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At the risk of sounding like a repeating record (remember those!). You'd do well to know Speedway existed in Leicester and you'd actually have to go out of your way to find out we are the defending League and Shield holders. The "promotion" have done nothing with the titles they spend the whole year trying to secure... so what's the point in it all? but all of the participants are the right side of 60... I don't know why there's such a disparity between those that watch and those that compete. The rest button needs pressing with Speedway in this country, the sooner we realise we are not Poland and we are not Sweden the quicker the recovery of the sport will be. The people that currently go may like to stand around on wind swept terraces for 2 and a half hours in some cases watching 15 minutes of action. People's attention span these days just isn't there. Cricket has gone T20, they're going even less now with The 100, F1 are introducing sprint races, we need a 90 minute show with 30 races on standardised machinery for starters

It's nothing new though is it? One of the last straws for me was in 2010 when Brum wanted to re-declare due to a long term injury for Chris Kerr. 2 other teams, Berwick and Stoke were in the same position. They were allowed to, Birmingham were denied. The BSPA chairman was Alex Harkess and Brummies were dicing with Edinburgh for the league that year. Draw your own conclusions. Speedway is like a form of water torture for many fans who eventually succumb and walk away. Fair play to the people who can put up with the nonsense, there'd be no speedway without them.

'iainb', first it's good to see you have the good grace to admit when you got something wrong, I am sorry I referred to your peurile ignorance - I could have been more measured in my frustration. However you still don't seem convinced by the decision so I thought I'd lay down some of the points I would have considered when postponing a meeting, which I have done many times. I hasten to add I wasn't involved in Sunday's cancellation although I understand and accept the reasons. Is the track under water - yes Is more rain forecast - yes it is Can the track be pumped off and dry out evenly (bear in mind the huge grandstand at Peterborough and that when watering for a normal meeting they often don't water under the shade) - probably not Even if there's no more rain can the tractors etc. get onto the track to prepare a racing surface - doubtful Is the rest of the stadium useable? The grass car-parks and the pits have been known to flood at the Showground Will fans, riders and officials incur costs that will be wasted if there is a late call-off Will other costs be incurred for a late call-off, rent, medical, staff etc The Club press release referred to a number of these points but I'm sure they would all have been in the back of the mind. For the record I am not a troll nor the person that closed down Coventry, and my history of having promoted at three different Clubs in three different leagues is something I'm very proud of. It doesn't make me an 'important' person in speedway but it does mean that when I comment there is a good deal of experience behind my explanations. I think it's probably time to put this topic to bed. The decision was made, let's move on. If you can get more information from the Peterborough promotion, as already suggested by another poster, please do share it here so that we can all learn.

By the way, when is somebody signing Zmarzlik and then using R/R or guests to cover for him whilst the paperwork is sorted out? What a joke situation that is.

I find it very sad that despite being given valid reasons why the meeting was called off( many from persons with local and practical experience) that because one person will not listen to explanations given that this thread has descended into personal abuse.

Someone take that bloody bone off him

The video doesn’t really show anything as you can’t see them behind the fence as they exit the turn. Matter of fact, if anything, Bowtell is ahead as they exit turn 2. Hume doesn’t have a god given right to carry on down the straight alongside Bowtell who looks like he’s closed the door. You watch a lot of Polish Speedway and that is a standard sort of move. Wouldn’t call it dangerous and wouldn’t say Bowtell should of been excluded either.

Plymouth have to be very happy with their top 2 - looks like Pedersen is going to top the averages at this rate. usual anti opposition bias from shovlar

Definitely two points dropped for me. What I didnt like about the Bowtell move on Hume was that he definitely looked and moved over. He smashed into the side of Hume coming off turn2, then Hume being dragged along ending up in the air fence on bend three, such was the force of the move. Then to add insult to injury, he almost did the same to Cook in the rerun. Luckily Cook had just enough room to avoid a crash. Desperate riding. Smacks of revenge after being upset with Schleins move on him during Pooles last visit, when he cried and winged like a spoilt schoolgirl. Not much in the way of passing, very much gate and go. Only counted 3 myself. Crump gated 3 times, undefeated, twice he didnt, an also ran, Bjarne didnt gate twice, an also ran, (apart from when King made a mistake) gated 3 times cruised to easy wins. Same for both sides. Very inconsistent refereeing. Warned Nielsen for moving, yet Bjarne moved at least twice. Others moved too, both sides. Announcements: On 3 separate occasions, the race results were incorrect. One was challenged and changed. A little bemused, tbh, at our choice of R/R rides. Also using King in Ht15,when everyone around us thought Schein.

100% Arnie.. However... The sport used to go out nationally to millions most Saturdays in summer, when ITV showed the worlds best in "Big 'proper' competitons"... Domestic British Speedway then fed (extremely well), off it's very large amount of crumbs falling off the table.. There was also often zero advanced warning of what you were going to see when you got into the stadiums, you had paid your money and you were in... Any "moaning" was done to those around you and was discussed by half a dozen or so at most.. Whereas now any "nonsense" (and let's be honest there is far too much), is known well in advance, discussed via the thousands on the internet, and often will then lead to comments along the lines of "Well that's me out then, I am not going to watch that"... A very, very different modern world that unfortunately UK Speedway hasnt appreciated and adapted its operating model to...

‘ is anyone losing interest ‘ asks the title ?, well no as you ask. I find the ‘ sport ‘ fascinating now as individual promoters find their own interpretation of the rules ( are there any now ?). Having seen Poole’s and now Birmingham’s line ups for there next matches I am constantly entertained. A facility granted for a rider who hasn’t ridden for you when that was against the rules but now isn’t ?. A guest for an ‘ injured ‘ rider ( injured in this country allegedly )who is now riding in his own country but not here ? I used to think I understood most of the rules but not any more. I don’t think we can call speedway a sport for much longer as sports have rules, not guidelines to be used to increase an advantage for some but not all.

Yes and Glasgow was often the visitors on the Friday night. Titanic struggles between Shane Parker and everyone else.

Poole up to there old tricks, as they say leopard never changes it's spot's, R/R for a rider that's not even arrived yet, that's why know one can take this sport seriously, absolute joke.

i know of a call being made to Johnnie Hoskins at Canterbury asking what the weather was like at the track, the reply - meeting on, no rain. the call was made from a phone box across the road to the track in the pouring rain

Behind You! Look, back in the last century to some of us it was Much , Much Better ( me included ) and no my cataracts are not rose tinted.

To be fair to Len Silver. After last weeks Kent v Eastbourne fiasco, he did apologise and admit that he got it wrong by not pulling the plug earlier. It was refreshing to hear, when most promoters don't accept liability for anything.

Back in the 80% and early 90s I used to rely on the speedway star or speedway mail for news on upcoming meetings but in those days and until the late 2000s I would go anyway. But even the internet isn’t always helpful, I recall Arena Essex going to Swindon in the pairs final in 2003, a load of fans went and when we got their found out that Joonas Kylmakorpi wasn’t there and was never going to be there, Mr Russell kept it quiet much to everyone anger.

In attending hundreds of meetings at all tracks across the country I never once considered that I was risking any money because I got to see a meeting in return for payment and despite the fact that on a lot of occasions the product barely justified the cost I continued going. The time I did take a risk was when I became a Mildenhall shareholder back in 2007 - basically, because I knew that I would probably get nothing for it other than a certificate and the knowledge that I had helped the club survive. Based upon fans views on the pages of this forum, whether speedway would prosper taking into account those views is a moot point. Some are very reasonable and practical, some are total nonsense - ignoring weather forecasts when determining weather a meeting should go ahead or not being definitely one of the latter, meetings for as long as I remember justifiably being called off on the strength of them - but one thing is absolutely definite, and that is that I have never heard someone putting forward an idea also saying that they will put up the money to support it. Brilliant, can't fail ideas but any gamble will be made on the basis of a promoters money, not theirs. In your own case, then, I suggest you notify the promoter of your local track that he need not consider weather forecasts any longer because if he suffers any financial loss as a result of doing so you will meet it. Yeah, right

I've said probably too many times now that the sport in the UK is for developing riders for Poland in the main then potentially Sweden, if you are a rider getting opportunities to ride in Polands top 2 divisions or in Sweden is a "goal" for all riders no matter what they say, its where the money is, its where progression is, so at the moment we are a training ground for many nationalities to learn their craft, improve their skillset and also go into the shop Window for Poland. However, how many make it? not many! and what happens when they do make it, most of the time British Speedway is then left behind as they can't commit to it, which is not a dig, its just what it is. So, what happens to the domestic riders who don't make it to Poland, how do they make the sport pay? which riders need to make the sport pay domestically? British Speedways main event of its own calendar should be a British Grand Prix style championship, I would call it the "British Super 12 Grand Prix Championship" why Super 12? because it will feature 12 riders across 12 rounds, two rounds per month starting April, May, June, July, August & September fitting domestic speedway into a calender that does not run before April and does not run after September. An example of the Super 12 Line Up could be Bewley, Wright, S. Worrall, R. Worrall, Cook, King, Lawson, Kerr, Nicholls, Harris, Ellis, Schlein - anyone who runs on a British Licence. Format is simple 12 heats with riders getting 4 rides (one ride from each gate) all points scored go into the overall standings table, top 4 from each round go into a "final" where there are no points added to the 12 heats scores but its called a "medal race" this gives us the overall winner of that GP round but also you have a separate medal table gold is 3pts, silver is 2pts, bronze is 1pt, the medal table is there to decide the overall winner in case of a tie, so for example if Cook and King end up after 12 rounds on 120 points each, the medal table comes into consideration to decide the overall winner, if the points are the same, its then who has most gold/silver/bronze finishes, if its identical then a race-off Add to this championship with a Under 23 Championship consisting of just 8 riders, the line up could be Bickley, Brennan, Rowe, Flint, Kemp, Palin, Jenkins, Thompson purely as an example, they do as the main series but race over 8 heats then a final. £20.00 entry for 20 heats which include the two-finals Use the Eurosport contract to have every round "LIVE" A series sponsor Riders should be able to get decent sponsorship based on the guaranteed airtime over the 12 rounds on Eurosport and if the presentation was correct they could get a lot of coverage, riders can enter under "team names" similar to say British Superbikes, so say for Danny King if he's sponsored by Tru Plant he is entered under "Tru Plant Jawa" etc. more coverage for the brand, should be used in commentary etc. This kind of Championship and the whole winner-takes-all promotion is what people need to see in British Speedway, I believe this would engage new fans better, perhaps make people want to try speedway in terms of spectating at a one-off local event but if that venue then can promote their league racing we may capture new fans, its all about data capture and using it to promote speedway to new and existing people League racing can still be a thing, I would only have two leagues which is similar to what Bowen has said above, I would revert to the old British League and National League format, I would say 10 team leagues in both, riding home & away once with a cup competition included to give more meetings, the British league is for any nationality to race, the National league are for commonwealth riders only, British League built to Championship standard now and National League being slightly stronger maybe then it is now. Would like to see the BSPL set up a subscription style streaming service, priced at £6.99 per month for a 12 month subscription so £83.88 per year, if they can get say 200 fans from the 20 clubs plus pick up 200 fans from abroad who follow certain riders that would be 4,200 subscribers with a yearly revenue of £352.296.00 As part of the subscription package you receive * 2 x British League or Cup Matches per month * 2 x National League or Cup Matches per month * 4 x Classic Speedway Meetings per month * National League Riders Championship * British League Cup Final both legs * National League Cup Final both legs * Downloadable Content including rider insights, rider interviews, behind the scenes, interviews with promotors etc. * Mini Documentary series profiling ex riders, 60 minute long programs On top of this there can be scheduled events which are then Pay Per View events * British League Riders Championship * 5 Round Commonwealth Championship series featuring riders who commit to racing in the UK potential line up Kurtz, Bewley, Wright, Worrall, Lawson, Batchelor, Ellis, Crump, Cook, King, Allen, Nicholls, Masters, Schlein, Morris, Harris. * 3 Round Inter-Continental Championship series again featuring riders who commit to the UK potential line up Kurtz, Bewley, Crump, Cook, Jorgensen, Riss, Andersen, Batchelor, Ellis, Masters, Palm Toft, Becker, Klindt, King, Schlein, Pedersen This gives a bit of everything for everybody, National League will see the top 3 riders in current championship not doubling down into it as they will just ride British League, then the european and american riders can only race in the British League, with the National League made up of British & Commonwealth riders. National League is more semi-pro in terms of money, British League is just one professional league. The goal for any domestic rider is to make Poland and the GP series but the British Super 12 Grand Prix Series is there for those that need to make racing pay domestically who are either not ready to make the jump to Poland or those who never will - it gives riders other goals Less meetings I know league wise for foreign riders coming to the UK, I am talking about the top end ones as it will likely be 18-22 league/cup meetings however opening up other series such as the commonwealth and inter continental series, with some good prize money makes up for the short fall in league racing. Just a few thoughts really

3. Guesty...

Thinking out loud. Seven Dwarf's would be perfect to make up a Speedway team...

You do have to "collude" with the Promoters when you attend a Speedway match that it is "real" within a true sporting context.. Which is not a great starting point is it to a) keep its regular fanbase, b) grow its fanbase further, c) get some major sponsors involved and d) be taken seriously by the wider mainstream media.. Some will do it though and be willing to accept anything put out in front of them.. And fair play to them for that, as without them the sport would be in serious trouble.. However, they will inevitably only ever be the smaller minority of the (very large), number of fans who still follow the sport closely, but from a greater distance...

I now take speedway with a pinch of salt. I went to my nearest track Kent last night, not caring who was riding, just hopeful of seeing a few decent races for the £20 i shelled out. My expectations for the sport are low, so I'm not usually disappointed.

That's completely unfair. Coventry Speedway closed because of the landlord, not the promotion, and its entirely possible that if the landlords attitude had been different it would still be in existence today. Indeed, in most cases those who close tracks down do so for the most legitimate of reasons - either loss - or potential loss - of the stadium [Lakeside, Stoke, Exeter] or financial loss [Workington, Rye House, Newport].

I value Neil's contributions on here - whether I agree with them or not - for the simple reason that he has been at the sharp end of speedway promotion and, for all my experience of the sport, I have not. There are an awful lot of people - most of whom have never risked a single penny of their money running a speedway track - out there who think they know better and, frankly, they don't. A rain off with riders at the track costs even an NL club at least three grand [and possibly as much as 5] so any speedway promoter that ignores weather forecasts is worse than a fool. I should say, though, that I have occasionally considered that some postponements take place a little too early for comfort. 36 hours, in my view, is excessive.

Back from my 1st visit to Plymouth, must say it's a nice set up down there, made to feel very welcomed by probably some of the nicest supporters around, thought we thru it away with King touching the tapes plus a few iffy starts, but happy to come away with a draw and 2pts

Great meeting I don’t want to get into the politics of what some people are saying Poole are a good side and I’m over the moon to get 1 point.how ironic is it that young kellerher hope I spelt it right has his best meeting of the season and is named rider of the night he scores 6 plus 2 which is more than the R/R got for Poole I did find it bizarre that poole went straight in with worrall in heat 1 as the R/R I thought they might have used him later in the meeting but as I say great night stood with some lovely lads from the pirates tonight they were a good laugh and they couldn’t get some of middlos decisions especially not using Rory in heat 15 and the use of worrall in heat 1 they also called it in the last race by saying it would be a 5-1to us as they reckon they have been not great in heat 15 this season there words not mine but they definitely saw it as 2 points lost not 2 points gained had a great night some good craic saw a great meeting and saw the 3 times world champion brilliant.

Bjarne has been a fantastic servant to british speedway. What a fine season he is having.

That is correct

I will start a go fund me for Danny to cover his losses if he puts in a 1 0 1 ef performance #forgethisfueltapsbruv

Steve I’m impressed with how sour you are about the draw. suppose it was someone else’s fault that king went threw the tapes ?!

Identical racing incident to the previous Schlein - Bowtell …racing … just the shoe on the other foot this time

Get real Steve our sport is struggling you know it everyone knows it Iain makes a valid and hurtful point,

So... you just want clubs to continue to run meetings at a loss during the "restricted period", rather than wait until things are fully open after 19th July?

call offs on the day of the meeting when it's obvious it could have been called sooner is a pain in the backside, arrangements are made, time off work etc, i'd much prefer 24 hours notice

Bydgoszcz team is now looking superb now they are all fully fit again. Really hoping they make a charge for the play offs now.

I'd probably go back very regularly if that happens! Especially if they were on less highly powered bikes. But you would have to rename the sport then.

Who, me? I've not deleted anything. Watson is trolling me from another thread

Yes Cityrebel and pre internet you could understand it to a point, but once the internet came about there was no excuse for just being honest, it was a meeting at another track, Ronnie had nothing to lose by being honest with the fans, instead he caused resentment which may have affected his home gates moving forward. I personally would still consider going to a meeting if a promoter was open and honest up front, the promoters do not like the internet because it spoils their ability to fleece the fans and exposes all their wrong doings. They would rather tell a lie and say sorry than tell the truth and seek sympathy.

Nicki discharged himself from hospital and has flown to Spain to look at houses.

I don't get the worry about having lesser riders in teams, going back when Ove Fundin turned up at Cradley was Ken Wakefield expected to beat him? For years teams carried 2/3 point riders - experienced ones too, no names that wd be disrespectful (although i have named one) but they made up the 7 and did what they could. And they didn't get lobbed out after 3 matches

Phone up the club and ask if you're that desperate to know, instead of asking other people on a forum who didn't make the decision, let us know what the club says

All said by the poster who has also just said: More puerile rubbish........

Not sure if they’re happy with their lot - more than one promoter has gone public this year with his disillusionment.

Something not dissimilar happend to Oxford in 1985 when Belle Vue visited Cowley. The Belle Vue Promoter was Stuart Bamforth and he also was BSPA chairman at the time. Oxford had declared Klaus Lausch in their line up which Belle Vue would have been aware of when teams were declared but they left it until just prior to the meeting when Bamforth wearing his BSPA hat made an objection knowing full well the circumstances and Oxford were forced to use a junior (Jon Surman) Okay Oxford were wrong in that the paperwork hadn't been cleared and Bamforth would have been well aware of that but used his position of power to influence the line up of the Oxford team who could have re-instated Melvyn Taylor as a replacement. Bamforth took advantage of his position but remained tight lipped much to the annoyance of Oxford Promoter Bernard Crapper who took to the microphone during the interval venting his anger after Oxford had trounced the "Aces". I recall also in 1977 when the "Rebels" arrived at Hackney and programmed to ride as a guest was Mick Hines but Len Silver left it right until the start of the meeting before making an objection (Mick had appeared at Waterden Road only the week before). The fact that Mick's name was listed in the programme and Silver would have been aware of the situation the episode left a sour taste in one's mouth but it only pumped up the "Rebels" and they beat the "Hawks" in a last heat decider!

We had it in the Prem section for years..

Funny old meeting this with lots happening - 1st heat Sarj was judged to have got a flyer and received a warning - 3rd heat Jake Allen led but Paul Starke muscled his way past on the inside of turn 2 on the second lap which appeared to unsettle Jake who crashed in a heap approaching the 3rd bend - it looked nasty but thankfully Jake got up pretty quickly and then we were told that Paul Starke had been excluded - turned out out his footrest had gone into Jake’s front wheel which then collapsed down the back straight -3rd heat re-run again Sarj was judged to have guessed the start and was excluded - I was sitting some 6 feet in front of the tapes and 4 rows up and it looked to me Sarj just made a very good start - the gent behind me also thought the same - maybe sometimes he is paying for his previous notoriety - 5th heat Paul Hurry dumped Charles Wright on the deck on the 3rd/4th bend leaving Charles hopping up and down on his right leg - poor chap is only just back from injury and was none too pleased - some good passes by Scotty and Paul and I especially liked Charles’ never say die attitude in successfully chasing after Cameroon Heeps for 3rd place in heat 13 - Solid riding from Jake Allen and MPT - I have never seen James Sargeant ride so well including a couple of passes on the way - solid as expected from Redcar but problems for Kent - all in all a very watchable match in which the first 3 heats took over 30 minutes and we were left wondering whether time may run out but it all came right in the end

No tears only smiles

You could apply that logic to a few on here but unfortunately their is always a few that respond. Surprised to learn he is retired, his posts suggest he is the same age as another who changes his name regularly but always talks utter crap.

for me, there are to many cameras, this is a sport where 1 camera can see all the action, that whats unique about our sport. all thats needed is 3 cameras at most, they spend to much time changing cameras means were missing action on the track,