SteveLyric2

I don't disagree with most of your points, although why you seem to think that its only certain EL promoters that have big egos I don't know. With a new top league points limit of 38.5 being heavily rumoured around several tracks and an increase in the number of top league fixtures also being mooted (although not sure by how many?) there does seem to have been considerable discussion on this already at BSPA towers!!

Maybe it was your cheap biro rather than the programme itself that was at fault??

16-pages is a bit poor. Poole's Matchday magazine is 48 pages, with fan features, quizzes, articles from Promoter, Team Manager, home and away rider profiles/news, SGP news and a 'look back' at something/someone relevant for the older fans - all in full colour! Its very different every week - and yes there is advertising in it - often one of the very few incomes that come to the promotion rather than the stadium owners!!

Well I hope THJ performs better than tonite!!

I think its more a case of 'speedway doesn't care about Sky' or 'speedway doesn't care about fans'. The Sky monies/sponsorship should certainly have been used to 'incentivise' increased attendances, rather than pay out more to riders, engine tuners et al. It shouldn't matter what meetings have actually been televised, its how the money has been (mis-)used!!

You are assuming that all the 'rich' EL and PL promoters are in agreement with the way forward - let alone the 'poor' ones. Also that PL promoters are of the same voice as EL clubs!! Also what if the BSPA have broadly agreed what they want to do in 2014 and have informed Sky, but its not yet contracted?! The BSPA will still need their AGM (albeit I agree it should be earlier) to 'rubber-stamp' decisions/proposals. The rumours and hints of what may happen next year, that have been referred to by the likes of Peter Adams, Jon Cook and Bob Dugard, surely indicate that at least some proposals have been discussed, if not yet agreed by all! Whatever is finally proposed will not be unanimously agreed by all promotions, anymore than any proposals are agreed by all the experts on here, so in many respects I wouldn't blame the BSPA for keeping it to themselves until its all finalised - even though this should be before the end of the season!!! I mean hang it all, they'll be expecting fans to pay for season tickets before we know the team's 1-7 and what the fixtures are next.......!!! Ahemmmm.

Is there an 'official practice' for the final2 on Friday? If so, when is it?

Having sat through the meeting yesterday, I thought there were some very good races and some pretty poor ones!! The track wasn't at its best - in fact very similar to when Peterborough visited a fortnight or so ago - so no surprise that Bjerre qualified!! NKI was a class apart and a deserving winner and with KK bringing 2 new specially prepared engines, plus his full Polish pit crew - it was no surprise that he also qualified. As far as supporting the riders was concerned, in a crowd with a fair number of Poole fans, the loudest cheers were certainly whenever King and Harris were on track. Other than that the German fans were the most vociferous followed by the Poles, all of whom found their own sections within the stadium - and there were no attempted invasions!! Crowd size was 'reasonable' I would say although bigger than usual on bends 1/2. Grandstand was packed as was the restaurant stand (except for some of the places reserved for FIM!!) Was £25 too much for 20 heats, plus £4 for a programme - not if you think £17 is ok for EL meetings!!! (NB. Parking prices were increased, but that's not down to the Speedway bosses, that's the Grayhound owners!!)

...but usually with a 'pre-AGM' sometime around now I think?! Its often been said - even by some promoters - that the AGM should be earlier. Other countries' leagues seem to agree their structures well before the BSPA's.

I bet the £25 admission charge is not reduced though, with this weaker field!!!!

Kildermand may have had to withdraw as one of the meeting reserves??!

Oh no, that's very sad news. Although not a great fan of some of his repetitive catchphrases in the early days of Sky, I did actually meet him in a business capacity many years ago when one of his businesses was the 'premium-rate sports telephone lines' that many sportsclubs, local newspapers, radio stations and businesses used to enhance their income!! RIP Tony - you've had your last 'ding-dong battle' mate.

..and they probably won't get visas for every round!!

Not of the British Leagues they won't!!!!

Exactly what was said on the SGP website, straight after Holsted, wasn't it?! Incidentally, it is on Saturday 24th not next Saturday!

Team spirit is such a wonderful thing!!!

Unfortunately to many of the regular posters on this forum these words are meaningless!!

:rofl:

If you are hopeful of a serious response from a (potential) promoter, why would you post something as serious and positive on this forum?? I assume you have emailed/written/texted/tweeted(?) to the SCB/BSPA offices?!

Sky only use their own production for EL meetings. Eurosport use the BSI feed for the GPs (as Sky did) and the 'One Sport' feed for the Euros!! I actually quite like both sets of commentators, with their different styles!! What Eurosport need imo for a 3+ hour transmission are more fillers (like the Tai/Hans travel plans) as there was a lot of repetition later on in the broadcast. (ps. Please no more rider 'interviews' with/by Jan Staechmann - he is very flat, monotone and boring)!

Quick question - is the final round of this European Championship on a Saturday or Sunday?

Oh Freddie, Freddie, Freddie???? WTF?

Taken from the Speedwaygp.com website: "Danish star Hans Andersen, SGP regular Matej Zagar, World Under-21 champion Michael Jepsen Jensen, Martin Smolinski, Vaclav Milik, Maciej Janowski, Troy Batchelor and Jurica Pavlic are confirmed qualifiers from the Lonigo semi. HOLSTED SCORES: 1 Niels-Kristian Iversen 14, 2 Kenneth Bjerre 12, 3 Aleksandr Loktaev 11+3, 4 Daniel Nermark 11+2, 5 Krzysztof Kasprzak 9, 6 Przemyslaw Pawlicki 9, 7 Tomas H Jonasson 9, 8 Piotr Pawlicki 8+3, 9 Timo Lahti 8+2, 10 Peter Kildemand 7, 11 Andzejs Lebedevs 5, 12 Ales Dryml 5, 13 Tobias Kroner 5, 14 Edward Kennett 4, 15 Dakota North 2, 16 Viktor Golubovski 1." Piotr Pawlicki will therefore be the reserve and GB will nominate a wild card for the final place - unless they choose not to!!?

Dudek, Bech and Pawlicki for me!!

Spoken like a true Team GB manager!