Warsaw Gp Saturday 18th April

[iris123 20,989]

There's a fund of somesort from where the FIM will for example pay money to the teams/FMN's that will travel to the U21 Team final at Mildura. The compensation for each team is quoted to be of a size, which makes the trip "worth doing". They distribute some money (please note I did not write THE money) to causes that they see putting the sport forward... Like more exposure and new/developing speedway countries. And I'm not saying all money goes there, but some.

They also paid some money for that venture across the ocean to Argentina,which could be seen as trying to help develop the sport in South America....

Edited May 14, 2015 by iris123

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

I'm sorry Philip I think BSI do have a responsibility.

 

Remember, once Riders are developed they eventually, if all goes well, and they are successful, go on to be GP Riders. Is it not incumbent on BSI to at least contribute to their own life's blood?

POLAND, Denmark and Australia don't seem to have any trouble finding young riders... GB's troubles started along with the demise of the grasstrack scene which brought us, amongst many others, the Collins brothers, the Morton brothers, Chris Pusey, Kelvin Tatum, Simon Wigg, Jeremy Doncaster et al.

[The White Knight 9,039]

POLAND, Denmark and Australia don't seem to have any trouble finding young riders... GB's troubles started along with the demise of the grasstrack scene which brought us, amongst many others, the Collins brothers, the Morton brothers, Chris Pusey, Kelvin Tatum, Simon Wigg, Jeremy Doncaster et al.

You may well be right.

 

All the more reason for BSI to contribute for the good of Speedway.

 

British Speedway needs all the help it can get at present, the Sport is dying. BSI are creaming off the top talent from our Tracks for their own benefit without a thought of the consequences of their actions. If there were no GPs it is difficult to imagine that Riders, Foreign or otherwise, would be giving Speedway in this Country a miss.

 

Therefore as a direct consequence of the GPs - British Speedway is affected. To me, anyway, BSI should contribute financially to help alleviate the problem that they themselves are helping to perpetuate.

 

They won't, of course, why should they? They are getting, it seems to me, Speedway for virtually nothing.

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

PLENTY of riders not in the SGP give Britain a miss... think you are barking up the wrong tree

[The White Knight 9,039]

PLENTY of riders not in the SGP give Britain a miss... think you are barking up the wrong tree

I just don't accept that. Sorry.

 

May I ask why you are so defensive of BSI Philip? I am not being nasty or anything, but I am curious to know.

 

Please believe me when I say that this is a genuine question.

[f-s-p 832]

I just don't accept that. Sorry.

 

May I ask why you are so defensive of BSI Philip? I am not being nasty or anything, but I am curious to know.

 

Please believe me when I say that this is a genuine question.

You should bold, underline, make it red and change the font on the bottom line. Doesnt look like you at all.

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

I just don't accept that. Sorry.

 

May I ask why you are so defensive of BSI Philip? I am not being nasty or anything, but I am curious to know.

 

Please believe me when I say that this is a genuine question.

NOT be defensive at all ... just giving an opinion same as you.

[The White Knight 9,039]

NOT be defensive at all ... just giving an opinion same as you.

I don't agree. Thank you for your reply.

 

Doesn't really answer my question though - does it?

 

I think we may have to agree to differ on this. I still hold my views on BSI, and self evidently, you hold yours.

[Humphrey Appleby 13,958]

May I ask why you are so defensive of BSI Philip?

He does business with them.

 

I think the reality is that the SGP doesn't really make substantial amounts of money, and even if it was run for the benefit of speedway rather than a US corporation, you'd still have to distribute that money around a number of countries. I don't think it would be realistic for the BSPA to expect more than half-a-million a year at best.

Edited May 14, 2015 by Humphrey Appleby

[The White Knight 9,039]

He does business with them.

Interesting Humphrey - I did not know that.

 

I await your next reply with interest Philip.

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

Interesting Humphrey - I did not know that.

 

I await your next reply with interest Philip.

SEE post 1596...

[The White Knight 9,039]

SEE post 1596...

Mmmmmmm - Thank you for that.

[SPEEDY69 1,260]

POLAND, Denmark and Australia don't seem to have any trouble finding young riders... GB's troubles started along with the demise of the grasstrack scene which brought us, amongst many others, the Collins brothers, the Morton brothers, Chris Pusey, Kelvin Tatum, Simon Wigg, Jeremy Doncaster et al.

 

Don't agree with this. The riders you mention were talented motorcyclists and their development did not depend upon anything from the authorities in the UK. There are lots of talented British riders who get as far as the top of the amateur scene but no further due to a combination of a lack of guidance/training, opportunities and sometimes funding but I stress this is not always the main factor. It is not for BSI to fix the issues in the UK but the BSPA. They currently block British riders from competing abroad e.g. SEC & Best Pairs and do little to provide international experience or competition for those making it as far as becoming league riders.

 

I am involved in the amateur scene and they are year on year making it harder for amateur clubs to provide practice opportunities for hopefuls and under 15s due to insurance and permit restrictions as well as track hire becoming too expensive - without the amateur scene just how does a new rider take their first steps into the sport?

 

In Poland they have unlimited practising provided at tracks and actually support upcoming riders, Denmark have a racing infrastructure from small cc bikes upwards.

[Humphrey Appleby 13,958]

It is not for BSI to fix the issues in the UK but the BSPA.

 

It's not for BSI or even the FIM to fix the issues in British speedway, and certainly British speedway is largely the architect of its own demise. However, the SGP did affect the British leagues much more than other national leagues because it took away several prime weekend race nights on which the more economically successful tracks generally rode. No-one would suggest it was the sole reason for the sport that was already in decline, but it certainly didn't help.

 

Getting back to the issue at hand though, the sport's premier event should be run for the benefit of that sport, as it is with most other professional sports. IMG have a reputation for going after sports with low barriers to entry and little in the way of obligations, and whilst you can't blame them for seeking those opportunities, speedway stupidly continues to allow itself to be sold short to an organisation that cares little for the sport or its future.

 

Ultimately yes, the FIM are to blame for not extracting better commercial value, although I suspect they were just happy to off-load the running of an unfashionable discipline in return for a few shekels. I'm sure the money they receive (aside from what they pay out as prize money) does go towards the furtherance of motor sport (after all the wining and dining of officials has been taken care of), but the extent to which it benefits professional speedway is questionable. What really is to be gained by running U21 World Finals halfway round the world or staging meetings in countries where there's little or no organised speedway - the money would be far better spent on facilitating local practice circuits and junior competitions.

 

The promoters running professional speedway (i.e. in Britain, Poland, Sweden and Denmark) are also to blame for allowing the FIM to sell a product that they provide the substantive ingredients for (the riders and their wages), without negotiating any percentage of the returns. They're even more foolish for not doing exactly what IMG/BSI are doing in the first place, but instead running the SGP for their own benefit. It's not rocket science, even if they're incapable of organising 12 meetings a season and getting them on television, there's plenty of sports management organisations out there that would have done it for them for a cut of the profits. If womens' netball can get several millions to be on television every week, then it really does put into perspective what a poor effort speedway makes.

 

Instead, we get the endless repeated mantra of how BSI have 'raised the bar' etc.. etc.. despite the fact that the bar was on the ground to start with and it's only been raised a few inches in 15 years. Even worse, is how many fans unquestioningly buy into this myth, to the point of becoming apologists for what is in reality a not especially well run competition, nor one that much benefits the wider sport.

Edited May 14, 2015 by Humphrey Appleby

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

GPs at the London Arena, Bradford and Coventry and then Cardiff. Seems a bit more than a few inches to me.

Edited May 15, 2015 by PHILIPRISING