Hawk127

Can you please have something positive to contribute like the state of the economy or the latest weather forecast, this topic is not at all interested in the state of speedway in the UK. Now I will get the dominoes out to play on line😄 Bingo follows shortly.

It’s more like a post season thread these days. Who won the play offs? Has the AGM taken place? Sad really when but a few years back it was a hotbed of banter between rival supporters and regular weekly speedway. Now it has very little to offer even the diehard supporters and you cannot hold out any hope of change for the better going forward given the way the sport is run and the speedway tail being the riders attitude who are the wagging in the dog and the sport as a whole with the punters who follow it largely treated with contempt. I feel for the next generation of riders who see the options for them diminishing at a rapid rate. It needs wholesale changes but it will not happen. For the time being we have Poland to relive what used to be the sport in the UK.

Agree and I am sure if Bewley had been riding the meeting would be at another level. Yes a rider of his calibre can make all the difference and hopefully in 2027 he will be at Belle Vue showing them how it is done. Onwards and upwards and fingers crossed Dan can get back in the saddle soon. He is a future world champion and his time will come.

Not sure you can get too excited by tonight’s racing. It is OK but certainly not worth the ticket prices being asked for tonight’s meetings. Sadly not many if any can compete with a Polish round and the enthusiasm of the Polish crowd. Another point, are the Polish riders finding the UK track difficult?

You forgot to mention, tax screwing measures, youngsters priced out of jobs due to tax and employment regulation changes, no youngster can do paper rounds etc. thanks to legislation, young employees who recognise that the hospitality industry is screwing them by insisting you read your menu on an app and pay on line and when they ask if they can get you anything else to be told by the waitress/waiter that you need to go to the bar or use the app sums up how the younger generation are on a hiding to nothing. I know a minority want to screw the system but many really do want to work. Perhaps this is the generation that the sport should be reaching out to and using the various social media outlets to get them to suggest where the authorities could take the sport.

Unfortunately nothing to get excited about the presentation or the running of the meeting. It is a shame that the whole package in the UK simply cannot compete with a meeting put on by the Polish federation. Oh well always tomorrow’s Polish matches to look forward to.

That sums up speedway. What a meeting and a huge thank you to every rider who took part and showed why as a spectacle speedway can produce high octane entertainment when needed

Great race and this sums up what the sport is all about and takes you back to the days of Hackney on a Friday night. The Polish scene has got it so right and the UK just cannot compete at this level. Speedway is good in the UK but does not come anywhere neat this standard.

It follows on from the non screening of the SoN2 last weekend. Coleman said that the production costs for this meeting and the SGP 2 & 3 were prohibitive and giving the relatively low viewing figures it simply is not a good use of the limited funds available in the sport. He also said they they are working towards getting the SGPs back on track financially which is the number one priority. It seems that the championship was in jeopardy and could have ended up being promoted by the FIM and only perhaps three or four events. The championship had been losing millions. Mayfield Sports had/have sold out the first five GPs so it is looking optimistic. The decision not to screen SoN 2 was taken many months back and the same for SGP 2 & 3. WBD buys the television rights from Mayfield and it is up to WBD how they choose to use them. Some events don’t have particularly high viewing figures and the job Mayfield inherited was to try and sort out the Speedway GP first and foremost. Cost benefit analysis means it does not make sense to screen SoN 2 live. Even though the cameras were at the track, they could not film or broadcast it because Mayfield have sold the rights and would not be able to broadcast it. Another reason is the cost of the rigging. It would need to be in place on Thursday and this cost an additional Euro 60k -80k. Some general comments are made. Then Coleman moves on by saying they have concerns outside the the world GP particularly with the leagues in Sweden, Denmark and Britain and says that there is no point in doing a great at the top of the pyramid if it is crumbling underneath. There are a number of systemic issues and a number of issues in terms of governance and direction that need to be solved. There is a lot of naval gazing that goes on in speedway. Ultimately he thinks that there sport has five years to turn itself around. There are a number we are trying to move the needle on. But we have only been here for six months or so it is a challenge but hopefully we can keep as much goodwill as possible from the fans and do the best job we can. That is about it. Hope it is useful

I take it back it appears to be quite good. With some meetings also including a commentary it might just catch on.

No to the other live updates. No comparison to attending unless you live so far away that the cost out weighs the return in which case nip down the pub and enjoy a pint and look at the phone. Bit like most people do when they contribute to the hospitality industry by paying over the odds for crap food, expensive drinks and supporting those who expect someone owes them a living.

here is the link https://britishspeedway.co.uk/live/

Yes it was announced yesterday or today and having just checked in it is up and running showing the score as 15-15. If it works it might be an interesting alternative.

I was under the impression that the BSPA live updates was the big game changer and it was supposed to be available? Looking at the site, for some unfathomable reason it states live updates are not available. Why? It could only happen with UK speedway. An absolute shambles.

I think the article in the Star this week sums up where Mayfield Sports are and anyone looking at the sport through rose tinted glasses is not going to survive. Five years seems to be the time frame, change or that is it. I have some sympathy regarding the comments on the lower tier of the major events despite the many protests over the lack of streaming but if the previous sponsors were allegedly loosing money on the GPs then something has to give to get the sport out of survival mode and on to a sound financial footing. Otherwise it is back to amateur status. Adopt that view and then the Kennet scenario makes sense in the short term. For now Ipswich continue.

He is also a shale quality controller so is just making sure it complies with EU regulations

Absolutely and tell the rider in red to stop lying down on the job.

In these conditions it just would not happen in the UK. Good on all the riders for just getting on with it and hopefully the track will come good.

The contempt shown towards every speedway follower sums up why the sport is in decline. It does not deserve to be taken seriously and the pig headed ignorance of those who happily take your entrance fee but give little or no guarantee that you will get what you pay for is contemptible and those who are in charge work on the basis of caveat imptor which sums up everything that is wrong with what at best is a form of entertainment but actually falls short of being entertaining. Many people who use to be avid supporters/followers were major contributors to this forum but just look at the limited number of responses to any given match on each meeting compared to a few years back and that in itself is a measure of how far it has become a joke. Anyone with money invested in UK speedway needs to get out asap. It is not an investable proposition and in its current state has no chance of attracting the exposure it needs to grow. Is Rachel Reeves in charge.?

You do wonder what planet those who oversee these fixtures are on. The genuine speedway follower can only look on in dismay as those in charge seem to have no idea and how to maintain support let alone attract new punters. People decry WWE and the fixed results but those in charge of speedway are not far short of making a mockery of a sport that does not need these jerks running it. WWE almost looks legitimate by comparison.

Not your fault so nothing to apologise for and you together with Racers & Royals provide all us luddites with an excellent service and if it was not for the hard work of both of you we would not be getting a d3cent regular speedway fix. Cheers.

Agree. We have all seen tracks far worse and meetings have gone ahead and over the years I have seen saw dust etc.. put down and watched riders get on with it. Today, the current crop of so called professionals are sadly out of their depth and lack the skills and experience to be the rounded professional speedway riders. Many riders Arne one track ponies and why would you pay to watch those who cannot entertain the punter first and foremost. Speedway as a sport and form of entertainment has lost its way.

Agree and the sad state of affairs is that when the weather is slightly better in June, July and August you have so few meetings because other meetings elsewhere impact on rider availability. Read this week’s Speedway Star and the comments regarding the lack of meetings at a track like Scunthorpe. It says it all about how far the sport has sadly declined in this country and unless you get real change it will continue to spiral downwards. Fans become disillusioned and riders seek income elsewhere. Oh well nothing the run of the mill fan can do but hope.

Are Pila usually this bad at home?

Unless you like taking boats across the channel or live in London and live under the regime of Sadiq Khan then you are laughing all the way to the bank of the British tax payer to fund your new life style. I cannot recall the current incumbents manifesto highlighting the idea of pissing tax payers money up the wall to sell the Chagos Islands, increase the benefits bill to those who voluntarily don’t wish to earn a crust or agree to scrapping the two child benefit or agreeing that tax payers money is used in the funding of the police who have to control protest marches in support of terrorist organisations or permitting Jews to be persecuted by a minority of Labour supporters because those in charge cannot separate right from wrong. Yep you are right it is a rubbish hole that we now live in and are controlled by and it is not just those two that you refer to it is every politician of any persuasion who is in it for themselves. Bring back the Raving Monster Looney Party, at least they spouted bollocks and you knew it was true.