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Hi guys, may be of interest for those that wasn't able to attend or view the live stream from this meeting.

For years now most teams have been living beyond there means and the Senior Teams have been surving mainly due to TV money, now Covid has brought up the inevitable Crow coming home to roost so to speak, the BSPL have for years avoided taking decisions that would help the Sport survive and maybe prosper, any household or business simply cannot go on year on year making losses and ignore the simple maths lesson of paying out more than what is coming in, how is it possible to employ foreign riders cheaper then british riders ?, answers on a postcard please. I dont know the answer but one thing is for sure things cannot carry on as they are, if it means going back to basics with Teams made up of british riders then thats the way we have to go short term loss for the long term gain, no Premier League just 2 Leagues with the NL being the second tier, and no stupid payments to riders.

I'm not a Diamonds fan, but I donated the cost of an adult admission. We can't afford to lose more clubs. Here's hoping the appeal raises more money in the coming days. Every little helps.

Something else probably!! I hope people realise if they are going to break the covid rules set by the council/stadium owners then it gives them a great excuse to stop speedway from running. But your choice!

Seems that Leon has been drawn to race in European Championship meeting at Divisov on the 26th.

Whooosh !!

Thats good news would be criminal to lose that trackn

Not until after monday night ok, when Panthers go top of league , then if no more meetings are run in 2021 champions declared

Well it entirely depends on what your outgoings are. If your outgoings are close to, or exceed your revenue, then survival is an achievement. I'm sure riders would generally also prefer more regular higher wages than an occasional prize fund when they might be injured and miss out. And 180k spread over 19 meetings is effectively 80 quid a point which is probably less than some would be on anyway. It's not a bad idea and I've had thoughts on similar lines myself, but I feel speedway has gone past the point of tinkering with race formats and novelty competitions. It's the image, presentation, stadiums, value-for-money, clientele and poor media profile that does for it. People actually have to know something is happening before they can be interested it, far less be bothered to turn up...

Polish Ref gives decesion to Polish world champ.... surely not. I thought Bartosz just got that

so did i

Light summer evenings at West Ham . You could see over the grandstands to the ships funnels in Victoria Docks , a quarter mile away. Looked fantastic with everything lit up. Great race track ( Barry Briggs favourite). The history came from the great riders of the past that had ridden there, Bluey Wilkinson, Tiger Stevenson, Split Waterman and above all the great Jack Young , and the great riders of the present especially the wonderful Hurri- Ken McKinlay, and Sverre Harrfedlt, then later Olle Nygren , who a I hated as a Don but became a favourite when he joined the Hammers. Then the sadness of the Lokkoren disaster, and the loss of such talent as Martin Piddock and Peter Bradshaw. I never really got over that. And finally in the closing days the amazing talent of Christer Lofqvist. Such a tragedy he died of a brain tumour at such a young age. I used to literally have dreams that I was still there on and off for years after it closed. Hackney was never quite the same although I did like it there.

Venue and meeting details to follow is the best we can do at the minute, it would be great to see the event return to Berwick again. A home track winner would go down very well.

Wimbledon and Wembley were far too posh. Watching speedway at custom House and Hyde road felt like being in a museum, you could feel the history. Just a personal opinion of course, everyone has their own favourite tracks and memories.

England's two most historical speedway stadiums for sure, and two of the greatest race tracks.

The real complaint is that the Euro fixtures have been known since February. So why schedule matches against them I the first place?

We've all been weaned off it Sid. Last year i attended 4 meetings, my lowest total since 1968, which was my first season. This year I've done 9, which includes 2 amateur meetings at Lydd and 1 on the grass. I really feel we are entering the last professional era for the sport in this country.

It really does. Almost like two different sports in a way Some of my most vivid memories are the queues, the packed terraces and trying to find a place to sit at some of the big meetings like the Internationale, Division 2 Riders Championship or one England v USA test. And of course the atmosphere when the lights dropped and the track was lit up, the colour of the fans with their rosettes, hats and scarves and flags. There was a buzz about the sport that made it feel important and you was part of something special There is none of that today. For me at least.

This thread makes me feel so sad. I feel honoured to have watched the sport in the 1970s and 1980s but it's so depressing to feel that those glory days are well and truly over and it's never coming back. At least I've got all my speedway magazines right back to the 1930s and can read about it at my leisure, but it was a massive part of my childhood and teenage years and I sort of feel a sense of bereavement about speedway as it is today.

Yes. Exactly that. I'd also like to add the magnificent, the unbeatable, Bjorn Knutson - class personified - and following the rise to stardom of Malcolm Simmons. Plus my old mate, Stan Stevens. And to the old timers, Aub Lawson.

Weather forecast it’s really good now

I'm a grass man and there are some fantastic riders who produce brilliant racing funded out of their own pocket. The problem is the fans turn up (that's if the stadium is open) week in week out and accept that the racing has to be done with foreign riders syphoning the life out of the British Leagues. While I accept the situation is very difficult the promoters should work harder instead of defaulting to foreign imports. There is nothing I'd like to see more than local riders doing something that they want to do and hopefully get paid doing it.

I’ve done the same. Good luck guys

Well if that is Scottish fans it shows why some parts of Scotland are on more sever restrictions then others, and like England their end of restriction date has been put back. If people want restrictions lifted they got to act responsibly to get figures down, just follow the guidelines. Easy

I don't think you understand the rule of 6 fully, it can be 6 people from 6 different households. The exception being that if 2 households add up to over 6 people, that too is allowed. That btw is for indoor mixing, and despite being a mostly outdoor location most stadiums have adopted this policy. So as long as groups are less then 6 people, or groups bigger then 6 are made up of two households then no rules are being broken?

Can fit a hell of a lot of money in a space as big as that But seriously THJ is a godsend for any club... Brilliant of him to do what he's done, and we should all thank him for his efforts... But thanks to EVERYONE who donated, every little helps. I notice all the football teams were on Look North tonight asking for donations and going around with their donation buckets... And that's FOOTBALL, the game with the most money, who knows what speedway clubs are like right now, it's scary Next home meeting there better be some buckets going around, and the extra £3 everyone saved on their tickets better be going in... Please And who knows... Maybe I'll get my bikini and Finnish flag out just for THJ

I could add... being a Hammers fan, watching my speedway at England’s finest speedway stadium, though old-time Belle Vue fans may disagree.

Well done - great effort.

Great stuff, Andy!

Yeah, but that would be dependant on what the German Government class as "sports stars". The point was that they didn't class riders going to World U21 qualifying rounds in this way, so the Brits that were due to race in Germany recently had to forfeit their place in the qualifying round in Germany. SEC competitors MAY be looked on more favourably as it is a higher level of compatition, but who knows!

Available on the British Speedway Forum Player, a steal at £9.99 per month. (Provide own commentary).

You are right Krompa. For all the issues the British leagues have, it is run more professionally than in Sweden, where everything seems too laid back. Sweden has a stronger league than the U.K. but the racing isn’t better.

Better start a 2022 thread then.....

6400 at the rangers game when they were in the 3rd division. Regardless of what percentage if you want to go get a ticket early . It’s really as simple as that. Some folk on here should thank their lucky stars they have seen and looks like continuing to see speedway when home fixtures are run. Clubs are closing and stopping racing all the time. With the amount of work put in by all associated with Berwick speedway maybe some should stop being a keyboard warrior and back them

Poland postpone matches 48 hours in advance on the basis of poor weather forecasts. And we all agree it's a mark of their professionalism British promoters do the same thing and that is clearly an indication of what a shambolic bunch of cowboys they are. The BSF in a nutshell.

I’d imagine you’d have to contact the club privately to find out such important information. They dont engage with fans on this forum, apparently.

I suppose Cardiff is the closest we get to that in this country now, but even that's not the same. I remember being at a BLRC at Hyde Road in the early 1980s stood on the back straight and it was so packed I couldn't get my arms up to fill in my programme, they were just pinned to my sides. I feel like the fabric of the sport in the UK is under threat now with tracks like Poole and Wolverhampton struggling in the post pandemic world. I don't think it will disappear completely here but might end up like it is in Germany with a bit of a league and some open meetings. I am sure we will never see the packed houses like the BLRC and British Final night at Coventry again.

I am hearing rumours that Leon Flint will not be available for this meeting can you confirm if this is correct or not please? Because even with Leon I think Glasgow will cut the Bandits a new ar**hole but it will be even worse without Leon. I dont mind getting beaten at home but not if it is the expected rout..

That is correct. For those of us who had already purchased tickets for this event, I received an email to say my money will be refund (?) and I should buy new ones. This is important news, because if you aren't watching your email inbox and you turn up on Sunday with the original tickets, I assume you won't get in.

Running the NDL as a professional league isn’t viable for most tracks. It should be expenses only - but then most of the riders wouldn’t compete I guess.

We shouldn't forget the dominance that riders like Ivor Brown and Ivan Mauger enjoyed in the old Provincial League. Almost unbeatable at their home tracks of Cradley Heath and Newcastle and we all know what Mauger went on to achieve.

As most have said, probably going to Speedway five or even six times a week and it wasn't expensive. Our usual was New Cross (just the early '60's), West Ham Hackney, Wimbledon, Wherever West Ham was racing on the Week-end plus Romford, Crayford, Canterbury, Eastbourne, Rye House all within easy reach. Not to mention where Internationals were, that was big time back then. Best memory for me was the GB v USSR @ Wembley in 1964. World Finals @ Wembley....ahh yes quite the event. Watching my childhood hero in the early '60s, Peter Craven. I could go on forever!!!!!

Interesting to see Eurosport trying to push their app on Farcebook. Response is fans of several sports including ours telling them to stick it where the sun doesn't shine and they're not paying more for their sub-standard and unreliable coverage. It's not just us.

I dunno what is goin to happen lisa but lady at council said they had lots of reports of covid breeches with the bubbles thing and that an were going to be checking or something next time? maybe at the seats? Not knowing how it can be sorted tbh. Hopefully we will get tickets anyway! Without doin it wrong and getting thrown out! I know it’s crap but people best off doing the rules, for now. Soon be over.

And after this season we're going to be relying on this shower to provide all British matches plus the SGP and SON. They can't eve be trusted to show the SEC! Their schedule for Wednesday - Channel 1 - 1800 - Look back at 2012 Olympics, followed by recoded highlights of Italian cycling. Channel 2 - 1800 - Recorded highlights of the shooting world cup followed by recorded highlights of the French Open tennis. It's clear that they are trying to prise extra payments from existing subscribers by way of forcing then to take 0ut an extra sub to their wretched Eurosport Player. With their appalling record regarding highlights - just showing the final hour uncut despite their pious promises I can see serious problems ahead. Now they've got their hands on the Premiership Abi was repeatedly telling us about all the lovely motorcycle racing that we are obviously desperate to watch. They simply do not get it that speedway is very much apart from other motorsports with a very distinct audience. Forget Superbikes, I want to see all the speedway events that they are signed up to. Still, they gave the BSPL and the FIM nice cheques (okay bank transfers) so s*d the fans...... Their past record has shown they are not a safe pair of hands. I, like many, were hoping they'd changed. They clearly haven't, and extra talking at Premiership meetings does nothing to paper over the yawning cracks.

Supporters club coach away trips (even the ones where we broke down) Foreign riders felt genuinely exotic (with the 70s seeing the Danes and Americans going from nowhere to world beaters in the space of a decade) Most of your team re-signing for the following season The roar of the crowd during an exciting race (as opposed to today when all you get is the tutting of your nearest neighbour on the terraces 10 metres away) The ability to go to a different track every night without travelling the entire length of the country (my 1974 holiday itinery - 6 tracks in 7 days all within an hour's drive of our Coventry base)

Disappointed Tiger heading home , but today is why speedway is the best sport in the world , the best two teams in the league served up a classic on a brilliant track .

This kind of thing never works . Seems a good idea on paper , but there is always a reserve who improves out of all proportion . I would imagine there will be a few instances this season where a number 7 will be " injured " just before a tough fixture . Smith's injury is a legitimate one as he crashed during the week , but I admit circumstances have fallen favourably for us .

Isn't there a "Briggo" track cover? He's missed a trick there

watch the meeting on stream and we noticed what a good team man hans is out there after every race when the lads came back in . always thought he should have been in his career at poole a lot longer than he was just my opinion of course