can the dates not be fixed already for the U15 Chamionship? I understand from a position of being oversubscribed two/three years ago, we are filling a meeting with 250's and now 125's. Nothing against either, in fact the 250 series is just right in my opinion but it just shows how the youth speedway scene has gone downhill. Wake up SCB before it is too late.

Joy oh joy. Look at the job he did at Cardiff!!! The atmoshere was great the result was brilliant but the track?? The graders never went near the holes on the second bend until the semi's and the watering "can" never got near the inside either. At least he won't have to bother about watering tomorrow after the rain of today.

Haven't got time to check that there are no duplications within the 50cc and 80 cc listed riders but I make it a total of 291 on small speedway bikes out of a population of 5.4 million people. In the UK, my estimate going around the tracks, is probably no more than 70 youth riders maximum, and that could be pushing it. Population of the UK 60.4 million. Of course that doesn't take into account how many of those in Denmark and the UK do grass tracking, but it doesn't take a genius to work out that the odds of Denmark producing many top class riders far outweighs the odds of the UK doing the same. Morganbike is right. The promoters, and the ACU and the BSPA need to wake up and get organised. This winter has certainly seen far more opportunities for practising and I would like to thank all those promoters for putting on the sessions but as iris 123 noted, free training is present in Denmark for the yougsters to try it before "buying". Peter Oakes has done a good job getting the U15/U18 Championship up and running as well as the Academy League but it is not a job for a man with so many other jobs. It is a full time job and the BSPA need to recognise that fact. The SAL was an attempt to give the youngsters a chance so promoters please get organised in 2007, get some rules laid down and really make it happen nationwide and not just in the south. Additionally, the u15 championship needs to understand what machinery is to be used and if it is 250 cc bikes then why not have a 125 championship as well, or an 80 cc one. Just get some rules into it - if 80cc and 125cc bikes are good enough in Denmark for producing World Champions, why not here. Answer there are not enough tracks of the right size, so come on BSPA, get out there and get some built. You don't need huge ares of land for a mini speedway track.