Steve Shovlar

First of all commiserations to Panthers fans. Looks like Frost was too shy to tell his fans personally. A real shame and hope someone comes forward to give their fans a team in 2014. Many on here have been crowing for Brits to be in the team at reserve. The BSPA have obliged. The result? Moan, moan. bloody moan. People on here were saying no more rubbish foreign 3 and 4 point journeyman taking up places where Brits could be used. The BSPA obliged. Moan, moan, bloody moan. Sure Ward V a NL rider would be a foregone but by the sound of it that isn't going to happen. IN three or four years time we might just start to see the budding flower from the seeds sewn in 2014. Teething problems? There's bound to be some but we now have an extra 20 Brits coming into the EL and gaining real experience. Any team can keep their top men as well. Lets be more positive on here. Be positive about this news. No foreign journeymen taking up Brits places. Brits have got these places!

Todays Echo. Pirates: Ford urges fellow promoters to 'work together' at crucial speedway summit .6:00am Friday 15th November 2013 in Pirates News By Ian Wadley . PIRATES PROMOTER: Matt Ford PIRATES chief Matt Ford is pleading with his fellow speedway chiefs to work together after vowing: “We will play our part.” Ford will represent Poole when the sport’s bosses sit down for the three-day British Speedway Promoters’ Association AGM in the Midlands. The much-talked-about summit, which begins at 10.30am this morning, will largely decide the rules and team-building regulations for the 2014 campaign. This year’s meeting is widely regarded as one of the most important in the sport’s recent history, particularly with the outcome of crucial television contract negotiations yet to be confirmed. And Ford insists rival promoters – and concerned supporters – must keep an open mind as rumours continue to circulate about potential changes. He told the Daily Echo: “We must not get carried away by (website) forums. I have been told that one or two people have effectively decided they are not coming to Poole Speedway next season because certain changes are afoot. “We have to do what we can to make sure the sport can continue. It may not be Poole that makes those decisions but we have to play a part in them. We must support our fellow promoters because we need to make sure they come back to play next year. “If we had a TV contract in place, I would ask to run at the highest level we could, but that would not suit others. We have to be sensible, take a common ground and try to work together. “There are not any questions answered until the AGM. I am going with a totally open mind and I hope the fans will be the same.” Ford reported that talks remained ongoing over a TV deal following the expiry of Sky Sports’ contract with British speedway and he insisted it was “certainly not dead in the water”. ..The Pirates promoter, who has won five Elite League titles in 15 seasons, has already voiced his concerns that a lack of broadcast revenue could price out the likes of Darcy Ward and Chris Holder. He said: “There are some hard decisions to be made – there always is – but in particular this year because we are still unsure about the TV deal at this point in time, which is crucial for British speedway. “Without the financial help from television, we clearly couldn’t run at the level we have been. It could be that we have to go to the AGM without having full knowledge of a (potential) TV contract, which is unfortunate.” Ford added that Pirates were in a “very luxurious position” as they were not losing money. He says they will “try to help other clubs by accepting the rules they bring to the table” but insists he will “never accept anything which will truly damage Poole”. Asked about some of the rumoured developments, Ford said he had heard that “two or three” clubs could be interested in stepping up to the Elite League. He also hinted that a rule could be discussed where teams are permitted to only track British riders at reserve.

Pointless having the AGM before we know where we are with Sky. Teams can be sorted once the BSPA know whether sky or another TV company are onboard or not. Certainly foolhardy to go ahead and deal with team building plans etc before the finances are known. At the Poole celebration night last night is was reported that Matt ford was more confident the sport would be shown on TV next year, though whether it's Sky or BT who knows? He did say whatever the league structure, Poole would build the strongest possible team under the rules of the league.

Jim could you let me know where to PayPal the money to? Thanks.

Just another rant like we get on here by the woe is me brigade. Nothing to see. Move along.

Still don't know where to Paypal the money? Anyone know? Not at all Jim, the more that do the same the better. Come on people have a look in the cupboard or loft for an interesting item you no longer have use for. Stick it up on Ebay, advertise it on here and then Paypal the money to the Ricky Fund. You know you want to and you will feel good you did something worthwhile for the cause.

The AGM could well be delayed if the Sky contract is still being negotiated. No point in making a load of rules/team building plans for 2014 if the Sky contract comes in and teams can build to a higher level. It doesn't matter if the AGM takes place in january. Teams would stil have plenty of time to build for the start of the season and rides would feel the pressure to sign, for perhaps a lower rate, if they were under presure to get fixed up.

I think Sky and the BSPA will sort out a deal. If negotiations are taking place, Sky are interested.

Thanks to all those who bid. The painting raised 87 pounds which is a decent little amount if not as much as I had hoped it would raise. Just need to know now where to send the funds? Anyone close to the Ricky Ashworth Fund on here can tell me where to Paypal it to? Cheers Steve

Well I gain nothing out of this but Ricky could gain a bit of money and the winner a very nice item. If people won't bid because it's me selling it then I would find that quite incredulous. Still, 72 quid isn't a bad amount for the fund if that's what it is going to end at. My wifes account.

Less than 24 hours to go now so if you are thinking of placing a bid please do so soon. Cheers Steve

Yes enjoyed listening to that. tai came across well. Hopefully Murray will come to Cardiff and get the buzz. Will be noting better than a presenter raving about a great day out at the GP in Cardiff on his show on a Monday moning.

Only 3 days to run on the Ebay auction to raise funds for Ricky. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350912087727#ht_808wt_1170 The painting is now up to 72 pounds which is great but I hope we can still get it up a bit more. It's worth a lot more than this current price so the winning bidder will know he has a double whammy. Getting a great item to hang on the wall and the money goes to a deserving cause as well. Come on give a bid. You know you want to! Cheers Steve

Only 3 days to run on the Ebay auction to raise funds for Ricky. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350912087727#ht_808wt_1170 The painting is now up to 72 pounds which is great but I hope we can still get it up a bit more. It's worth a lot more than this current price so the winning bidder will know he has a double whammy. Getting a great item to hang on the wall and the money goes to a deserving cause as well. Come on give a bid. You know you want to! Cheers Steve

Big thank you to the Speedway Star for carrying a photo of the painting plus a link to it on Ebay. Current price with less than a week to go is 51.00 with lots of watchers. Hopefully these will turn into bids. The idea is to bid a little more and often to sneak the price slowly upwards. I know people don't like to show their hand when bidding but on this occassion it's all going to a good cause and the idea is perhaps not to win the item for as cheaply as possible. Thanks to those who have already bid. With luck it will go higher than the current price. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350912087727#ht_808wt_1170 Cheers Steve

Has the thread starter been on the sauce a little early in the evening? Perhaps we should throw in a few ramps with fire hoops along the straight that explode as riders pass through them, and a couple of hungry lions to maul any rider who has the misfortune to fall off on the bends. Utter nonsense thread.

I have put up on Ebay a small framed ink original painting of a speedway rider dated 1931. The final hammer price will go to the Ricky Ashworth Fund. I have owned this for a few years but can't think of a more worthy or deserving cause to let it go to. Please take a look. It will make a great Christmas present for a speedway fan and the money will go to where it is needed. Bid with gusto. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350912087727#ht_808wt_1170 Cheers Steve

I have put an original 1931 framed pen drawing up on Ebay with the final hammer price going to the Ricky Ashworth Fund. It would make a great Christmas present for a speedway fan. Bid with gusto and lets raise some more. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350912087727#ht_808wt_1170 Cheers Steve

The alternative being talked about is the BSPA producing a one hour highlights program for Sky at a cost of 5-7000 a week. Roughly 5-600 pounds a week from each promotion. The show would have to be produced by a professional company with top notch graphics and in HD. Would promoters be willing to dip their hands in their takings to pay for such a program with highlights from every meeting around the EL that week? I somehow doubt it very much. We would soon see IOU's going in the pot. It will be interesting to hear what happened at the Sky meeting with Terry Russell. Hopefully not all bad news.

Well I guess we will find out if there's a new contract in the next few days/couple of weeks. Streaming at certain tracks may well be an issue though there is satellite internet with decent upload speeds so that could be looked at. I had satelite Broadband for a few years before my area was introduced to BT Broadband and was fast. Whilst I agree with Flagrag about speeds, the service doesn't have to be a HD stream for laptops/smart device. A SD stream uses a lot less bandwidth and is still completely watchable. As for people mentioning Eurosport and Premier Sports, that would be a non starter. Neither would spend money on a bespoke broadcast and 99% of their content is provided by other stations. They just pay for the feed and stick their brand mark on it. Of course the meetings don't have to be live if it means saving money. A show can be filmed, edited and then broadcast online within 24 hours. That way there would be no bandwidth issues as the content would be straight onto a server to be pushed out or downloaded. Not as good as watching live but guarenteed no issues. However, would people be prepared to watch a meeting when they already know the score? Not so exciting.

Yes if it was done correctly. Took me a few minutes to find this, one of many solutions. http://www.telestream.net/wirecast/overview.htm Live streaming, multi camera, no need for a mixing deck as all done through laptop or Mac. price? US$995. Simple to use. The cost of such software have plummeted in the last few years.

I couldn't do it without some research. I could certainly find out the running costs of equipment etc by attending BVE in February. A few minutes talk to the relevant people would have the price pinned down exactly. Cameramen are not expensive. Rob at Poole charges about 40 quid to film the meeting, plus expenses when travelling to away meetings. It can be done on a shoestring budget and still look good enough. I say good enough because it could never look as good as a TV Broadcast. The most important issue is making sure the races are covered and that there is decent commentary. It would have to be acceptable quality to warrant a subscription.

The customer base is worldwide, not just from UK tracks. A Polish version of the site would surely attract customers. Cameras needed would not be that expensive and the cameramen used may have one anyway which is usable. Certainly Pete Ballinger, who films at Coventry, would have suitable gear as do Rerun. The expense would be on the mixing deck and these are no longer expensive. A trip to BVE (Broadcast video Expo) at Earls Court in February will reveal many different companies offering low cost live internet streaming setups and quite amazing prices. A server with relevant software to push out a live stream is extremely cheap. My server with unlimited bandwidth costs me 88 pounds a month. A website would cost no more than a few hundred pounds. Wages for the three/four crew would need to be paid. I think if pushed correctly all clubs could benefit quite well. A very good post but I think you are over-egging the pudding by saying 8 staff would be required. Three cameramen, engineer/director in charge of the mixing desk, plus 2 commentators. It would have to be a "we all get our hands dirty" production with cable laying etc. Don't forget Go Speed have the rights to Polish league Speedway and already have experience with online streaming ( albeit with a HD feed coming into London) EL and Polish speedway in one monthly subscription sounds very exciting.

OK so it's looking like Sky are either playing hardball, or more likely, going to end its association with British Speedway. If it is the latter, what are the options? Forget about TV and just get on with it? Or is there a better option which could generate funds for all clubs? With a fast broadband connection now covering most of the country and certainly in the towns and cities, it 's not prohibitively expensive for the BSPA ( or go Speed for that matter) to continue bringing live speedway to a living room near you in 2014. Whilst the quality of the production would certainly be nowhere near a Sky TV production, it could certainly be "good enough for most fans who are interested in the racing action" and cost a tiny fraction of what a broadcaster pays out. A live speedway meeting could be broadcast with two or three cameras, one in the pits and two covering the track or even leave the pits out and settle for two cams at first. Two commentators to bounce off each other. All cameras go into a suitcased sized mixing desk with engineer and then onto a live streaming service which charges a subscription fee to the viewer. Of course this is simplified but not far off. Clearly there has to be a website set up but the software to use and do all this is an off the shelf package and can be purchased for just a few thousand pounds. Fans could pay, say for example, £20 a month and in return receive 2 or 3 meetings a week. As long as there's fast broadband at the stadium this is achievable. On demand would mean the meetings would be available to watch at anytime afterwards. There might not be much money in it at first but as a season progressed it should make money. I would be happy to pay to watch a meeting on a live stream if I couldn't make it to the meeting in person. I believe Sweden have a similar system where fans can watch meetings online. Thoughts? Would you be prepared to pay 15-20 Pounds a month for live EL and PL meetings via your phone/ipad/laptop/smartTV ?

Only free for a few days. It is free to all BT Broadband users 365 days a year.