old bob at herne bay

Rules for recreational cricket limit the total number of people involved in each match to 30 maximum - with all sorts of rules to keep players distanced. So no crowds of spectators allowed which is still the issue that will stop UK speedway running again thisseason.

Promoters with more of an idea .....lmao Desperate to be proved right ...... lmao You have cheered me up. Lets just wait and see.

Reading the details of the medical professions reluctance to clear such places as theatres and live music venues to resume, it appears that a noisy environment encourages people to shout and raise thier voices and increase the risk of spitting virus particles into the atmosphere. All spectator sports encourage the crowd to produce an "atmosphere" and shouting and cheering your team. Based on that I really don't see spectator sport reopening soon.

Premiership Football grounds hold 60,000 and running with 0 I think Silverstone holds 120,000 will be running with 0 for Formula 1. A few open meetings ??? what's the point ??? Long overdue for the BSPA to make a decision and focus on 2021

Skidder1 - agreed - and the ekstraliga contracts currently prohibit riders signed up in Poland leaving. So there will have to be re allocation of riders ..,adjustment of points limits and some agreement on use of guests/loan replacement riders to get any 2020 uk league programme going. With co operation and common sense from the promoters ......... OH DEAR I think have may have scuppered UK speedway 2020.

A UK league with no GP riders may be forced upon UK speedway sooner rather than later IF and only IF they ever manage to get UK league speedway running this season. Some recalcualtions of teams strengths will be required .... but it would certainly enable some clubs to cut their riders wages bill considerably in what MIGHT be a shortened 2020 season. Who are we talking about Doyle, Lambert, Niels Kristen Iversen. Wouldnt be missed IMO .

Very good article in the Star by Ove. He omits the contribution of Norwich team mechanic Les Mullins who looked after the Norwich “track spare” that Ove rode with great success. Highlights the issue of too much money being invested in equipment by riders at all levels ... how any young lad can afford to start in UK speedway even at NL level beats me. The beginning of riders treating the sport as a business began with the late Ivan Mauger, with bikes mechanics and equipment scattered all over Europe. Many others followed his “professional” approach. Maybe now is the time to look at introducing rules to reduce riders costs of participating in the sport. .

So Speedtiger you have read the Glasgow Promotion's explanation of why they made their decision ? Putting aside your clear dislike of the Glasgow promotion .... none of their reasons apply to other UK speedway clubs? ? ? Funny old game this speedway "promoting" lark in the UK .... every season every promoter moans and groans about the large losses they have made and now we see all but one of them queueing up "in hope" to presumably add to their losses by running a very short season with every likelihood of reduced attendances than those in 2019. Who's kidding who ?

Oh yes that's the answer BLAME SOMEONE ELSE ....... its all the fault of Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon , the bloke in Wales and whoever it is in Northern Ireland. I knew the word "promotion" would offend some on this forum :-) If only there were more promotoers like those at Glasgow ... think we would all be able to plan our lives for 2020. at the moment its like waiting for the inevitable rain off announcement whilst the riders and their entourage walk the track with their golf umbrellas , and the track announcer telling you the meeting is still on ;-)

Maybe some proactive promotion of the sport to politiicians to indicate what specific measures could be taken at their stadia to comply with safe distancing ......I am sure the average politician has no idea what speedway is, and probably thinks it attracts crowds of 60,000 people crammed together in seated grandstands. Seems you can have a riot, sorry a demonstration to smash up some statues and kick seven bells out of policeman just by handing out gloves and face masks to riotors, sorry demonstrators, so it cannot be that difficult to propose aprropriate safty measures specific to each track in the leagues?? I apologise to anyone offended by the use of the word "promotion" in my post.

Sadly nothing I have seen from the UK speedway "management" amounts to anything but HOPE to run UK speedway in 2020 . They also appear to exhibit a great deal of FAITH, what is missing is CHARITY. Not one proposal about how they intend to operate a safe environment for spectators has been seen by me ......it certainly CANNOT be business as usual by the "hoped for" start date of August. No idea what sort of meaningful league programme they intend to run starting in August when they struggle to complete fixtures when they start in March. Would be interesting if Speedway Star could run some interviews with track promoters asking them some direct questions about the provisions they will be making to support spectator safety in their stadia for their hoped for start date in August ???

Ove Fundin Fan ...... you mention Leon Madsen (who's he? and what has he won? ) and Ove Fundin in the same sentence. LMAO. Different sport back in Ove's days. One bike with the front wheel removed, slung in the boot of a car, or on a makeshift bike rack. Not a sponsor sticker in sight.

Steady on Diamondboy ....... we dont want race-ism on this thread. oh and has Matt Ford got a statue in the Car Park.... given current issues it might end up in the harbour

If it's "training" - surely they can use the local park in Poole - some push ups, a bit of jogging ??? Riding around the track on their bikes - we always used to call it "practice " in England .

Richard, Thank you ... and for reminding about Danny Ayres RIP Danny.

Full marks to the TV team who produce the coverage of Eastbourne home meetings being shown on you tube. Good multi camera production. Who chooses which meetings are shown ? The one sided meeting vs Scunthorpe was not great viewing.

Rob, Regrettably, not sure that any of the points you make carry any weight without having on board a rich prospective speedway promoter or generous benefactor willing to take on the gamble and invest in speedway. Letting your land to a sport that operates 6 months of the year maybe once a fortnight just doesn't make good financial sense when you can get a regular income for a gym , a bunch of astro turf pitches for 12 months year ball sports. There just isn't any money in letting your land to a speedway in the UK compared to the potential £ millions for other options. Coventry and Oxford maybe still in existence as sites, but no one is going to stump up the cash to start up a speedway. Protests coninue but have they had any success ?? No. The sites will just lay dormant until the respective councils fall over for the extra income from business rates and award planning consent and allow the developers to move in. In no particular order ..... Rayleigh, Romford , West Ham, Hackney, New Cross, Arena Essex, Crayford, Wimbledon, Wembley, Canterbury. All gone. Dont think any of petition signing did any good at all. ..... they all closed. Just one track remains in the South East of England...... Sittingbourne....... which hangs by a thread due to the severe planning constraints. Letters supporting the changes to planning have made no difference.

So speedway with no spectators. Is it possible ? Could a meeting not be streamed online on a pay per view basis ? I cannot see regular "league racing" attracting much of an audience onlne (watched enough paint dry on the you tube offerings ) but if a series of open meetings were arranged with select teams representing a number of clubs maybe that woudl attract enough interest? Not an IT expert so dont know what would be involved - but there are already video companies out there doing speedway videos..... which can be paid for online so if they charged for a one time password to log on to the streaming service would that work ?

As cityrebel says, sad but predictable. Let's not forget that the speedway was effectively killed off by the BSPA decision not to allow Rye House to run on a Saturday evening. That was the beginning of the end. My only surprise is that the site hasn't been sold for new housing development, as did the Lakeside Bowl . Small crumb of comfort is that the local community will retain the land for a sporting activity albeit more b****y football.

Weather looks decidedly dodgy for this tonight ..... recommend you check with te track before setting off

It is hard to understand how any speedway club hasn’t got the same issues clearly highlighted in the Glasgow promotion’s statement. Speedway barely attracts breakeven attendances on a warm sunny evening .... to suggest they will be able to attract breakeven attendances under current circumstances ain’t going to happen. Parents aren’t happy to let their kids go back to school, let alone go out for the evening to a speedway track. As for the more mature sections of society many of them are still reluctant to leave their homes to collect groceries, let alone go out for the evening at a speedway track. All understandable of course .... but doesn’t make Speedway in the UK likely in 2020. I don’t see any proposals from BSPA on spectator safety being promulgated to build confidence........pointless statements saying they are ready to start the season as soon as possible.....so how about each stadium to be assessed for maximum attendance to allow safe distancing. Pre booked online tickets for meetings .. no at the gate ticket sales each ticket has a bookable allotted arrival and departure time window with allocated seating/ standing area.... no wandering around the track permitted. face coverings must be worn at trackside Management of riders/ mechanics to follow polish ekstraliga rules. NO IDEA how you manage toilet facilities. Some tracks have toilets with very cramped facilities ( Eastbournebeing one I know) with no means of safe entry/exit without bumping into people. Sadly the decision making will be like that of rain offs ..... yes the season is definitely ON ON ON and then suddenly it will be OFF. ☹️☹️☹️

WIll the Ekstraliga matches be available to view on any UK TV channels ? Either live or recorded highlights ?

Thanks Mike BV for your opinion. Yes I agree Running behind closed doors has a CHANCE of safely proceeding .... You mentioned F1 ......with its HUGE travelling entourage which has to somehow reach the worldwide venues. Still they have deep pockets and I am sure money will buy a lot of “safety systems. “ Not so for British Speedway which really ought to stop wasting effort on a dream of operating in 2020.

Thanks for replies ..... Oh dear, still some clinging to a dream of racing in 2020. Stuff the format of the league that’s not the issue. This virus isn’t just going to disappear overnight by July or August. ! No thought to how you safely accommodate several hundred spectators spaced 2m apart , allowing them safe access and egress to the stadium ... and safe use of basic welfare facilities ... or are they meant to cross their legs for 3 hours? I wait to see how the Polish Ekstraliga will safely run behind closed doors ....

Thought I would kick this one off early, as the realists amongst us realise that the 2020 British Speedway season will not happen. No clubs in the UK can afford to run behind closed doors. No clubs in the UK have the resources to safely manage crowds attending thier stadia under social distancing rules. No club in the UK can expect crowd levels approaching those of 2019 to come into their stadia, which will have no facilities open. With just the Polish Ekstraliga kidding itself that it can start in June, (heaven knows what happens when a rider is injured and requires medical supervision. ) If it goes ahead it will be like watching the timed SGP practice sessions. Surely now is the time for the BSPA to get together on a Zoom call and start planning 2021. They need to engage with all he riders and all the clubs to agree how the sport can rise from the ashes of 2020 and survive. ?