IronScorpion 1,407 Posted November 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Speedtiger said: Sure more details will come out but basically it’s underwhelming stuff and is more of the same rinse and repeat as we’ve had now for a few seasons. Clubs will inevitably loose money go bust and close again and sadly the sport will continue its slow demise. They’ve spent the best part of a week and imo come out with nothing really new innovative or exciting. Poland had their meeting & only came up with home riders must be at 6 & 7 but they have massive sponsorship & backing from local councils. Sweden have ben struggling financialy with non payment of some riders & what have they changed. Stop being all "doom & gloom". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IronScorpion 1,407 Posted November 18, 2023 13 minutes ago, StevePark said: If they have to re-grade the track after the main meeting, they won't have an interval as well, surely? The "junior" riders will not want a big re-grade anyway as they prefer slick tracks to learn on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Triple.H. 1,986 Posted November 18, 2023 26 minutes ago, StevePark said: If they have to re-grade the track after the main meeting, they won't have an interval as well, surely? Good Point that I hadn't thought of What bugs me is delays to start of the meeting due to people arriving late. In the best part of 50yrs I've managed to get to every meeting I've been too well ahead of the parade nevermind the start of the first race. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillwhitewasmad 1,487 Posted November 18, 2023 29 minutes ago, IronScorpion said: The "junior" riders will not want a big re-grade anyway as they prefer slick tracks to learn on. That's a myth any junior will tell you they want better tracks not the second hand rubbish they're forced to race on. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Come on the Skipper 75 Posted November 18, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, RoundTheBoards said: Berwick, Kent and Mildenhall have pulled out which leaves 5. Add in Scunthorpe Stags (as given away by BSPL website) and your 6 are:- Armadale, Belle Vue, Leicester, Oxford, Scunthorpe & Workington. Can you tell me where you've seen this please, Kent not running? And haven't Workington moved up to the Championship? Edited November 18, 2023 by Come on the Skipper Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sings4Speedway 3,247 Posted November 18, 2023 2 hours ago, Triple.H. said: Those teams that will have to run a structured second half for junior racing will have to pull their socks up. No long delays to the start of the meeting because of a queue to get in. Unless there's a major incident in the area closing roads etc. Only breaks in the meeting from the official start time for grading and an interval or if there's a bad crash etc which we all know will happen at some point. Didn't used to happen when the MDL was present at more tracks. Cancellations due to curfew were common despite huge amounts of time wasted during the meeting. Youth rounds have supposed to happen at top clubs before but swiftly cancelled and never restaged....don't see it being a lit different this year (unless there are fines for those who don't) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,278 Posted November 18, 2023 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said: Didn't used to happen when the MDL was present at more tracks. Cancellations due to curfew were common despite huge amounts of time wasted during the meeting. Youth rounds have supposed to happen at top clubs before but swiftly cancelled and never restaged....don't see it being a lit different this year (unless there are fines for those who don't) Simon Wigg always suggested putting the "junior match" on before the "main event".. Two reasons.. One, being the younger lads got to ride the track at its best, and in front of a " big" crowd, which can only help those who progress to the higher levels.. And two, as he described, when you go to a restaurant you don't have your starter after the main course.. Six heats of junior racing done in 25 mins or so with fifteen mins of track grading/visit the bars before the "main event" would tick a lot of boxes for young rider development and value for money for the fans.. And, before we get the usual "what if they crash and delay the main meeting"?.. Spoiler alert. Speedway is a dangerous sport where even the best can, and sadly have, been left disabled for life, or even more sadly, lost their lives.. Crashes are not exclusive to young inexperienced riders.. It would be good to see "something different"... Edited November 18, 2023 by mikebv 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,093 Posted November 18, 2023 5 minutes ago, mikebv said: Simon Wigg always suggested putting the "junior match" on before the "main event".. Two reasons.. One, being the younger lads got to ride the track at its best, and in front of a " big" crowd, which can only help those who progress to the higher levels.. Make that three reasons... I've often said that they state at the GP's, " the track takes a few heats to settle down". Same with league; if the juniors get out there first, the track will be in great shape from the start. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoundTheBoards 271 Posted November 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Come on the Skipper said: Can you tell me where you've seen this please, Kent not running? And haven't Workington moved up to the Championship? Berwick and Kent both said before the end of the season that they wouldn't be running in 2024. Workington have joined the Championship, but I haven't heard anything saying they are pulling out of NDL. I would expect them to be there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lefty 1,268 Posted November 18, 2023 Make that four reasons..... Allow for the first meeting to be allocated to 'Women Racing' ... woops. Seriously though we must remember that juniors are going at faster speeds than 90% of most our heroes ever did. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sings4Speedway 3,247 Posted November 18, 2023 38 minutes ago, mikebv said: Simon Wigg always suggested putting the "junior match" on before the "main event".. Two reasons.. One, being the younger lads got to ride the track at its best, and in front of a " big" crowd, which can only help those who progress to the higher levels.. And two, as he described, when you go to a restaurant you don't have your starter after the main course.. Six heats of junior racing done in 25 mins or so with fifteen mins of track grading/visit the bars before the "main event" would tick a lot of boxes for young rider development and value for money for the fans.. And, before we get the usual "what if they crash and delay the main meeting"?.. Spoiler alert. Speedway is a dangerous sport where even the best can, and sadly have, been left disabled for life, or even more sadly, lost their lives.. Crashes are not exclusive to young inexperienced riders.. It would be good to see "something different"... Nailed it plus how many tracks chuck a mascot out for a few laps prior to a meeting, yes less chance of accidents but still a chance. Bang the '2nd half' out first, allow spectators the chance to arrive early and watch or just arrive closer to main tapes up and bang the meeting through (even set a 30 min mini meeting curfew). Main event then goes off on the advertised time (as if that ever happens) and if the actual main curfew is getting close the main meeting gets pushed through at a better rate rather than non stop hanging around. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
old bob at herne bay 828 Posted November 18, 2023 Seems that the BSPL are trying to give fans more value for money with Junior racing added to the menu. There are so many good points coming out of this years AGM that it surely must mark a turning point for the sport in the UK. As others have pointed out with the new points limit in the PL, all the GP sooperstars will want to be be back practising their computer starting prowess. Only lack of wages will prevent their return. I don't see a problem. I do hope we don't have clubs manipulating the transfer window rule by rescheduling fixture to keep their window open longer. The new gust for any position 1-5 rule is surely a "squad" system in disguise with clubs able to produce sick notes to allow gusts in their sides to ride track specialists ? A new term T/G will be needed to denote a Tactical Gust where this facility is being used. No team in their right mind will be using R/R when a gust is allowed, so there will still be the "lack of gust" problem with the fixed race nights in the PL and expect more tactical call offs due to broken pit gate hinges etc. etc. Putting out junior racing before the main event as some suggest is a recipe for disaster . Seen so many incidents occurring on a fresh grippy circuits by youngsters trying to show off their skills (or lack of) to the eager assembled crowd. Air fence repairs delaying meetings, no ambulance cover, no paramedic cover, I have seen it all after junior racing before the main event. Imagine if on a dodgy weather evening the juniors race and then the main meeting has to be abandoned before a declared result is achieved ? Enjoy your speedway in 2024 those who have a track withing 100 miles of them (unlike me) S.E. England speedway is finally finished with the BSPL killing off Sittingbourne sealing the deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,278 Posted November 18, 2023 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said: Nailed it plus how many tracks chuck a mascot out for a few laps prior to a meeting, yes less chance of accidents but still a chance. Bang the '2nd half' out first, allow spectators the chance to arrive early and watch or just arrive closer to main tapes up and bang the meeting through (even set a 30 min mini meeting curfew). Main event then goes off on the advertised time (as if that ever happens) and if the actual main curfew is getting close the main meeting gets pushed through at a better rate rather than non stop hanging around. 730 tapes up... By 8pm, "junior match" and "lap of honour" for the winning team completed and track reset done for fifteen mins... 815 "Main Event".. 15 heats all done and dusted by 75 mins later.. Two hours of 21 heats of speedway entertainment all completed by 930pm... Interview the juniors during gaps in the early heats of the main event around their meeting and performance which gets them some wider notice, and have a 30 min post meeting fan conference/selfie opportunity with the home teams' riders of both meetings.. 10pm. Time to go home... Edited November 18, 2023 by mikebv 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris116 756 Posted November 18, 2023 1 hour ago, mikebv said: Simon Wigg always suggested putting the "junior match" on before the "main event".. Two reasons.. One, being the younger lads got to ride the track at its best, and in front of a " big" crowd, which can only help those who progress to the higher levels.. And two, as he described, when you go to a restaurant you don't have your starter after the main course.. Six heats of junior racing done in 25 mins or so with fifteen mins of track grading/visit the bars before the "main event" would tick a lot of boxes for young rider development and value for money for the fans.. And, before we get the usual "what if they crash and delay the main meeting"?.. Spoiler alert. Speedway is a dangerous sport where even the best can, and sadly have, been left disabled for life, or even more sadly, lost their lives.. Crashes are not exclusive to young inexperienced riders.. It would be good to see "something different"... In the last two seasons at Rye House they always ran the junior races before the main event. It gave the juniors a good track for their races and also encouraged the crowd to arrive early which meant the last minute crowd got into the stadium quickly. I always enjoyed the pre meeting action and think it is a very good idea. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
False dawn 2,298 Posted November 18, 2023 2nd half first sounds like a brilliant idea. But.... Lay out the rules for the second halfers clearly. Start on time. No stretching the 2 minute warnings. No gardening. Just a crisp flow. Get the main teams ready to go. In fact, maybe run out the main team riders on parade, in pairs, crisply between junior races. Of course this means they have to be ready and the crowd have to be clearly informed who it is they are seeing. And then the main meeting has to start right on the money and be run smoothly. Come back Charles Ochiltree 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
