RobMcCaffery

Sweden didn't join the EEC until 1995.

Thank you for a thoughtful response. My understanding was that all such prior arrangements, known as "Commonwealth Preference" were superseded by EEC regulations. Certainly products such as Anchor Butter and New Zealand Lamb were affected by this. The question of "Britishness" is answered by patriality. I suspect that the separation of Australian and New Zealand from the British ACU may have been a recognition of the changes and regularised an anomaly. As I said earlier there were aspects of our attempt to retain our special links with the Commonwealth and forge new ones with the EEC could be classified under the 'have cake and eat it principle". Either way we did manage to avoid what could have been a traumatic and expensive legal battle by granting EEC riders right of entry. We shall never know for sure, nor what the future will bring since, apart from transitional legislation following our exit from the EU that may temporarily retain EU citizens' right to live and work here, will we be looking to restore Commonwealth Preference? Will the need for visas for Aussies and Kiwis continue or are they now too linked with Asia for the past to be recreated? Would they want to after the snub of 1973?

On that basis only your top teams would have high attendances. They all have figures that are the envy of other speedway nation. Gates at relegated Torun would still be enough to delight any promoter outside Poland.

Excellent news. I do hope they make it a huge success.

It's a matter of frequency and severity rather than exclusivity ;-)

I could not condone Peter's signing and he was gone by the time I was back at Rue House working for Ronnie. Ironically he seems to be doing his 'bit' now although I was rather surprised to see his name re-appear a few years back. We had some hard times but Jens undoubtedly saved the club and his efforts with Glen Baxter to haul the Rockets over the finishing line in the later heats at Hoddesdon made for some exciting finishes as they fought to dig us out of whatever hole we had fallen into. The promoters should have been looking into keeping a minimum number of British riders. Even today Poland and Sweden practice having a minimum number of their riders. We could admit foreign riders but still limit their numbers. If it can be done in 2020 it could have been in 1990. Now, here's a controversial point. We had no problem letting Aussies ride in tier two yet people objected to EEC riders when the latter had the right to race here while the former, unless they had patriality, rode here as a privilege, not right. The theory was that instead of employing Aussies, and the few remaining Kiwis we should be using riders from Denmark, Sweden and the other EEC countries. The problem was allowing too many riders of low ability to replace British kids, but then speedway has always been short-sighted like that where a theoretically glamorous foreigner was seen as better box office than a local kid. If only more promoters had taken John Berry's lead with his championship-winning team of Suffolk riders plus Billy Sanders who was seen as an adopted son of the county. There really is no substitute for the local hero, as we at Rye House knew only too well with Karl Fiala, Bob Garrad, Kelvin Mullarkey in particular, while not being from Hertfordshire were from neighbouring parts. Jens was also 'one of us'. He and his family mixed socially with the supporters and his country of origin was totally irrelevant to us. Ronnie opened a door but wasn't responsible for those let through.

Fascinating reading although I would suspect it is a touch biased. A fundamental reason for Poland's success must lie in its attendances, the levels of which then open the doors to TV and sponsorship monies. The subsidy from cities helps project the sport's finances into the stratosphere. The recent case regarding Rybnik supports the above. When the local council complained that their subsidy to the club for the 2018 season had not been fully spent in 2019 they demanded a refund of the difference. ROW's response was to threaten closure. When British fans use the Polish example as a stick to to beat the BSPA with, in Britain we have just one comparible case, the NSS, but even then the public money has only gone into construction, not operational costs. It is not a level playing field and it could be argued that Polish public money is being used indirectly ruin British (and Swedish to an extent) speedway. Others would suggest that the BSPA needs no help in this. I'm sure the average British promoter would only dream of such subsidies. Over here imagine the reaction if a wealthy sport like football had its stadia built and rebuilt at the expense of the local taxpayers! Another interesting point is the suggestion that nationalised companies are helping contribute to the public subsidy. How many of the likes of Nice or Get Well are private businesses? I would have expected all to be private. It would be useful to know which companies the writer refers to.

I know people who will be devastated. Not me of course, just people I am acquainted with - only casually, honest!

Ronnie's justification was that he had no realistic option. He needed a number one and no suitable rider was available. Jens had lost his place in the top tier, was settled in Britain with a British partner and family. He was an EEC citizen who had the right to work in Britain. Someone was always going to break the BSPA's outdated system. To deny an EEC citizen employment , it was argued, was against basic EEC laws and its fundamental principle of freedom of employment and movement. Yes it opened the doors to all kinds of foreign riders, but the horse had in fact bolted in 1973 when we joined the EEC. There was a 'gentleman's agreement' in the BSPA to keep the old British & Commonwealth restriction but it could not last forever. Whether or not this would all have been upheld in a court of law is for a different forum to argue, but there was a very real chance that the sport could have been in a legal minefield. It wasn't Ron's fault that other promoters chose to employ less suitable riders. There's no reason why you can't choose not to employ a rider because he's not god enough, just not because he's a foreigner. Yes, it did cause longer-term problems but at the time I'd say it saved Rye House from closure, and if Ronnie hadn't moved then, how long before someone else did? Ask yourselves this, why did the BSPA allow him to sign Jens?

Workington and Whitehaven are celebrated for their bus stations. Errrr,...........so I'm told :-(

Glad to hear it. You had to be close to the situation to really understand. It's not always how it looks from the terracing. Take another example. I was passing by the office when I heard a conversation between Ron and another promoter "Old (xxxxx) had a result last night - abandoned after six heats. Gets to keep the money" Ron - "Yes but what about next week when they don't turn up?" Always vowed that we would only start meetings that we were going to finish. Those were sometimes stressful situations, battling to keep the place open until eventually he brought in partners who killed the place off. He gave us several seasons that in reality we should never have had. Even when we got that cup final he was forced to switch it to Arena Essex. Deserved far better.

None of your business. I have watched speedway at every track in the country except the NSS, Kent and Isle of Wight. Last season I watched every televised Premiership match, plus all 72 regular season Swedish League matches plus the playoffs, almost every televised match in Poland across all three divisions, all SGPs, SoN meetings plus numerous sundry meetings televised online including two rounds of the 2020 Australian Championship. I am in my 50th season of following speedway, during which time I announced at over 200 meetings, and commentated on around 100 matches for TV, plus ice racing in the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and the Soviet Union plus recorded a rather large number of speedway videos, and have written for three speedway magazines. I realises this is inadequate to state what should be obvious yo even the lamest BSF keyboard warrior.... Go try it on with someone who doesn't have a clue what they are talking about. You have plenty of choice....

Yes, I've lived a sheltered life - grew up in a bus station.

As I said, focus on the main stand and lower first bend terracing. Get those up to standard and close down the rest. It'll give the capacity needed.

They only need to be smoother and slicker to enable current bikes to go as fast as they can and give the rider the easiest ride. It does nothing for the racing.

I'm from Widnes. We're not easily scared, even of mutant fish selling you cocktails...... Just waiting for someone top say they spent a month in Maryport one weekend. ;-)

I think we could get away with rough tracks before the bikes turned into full throttle skidding missiles. I've seen some horrors over the years but we got by.

Excellent promoter to work for. Deserved more luck/success at Rye House. He poured cash in to make it work and was eventually beaten, but only after one heck of a fight. The story made it to the BBC News website. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-51383434

Makes me want to drop everything and head for Maryport. Seems it all happens there. Now where do I get the protective clothing?

Surprise last-minute change in the organisation of a competition to the favour of a south coast team? Anyone would think Poole had been relegated. Oh..........

Bear in mind stock car racing in the north is in crisis over the probable loss of Belle Vue. They're building up Sheffield's activities but Odsal would be a vital addition. Sharing the costs between two sports must help speedway's chances. The fundamental problem IS that Odsal is simply too big. Perhaps only opening the home straight stand and first bend lower terracing might at least condense the crowd and its atmosphere rather than have supporters having to communicate with the person next to them by shouting.

Anything that improves track safety and the quality racing has to be applauded. As people say though there has to be investment in materials and equipment. Does British speedway have the cash. Can it afford not to find it?

You're probably right there, although you'd hope he passed on his experience. I also remember, now the medication's kicking in, that Eric Boothroyd had the job of track inspector once. So, after they've sorted out Poole will there be enough time in the season to do the rest?

Wasn't this position held by Doc Bridgett a while back?

... ! ,,,,,, ???? : ; There's some spares for later.