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How can anyone be getting excited for a 5 team league is beyond me

Not a mention of the sterling work that speedway futures Ltd habe done behind the scenes,not a mention of who the new Ipswich owners are if indeed there are any, a statement that told us very little but what did we expect really ? You don’t need to wait for an AGM to fix a problem and it’s clear they have no idea how to fix the sport, carry on doing the same and pound to a penny they haven’t addressed any issues of cost either for riders and more importantly the long suffering dwindling fan base

They could put out a NL team and still be top 5

Earlier in the winter there was a thought that radical change could be coming. Its certainly been a radical winter a u turn on ownership at Sheffield, Louis leaving Ipswich, Ipswich confirmed as running but no idea who is running it. As far as radical change in how the sport is run which is needed well that’s zero change. I find it staggering that it’s more of the same.

Then make a short statement saying they will be making a full statement on wed/thur and not just leave us plebs hanging

Trouble is people get out of the habit of going each week its regular fixtures whats needed

I really hope that the majority of posters on here do not represent the general speedway supporter! There is so much negativity that, if I were a potential Premier promoter, I would say "I don't think I'll bother". Whatever you think of those who run speedway, they are doing much, much, more than sitting in front of a keyboard, sniping at those who do get off their ar*e and they risk their own money!

Agreed I can remember I think it was Joe Owen who an 11 point man in the old national league being called on by the british league and he struggled at reserve in the top league the gulf back then between top men in division2 and 1 was massive when the likes of Havvy and Andrew Silver moved up it took them a while to get established and they were both super naturally talented riders.

Years ago when you became a number one at division two you would move up into the top division and become a number 7 at your new club imo when the promoters changed the natural progression ladder it all went downhill.

Because those that are getting excited, just love speedway. I don't think it's wrong that people are excited for a new season. I - personally - would still be getting excited if there were just two teams left as I always miss speedway over the winter. Yes, the current situation is far from ideal and there's plenty that could be done in the future to improve things, but it's not going to stop me from going to meetings and enjoying myself. Boycotting the sport is not going to save it.

Another factor is the age profile of speedway supporters. As folks get older they don’t turn out for every meeting in poor weather to stand outside in often spartan conditions on cold evenings to watch the stop start racing punctuated by all too frequent delays . With each passing year, I would suggest there are fewer “hard core” fans who will turn up every meeting .

Have seen this suggestion made 2 or 3 times It just doesn't make any sense! If he wanted to be involved he wouldn't be selling Ipswich

Some would say you have managed to emigrate without even moving....

WTF! just merely responded to someone who said Supermarket's won't touch ex-cons by pointing out that Timpson's business model is to do so and he's one of the UK's wealthiest men! Personally, I don't give a flying f'k if Garrity is back in speedway or not, if someone chooses to give him a chance good luck to them, there are plenty of wrong un's involved in the sport on and off the track already!

If we pay our money at the turnstiles we are entitled to our opinion whether you or the promoters like it or not

Logistically it isn't an issue. Especially if you are a rider wanting to line your pockets without the inconvenience of having to be good enough to be asked to ride in Poland. The problem is deeper than that though. Starting with it causing the disconnect between fans and the riders who race for their team. Ideally riders should have one club, having another club overseas is borderline acceptable. Ideally that wouldn't happen either. A lot of top tier riders have ended up with second tier clubs due to a relaxation of rules (doubling up numbers allowed and average conversion rate) 15 odd years ago. They've then hogged the team spots and stopped other riders from racing at second tier level and thus reaching a competitive standard. That is directly to blame for the lack of good enough riders now. To top it all off, most of them are now in their mid thirties plus and when they retire, which they'll have to some day sooner rather than later, leave a massive void in both leagues. These things hurt Speedway's credibility. As does guesting, which isn't a necessary evil, it's just an evil. It makes the sport look amateurish in the extreme to Speedway fans, let alone someone who may be a newcomer to the sport. The sport has to look credible to keep teams active, to help new/returning teams get back on track, to try secure another television deal and ultimately to draw in new fans. All these things that look stupid to outsiders (because they are stupid) need to be removed from the sport. For the good of the sport.

Delighted to see Cook back this season. I’ve been critical of some instances involving him in the past, but a British speedway without Craig Cook is a sadder, less entertaining and lower in quality place. Really strong side being built at Northside.

I think we are sorted for the reserve birth

You are right, the championship promoters do seem to have it right, at least a bit more right than the premiership. However. Without the premiership, the championship would not work. The championship uses many of the riders from the premiership, but as was reported in the star, at a massively reduced pay rate, so without premiership money it wouldn't work for the riders. The premiership has lost a handful of teams in recent seasons mainly due to losing their access to a track. No one from the championship wants to move up, as their business model would not work,either due to race nights, losing local derbies, extra costs etc. In addition to all this, next year Poland are prohibiting riders from racing in more than 1 extra league, meaning we probably lose most of the better danes we have , and potentially quite a few to Sweden,meaning less " top" riders in this country, making next years premiership potentially weaker , so it begs the question, what next? For the championship to work it needs the premiership for the premiership to work it needs riders, so if the premiership falls, so does the championship in its current form. Riders need to earn x amount of money so either the championship has to pay more or costs must be cut. British speedway needs more riders to fill its teams, so we need to rebuild.If that means a " lower" standard , so be it, likewise if it means 5 or 6 man teams , so be it. Let clubs race on their favoured night, we've already been done over by Poland, and other riders will ride in Denmark or Sweden, so early on this season there needs to be a rider census to get a rough idea as to how many riders would be available to fill all championship and premiership teams, riding on whichever night, and then work out team sizes and strengths from there, based on 2 leagues, one professional league, but with protected races for at least 1 or 2 " juniors", and the national development league ,with a clear progression between the leagues. Reduce engine servicing costs, ban trick parts, put a rev limiter on that will make a difference, maybe a minimum flywheel weight, do the consultation now, with a view to 2027, reassure the punters that genuine change is on the way,and rebuild from the bottom up. Now going to grab my tin hat and get behind the parapet waiting to be shot down

Seems positive from the club on pending signings saying at no point they have struggled to attract riders and that the final pieces arent far away so i think rather then negativity the clubs activity should be looked at with optimism as to giving fans the best side to allow the team be best served for a title challenge. I for one am excited for the pending news.

Doubling-Up was originally set up to allow young brits to gain experience in the higher division/league, while still riding regularly in the lower division/league. That is great as a principle, but it was allowed to get out of control, so that any rider (depending on converted average when doubling-down) could race regularly in both divisions/leagues - so much so that there have even been accusations of senior riders dropping their top division/league average so they they qualified to double-up. If you can't see a problem with any of that, then fair enough - as always, we makes our choices.

I remember the back of the star always had a team on it with the captain labelled as ‘ on machine’ . That was your team with your riders.You were attached to them. Nowadays it’s a free for all . A pay day for the rider. That rider could be doing his own team damage by winning with his guested team. Just dosent add up in a professional sport.

198 Guests used last season across both top leagues.. When other leagues can cope without a single one, it shows just how poorly the UK version of exactly the same sport, with access to exactly the same riders, is ran... No excuse for such nonsense is there? A "necessary evil" I believe it is said to be....? Using 198 of them suggests its more of an easy cop out, rather than running a team sport properly to ensure you deliver the required emotional attachment to your team.. And if you don't engender that in a team sport, especially in the digital 24/7 news, and the constant social media review, and potential ridicule, of what you deliver today, then you have no chance of being successful...

Almost every contributor on here can see the problems looming for the sport but those in charge of its destiny are not doing too much to keep the fan base onside and give some ideas as to how things might change. An announcement following the AGM then radio silence. No provisional fixture list, no details of the new competition, no more news about the mystery 6th club and none of this can help riders, sponsors etc. plan for the coming season and it must have a negative impact on season ticket sales. With the lack of clarity is any wonder some supporters are disillusioned with the sport and riders have opted to ply their trade elsewhere. You would have thought that some press releases would have been forthcoming even it was only to update of progress or otherwise of changes which may at least placate some of the doubters. The BSPL really have not got a clue when it comes to taking care of the fan base. If they are unsure as to what to do might I suggest they take a look at Poland, Sweden and Denmark all of whom are way ahead of the UK.

Yes

And there definitely won't be a future if everybody stops going.

Probably Louis I’d have thought. Think some deals were already done early doors so they’ll probably be resurrected if those riders are still available. Wonder if Vaculik could be tempted? Only has one club in Poland as far as I can see, nothing in Sweden or Denmark and of course, no GP’s now either. Needs more racing than that surely?

Another Poole Speedway article in the Echo online today with Matt Ford (more coverage than Semenyo!) stating that any discussion about a 'one league set-up' for 2027 should start NOW, including clarity on likely rider costs and any TV/broadcast contract. Its no good leaving it til August/Sept when many clubs have started their team-building for the next season. He has confirmed once again that Poole will NOT go 'up'(?!) into the Premiership within the present structure and fixed race nights!

Put it in your pocket and never let it fade away... or save it for a rainy day 🤔

Poland have already announced their plans for 2027 regarding rider availability and we've done absolutely nothing to mitigate this by starting our league transformation a year before them, it's not even been addressed... we seem to be just blindly sailing on, full steam ahead 🚢🧊

Just take a look at the last 10 years of the u21 final. 13 of the 18 that appeared in 2016 final aren't riding anymore. The 8 in the u19 final that weren't in the 21 final aren't riding either. 21 riders that would be hitting 29-31 this year lost to the sport.

Having just seen the AGM Statement.I'm glad I dont support the Prem. The decisions made have no real change to last season and dont seem to look forward to the future of Speedway in the coming seasons.They still dont know if a Sixth team will enter the Prem,slight adjustment to the finishing order of the league,and a possible new tournament and it took them 3 months to come up with this drivel for 2026. No 3 or 5 year plan going forward,an absolute shambles of an AGM,just papering over the cracks. New Directors to the Board,what are they going to bring,and this Commitee of an MP and Harry Redknapp, that is absolute bollocks,they have no interest in promoting Speedway in the near future.

Sounds like a brand of condoms

Superheat gone 👍

Adrian Smith couldn't believe the way the sport was ran,, and tried to ensure the Aces, (at least), were ran with credibility.... He did this as he listened to fans on his many walkrounds during the meeting... He, like so many others with actual vision, eventually gave up, as he knew the capability simply wasn't there amongst so many of the others to drag the sport up to its potential... Another good person, who understood the modern world, lost to the sport...

The AGM news is being published at 6pm tonight

One Million Percent... There should have been soundbites from Promoters leading up to the meeting, putting forward, in a positive way, what they would like to see from the AGM... Giving it some importance and resonance... And then. On the day. Photos taken of all there and shared via all SM outlets, including one as a collective all together... Then, last evening, a statement (again positive), should have been put out, even if it was only to acknowledge the meeting took place, a generic update as to what's agreed, and that a further statement with detail is forthcoming in the next "x" hours.... Do they actually have a PR person? Edit. Did the meeting actually take place? Which, as we don't know, probably answers my question re any PR person....

Sorry Wookieboy Don , I strongly disagree. In view of the parlous state of UK speedway, an interim statement should have been issued to all media channels . If nothing else to confirm that the meeting has at least taken place yesterday ! Sadly this poor PR typifies the running of the sport in the UK nowadays. A publicity opportunity lost.

Well.... The Epiphany has passed... And, I presume, the Three/Four/Five/(Six?) Wise Men, have returned home?.. Any news from them? Worth the long trip?... Did they bother visiting in the end?... Certainly no photos taken of them in the stable/hotel.... Nor any mention of them arriving in the various Gospels of Social Media.. I have just opened up the Bible of GB Speedway, at page one, and all it tells me is... "Lo, and so it did pass, Saint Jack Holder leadeth the way in the Land of the Convicted Ones, at the ends of the Earth"...

Is he bitter or just stating the facts? 😜

Bernard never offended anyone, offence is taken not given

The BSPL / Speedway futures have issued a new line of promotor inspired t shirts

Louis certainly seems to have been a bit of a "James Hunt" this winter.

As part of my earlier Teams and Fixtures blog, which I posted about last month, I've now created a week-by-week fixtures list for all mainland European leagues and other relevant fixtures such as SGP, SEC, IMP and others. Obviously we don't have all fixtures as yet, so it's a work in progress, but once the remaining leagues publish their fixtures, I'll be adding them in as well. Everything is colour coded to make it easier to follow. Hope it helps for anyone planning any trips this coming season. Link here: https://speedwayteams2026.blogspot.com/p/calendar-of-meetings-in-2026.html?

"Speed" was no issue that night 🤔

Well... If it ain't broken.... Oh. Hang on......

Underwhelming statement when big changes and ideas where needed rather than go with the same old tired system if one of the 5 teams close mid season the whole league collapses .

Double Header next year?

Not allowed to do so.... I took on many "criminals" for my supermarkets all around the country... As long as they informed me about their past history then they fulfilled the criteria for a job... If they didn't let me know, and I found out later, then, legally, I could dismiss them for failing to declare such information... When you have served your time then you are as equal as everyone else...

I agree in many ways but as ever context is key on everything! Anyway we are going round the houses here so probably just have to disagree. Lets hope if he does get a chance to ride somewhere he embraces it and makes something of it.