European Club Championship

[Mylor 0]

There's no doubt the game needs an overhaul and planning already is a sensible decision....................

 

The only problem with that is that Sky ain't going to buy it, it's all about the GP for them I'm afraid.

 

As much as I enjoy Cardiff, I would settle for more regular speedway and some new opponents.

 

So........promoters want to improve their profit & loss account, Sky want a great product so they can sell more advertising and we all want to see more variety whether on Sky or at our local track.

 

Now BSI also want a great product for much the same reasons as Sky. Assuming BSI are the only ones interested at present I can see no reason why they don't go to the FIM and buy the rights to a competition that doesn't even exist..............should cost them next to nothing. They could then approach Sky or (C4 or others) and the leading teams to thrash out a deal which would reduce costs to the promoters, provide broadcasters with another level of international speedway and give us the chance to see teams we hardly ever see at present.

 

Will we/they ever have a better opportunity to launch a European Club Championship?

 

So how does it reduce costs?

Because riders can only ride for one team in such a competition. They would reduce their travelling, machinery, workshop and support costs, but, when it takes off, the spinoffs should be enormous.

The promoters don't have to spend enormous amounts hiring 2 or more GP riders to stay competitive and some PL teams may, in this new environment, like to take up the opportunity to ride in a higher league.

 

How many would it put on attendances if your team were riding against Bydgoszcz in a European Championship tie? The Polish Champions v the British Champions? How much would Sky pay to televise it? How much would the advertisers pay to have their logo's on the air fence? Is there a market for corporate hospitality? Ok, perhaps not a lot in the first year...........but the potential is enormous. We have to move forward.

 

Please take a look at my sig, think about it, then, if you think it could, just possibly work, I suggest you write to BSI.

[Mylor 0]

Thanks for moving this Phil.

 

I forwarded this and the link to BSI a few days ago. I haven't had a reply but there again I didn't expect one but at least whoever read it knows the forum and similar threads exist. If anyone else feels the urge to remind them, here's their email address. mail@benfieldsports.com

[Tony 0]

Now we're talking, I like it.

 

More domestic matches with meaningful European competitions and whole teams travelling to away fixtures.... we'll be pulling in more fans for less overheads if we're not careful!

 

Goodness riders may actually stay in one counrty, it gets my vote.

[rob 0]

In my view this is the only way forward. 5 British clubs for instance could race against 5 from Poland and Sweden, and one from Denmark, Czech Republic and Germany making a 18 team league, 34 matches, TV coverage across Europe.

 

The only problem is to get the Poles and Swedes agreeing!! And for their to be sufficient quality riders.

[Trevor 270]

It's a good idea, but the only way I can see it working was if it was a one off meeting, run like the World Team Cup was run just before it switched to the week long competition. There could be the league winners from UK, Sweden, Poland, and one other country. If anyone rode for two clubs in the final they would not be allowed to ride for either club. By running it like the old World team cup there would be team racing, ie two riders from each club racing against each other. it could be run early in the season, and could be fairly called the 'World Club Championship'.

[Mylor 0]

Well, I think Rob & Trevor have the two extremes sorted!!

 

Should we consider something in between?

 

For 2004……….riders can only sign for one team reducing the costs of running in the EL. Steady now.........read the rest of this before you come to any conclusions!! A few PL teams may then become interested in moving to the EL and those thinking of leaving the EL may change their minds. This would give the EL supporters more variety, keep Sky interested and solve the immediate crisis. The top 4 or 5 would qualify for the European Club Championship (ECC) along with teams from the Polish, Swedish and other leagues.

 

For 2005………..All teams would ride in their national leagues. Perhaps those qualifying for the ECC would become exempt from the BLC if it’s still running. The ECC teams, say 16 or 20, would go into a draw to produce 4 mini-leagues. They would compete home and away. The top 2 go forward to the 2 leg quarterfinals, 2 leg semis, then a final held possibly on a GP track within a few days of the GP (because the corporate & merchandise infrastructure, TV etc would already be there?).

 

Qualifiers would get a full league program, including local derbies, of course, and a minimum of 6 or 8 ECC matches. TV (Sky and/or terrestrial, who may become interested at this level) would get a larger EL and 25 or 33 ECC matches. Promoters get more through the turnstiles and more TV money. Supporters get...............to breathe a sigh of relief at least but I get the feeling it will put smiles on quite a few faces.

 

Hopefully the EL would be too big to be run on the present basis leaving some dates for the return of the prestigious individual meetings such as the Olymique, Brandonapolis and even the Internationale. After all, the GP riders will have some time on their hands, only riding for one club. Now would Channel 4 or 5 be interested in those?

 

Time is running short…………………

If you think this will work, you may wish to post this thread or a link to it on your club websites (Is that ok Phil?), get it printed in your match programs, stick it all round the track at your next home meeting. Sorry I can’t translate it into Polish, Danish or Swedish, (only French……………..LOL) but if any of you can……………

[Mylor 0]

Hunting round the FIM site I found reference to the European Motorcycle Union who's Track Racing Rule Book lays down the rules for a European Speedway Club Champions Cup!!

 

Methinks, why should they bother laying down rules for something that doesn't exist? Then I find on the site that the Group A round was held in Latvia on 10th August and the final will be held in Debrecen, Hungary on 27th September. It's format is like the SWC.

 

So who's reached the final??

 

Debrecen HUN

Pardubice CZE

Togliatti RUS

Bydgoszcz POL

Ljubljana SLO

 

Bydgoszcz??

And why didn't we compete??

Why only East European countries?

 

What the?.........how?.........when?...........why?

 

So many questions, so little time.

[Kevin Meynell 2]

Hunting round the FIM site I found reference to the European Motorcycle Union who's Track Racing Rule Book lays down the rules for a European Speedway Club Champions Cup!!

 

The problem is that competition is a complete joke (as are all the UEM Championships). Half the countries entering teams don't even have a team competition. and some of the teams such as Togliatti sign 'ringers' just for the Final. All rather farcical stuff.

 

A European Club Championship will never be credible until it's run either a totally separate competition for which teams specifically sign riders, or a supranational league. A few years ago, I wrote an article as to how this might work...

 

http://www.meynell.com/speedway-articles/eurolge.html

[Kevin Meynell 2]

Isn't this the competition where some Latvian and Russian teams got to the final so went out and signed Crump and Sullivan last year?!

 

Yes

 

The BSPA/SCB have nothing t do with the UEM and there dodgy meetings

 

The UEM have largely replicated all the World Championship competition, without good purpose other than to cause more disruption. The Club Champions Cup is the one unique competition that could be turned into something worthwhile, but at the moment it's a complete joke.

 

Prehaps the BSPA should get a little more involved with the UEM on the tem front

 

I've heard the UEM is pretty badly run, and they've done nothing for track racing that's credible. The BSPA would be better off getting together with the other main national leagues.

 

I'm almost possetive the Danes woudl go for it, after all, only 2 or 3 years ago they wanted to get rid of the Danish League and suggested a Euro-League but I don't think it took off

 

It included a German and Swedish team, and another German team and a Czech team were interested in joining. The problem was that the UEM Track Racing Group tried to undermine the competition by refusing to let them use the name 'Euro League', and then leaning heavily on the new teams not to join.

 

Another problem was that some of the Danish teams were starting to have financial problems, and couldn't commit to another season in the league.

[Kevin Meynell 2]

Isn't this the competition where some Latvian and Russian teams got to the final so went out and signed Crump and Sullivan last year?!

 

Yes

 

The BSPA/SCB have nothing t do with the UEM and there dodgy meetings

 

The UEM have largely replicated all the World Championship competition, without good purpose other than to cause more disruption. The Club Champions Cup is the one unique competition that could be turned into something worthwhile, but at the moment it's a complete joke.

 

Prehaps the BSPA should get a little more involved with the UEM on the tem front

 

I've heard the UEM is pretty badly run, and they've done nothing for track racing that's credible. The BSPA would be better off getting together with the other main national leagues.

 

I'm almost possetive the Danes woudl go for it, after all, only 2 or 3 years ago they wanted to get rid of the Danish League and suggested a Euro-League but I don't think it took off

 

It included a German and Swedish team, and another German team and a Czech team were interested in joining. The problem was that the UEM Track Racing Group tried to undermine the competition by refusing to let them use the name 'Euro League', and then leaning heavily on the new teams not to join.

 

Another problem was that some of the Danish teams were starting to have financial problems, and couldn't commit to another season in the league.

[Mylor 0]

..............I've heard the UEM is pretty badly run, and they've done nothing for track racing that's credible. The BSPA would be better off getting together with the other main national leagues.

 

I'm in two minds over whether the BSPA and the other national bodies should get involved in running this championship directly.

 

It may be a quick & dirty fix but methinks it would also incur the wrath of the FIM. Whether we like it or not the UEM are part of the heirarchical(?) chain, BSPA, SCB, ACU, UEM, FIM.

 

The BSPA may wish to take a leading role, along with the other national bodies in driving through reform of the UEM along the lines of my previous post http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forum/view...opic.php?t=5006

[Kevin Meynell 2]

]It may be a quick & dirty fix but methinks it would also incur the wrath of the FIM. Whether we like it or not the UEM are part of the heirarchical(?) chain' date=' BSPA, SCB, ACU, UEM, FIM.

 

The UEM was largely created for political reasons, and whilst it may be relevant to other motorcycling disciplines, track racing was already largely European based and needed another international federation like a hole in the head. I've heard what goes on at UEM Track Racing meetings, and they're just reinventing the wheel for egotistical reasons. The BSPA or anyone else involved in speedway should have nothing to do with it.

 

I think it's even questionable whether the FIM is the right body to run international speedway, given the disgraceful 'sell-off' of the SGP and SWC with complete disregard for the existing national competitions. However, I accept it would be difficult to break away from the FIM given that many motorsport clubs (especially in other countries) run multiple disciplines.

 

The ACU is even more pointless when it comes to speedway, and just gets in the way of British speedway being properly represented internationally. They don't even do a good job of helping to publicise the sport (e.g. I've never received a single reply from them, whereas I must say that the FIM have always been good at providing the information I've requested).

[MattK 3,447]

But no one's offered a solution to the most obvious question - how do you get around the situation of a rider racing for three different teams?

[Kevin Meynell 2]

But no one's offered a solution to the most obvious question - how do you get around the situation of a rider racing for three different teams?

 

Clearly a rider can only ride for one team in the same competition, and if it were to take-off, only way would be for participating teams to sign different line-ups for the European competition. They'd track one team in that competition, and another (perhaps with only slight differences) in their domestic league.

[Mylor 0]

I favoured a different route Matt, one where riders riding for more than one team would nominate which one of those teams they'd ride for in the European Club Championship.

 

Over time this would make them less attractive signings for other teams and they would become more committed to their favoured team, especially if it stood the best chance of succeeding in Europe.

 

The sport would then slowly work it's way towards a one-rider one-team position (with some allowance for riders from developing countries, allowing them a limited number of matches for teams in their home country). This needs to happen at some point if speedway is to gain any sort of credibility as a serious sport.

 

Various ways of achieving this and how riders could be compensated for the initial loss of earnings are well covered in these 'Way Ahead' threads.

 

Fans would feel some pain too as there would be less opportunity to see the world's very best week-in, week-out but the additional variety (international tournaments, the return of prestige individual events, the ECC etc) should, over time, more than compensate for this.