Mimmo

What a mess our sport has got into at the top level. I agree that NKI should not be brought back mid season, because by then the damage will be done as far as our club is concerned.

There's been some opposition to me making the change, even on a trial basis, during the course of the weekend, so all I can do is wait with baited breath until tomorrows AGM. I so much don't want to be lost to senior league speedway, even though as I said in my original posting, I prefer National League racing, as it's been my life since 1958. I think someway should be looked at trying to get the EL fans to the Adrian Flux Arena on the weeks that only the NL team are operating, but just offering a free programme won't/isn't an incentive, because so many people don't bother to buy one these days anyway. It's like any publication in life, you can read or find out anything you want to know on the internet beforehand. Being one of the old school, I admit to liking a pukka programme, but do concede that just a race-card for say 50p would suffice in this modern age, which is what so many print off for themselves now anyway, just to save a few quid, in what is an expensive night out for a family. It's not easy trying to convince people to attend National League meetings if they don't want to go, but if they did try it, they might just find they like it more than they thought they would, and go again. Clubs definitely need to speed proceedings up also, if they want to encourage new people along, because if I was a newcomer, and saw 15-mintes of action that took 2-hours or more to completed, that would be my first and last visit!! Whatever they try, if in fact they do, and I'm talking about any club here, with the exception of possibly Buxton, who are very slick, its obviously not an easy task.

I hope Seb does a good job for you guys at Leicester, even though he's now in his 41st year. He was a joy to watch when he rode for us at King's Lynn, albeit quite a while now, and he'll give nothing but his best. Good luck with trying to finalise your side with the signing of Kenneth Bjerre.

It still frustrates me to think that I had three of these bloomin' programmes, and didn't realise the value of them when I GAVE THEM AWAY!!! I wonder if they were the ones sold in auction.

Thursday nights are a disaster for me too, plus a fair number of people I've spoken to who have other commitments that night, and either can't or won't change them. With being used to Wednesday night as 'our' speedway night, you build the rest of your social activities around that, as I, and many others have done over the years. If one of those activities decides to change its day of action, then you are faced with the dilemma of dropping whatever activity you were involved in that night, or saying goodbye to the activity you were doing on the new night. At the moment, I know of eleven people who will be lost to speedway on a Thursday night, and will only attend the few meetings we've got planned for the Saturday night. Unfortunately, apart from one of them, they won't attend 'Young Stars' meetings, which as you and I know Whippy, are way more entertaining than Elite League meetings, so that's ten people that will be completely lost to speedway at King's Lynn this year that I know of, which is tragic to be honest. As things stand today, I myself can't attend any Elite League meetings this season, so how thankful am I, that the 'Young Stars' will still be operating on a Wednesday night? As I've said in postings on Facebook, I'm Chairman and Captain of a sports team that operates on a Thursday night, so can't walk a\way from that. When the change of race night for speedway at King's Lynn was announced, I immediately contacted my sports league committee, requesting to change my clubs home match night from a Thursday to a Tuesday, but this fell on deaf ears. However, after getting together with each club in the league, it would seem that they are happy for me (us) to make that required change on a 1-year trial basis. We have our AGM next Tuesday, and I will know then whether I'm lost to speedway, or whether I can continue to enjoy both activities that I've done for all of my adult life, so fingers crossed.

Agreed, not a good signing at all.

I think you're right Trees. However, the front cover of the programme for the meeting on the 26 March 2015 said King's Lynn Speedway 50 Years. Buster said in his column, although he might not have written it himself, "The 2015 season is a special one for everyone connected with the club, we celebrate 50 years of racing at Saddlebow Road and I am proud to have played a part in the clubs history books". Rob wrote, "The boys know what's required to achieve it so that's definitely the aim for the 50th season and how fitting would that be to lift it (league title) during such a special year as this one". So is it any wonder that there is so much confusion?

Jaybea Designs produced all the various 50th bits of merchandise last year, including clothing, assuming that it was the correct year to do so, and it sold extremely well, so there will be a lot of confused customers if this year is deemed to be it. Typical speedway.

I certainly agree with your last three lines of the posting.

Personally, I can see nothing wrong with the Speedway Star. I also am not interested in the Travel Plus brochure, so just ignore those pages, after all they're not costing any extra money to the purchaser. Having said that, there will be those who are interested, so why should they be denied the chance of seeing what's available to them? Somebody posted that they thought the magazine got a bit tired in the winter months, which to an extent I guess it does, but so does all the nonsense we read on the various social media outlets, so little difference there. I here what Humphrey Appleby says about downloading onto an ipad/tablet, but a lot of people spend their working hours sat starring at a PC/Laptop, and it can be a relief to get away from that form of using your eyes, and look at a good old fashioned paper document. These are purely my own views on the subject, and I fully respect the views of those who have expressed a different opinion, that's the wonderful thing about freedom of choice. Long may the Speedway Star continue.

With you all the way on that Sings4Kings. I'm just hoping the King's Lynn fixtures will follow the National League meetings (I think they are still being held on a Wednesday), as it doesn't look at the moment that I can get along to the Elite League meetings now the race night has been changed to Thursday. Like you, I enjoy the MDL meetings, as I do all grass roots level of speedway, and just hope we don't get the same rider turning out for umpteen clubs this year.

To late, they've moved into my garden.

Worryingly, I think your right.

Has this fixture and date actually been confirmed, as no mention is made of it on the King's Lynn website, nor to the best of my knowledge, the BSPA site?

I also have trouble with the King's Lynn website at times, don't know why that should be. As for Twitter, I'm with you and dabble with it. I have read some postings on it, and to be honest they don't mean much, as they don't really say a lot. Japanese is as easy to understand. Happy New Year everybody.

Good posting JC. Hope you and the family are well, and enjoy a good festive season.

So Wolverhampton, Swindon & Leicester all finished above us in the SCB referees awards this year!!!!!!

I see we finished 3rd in the SCB Referee track awards.

Like others before me have posted, I also hate the play-off's with a passion, they just don't seem to listen to pubic opinion at times. Fabulous news about the Isle of Wight & Belle Vue, I just can't wait for the National League season to start.

Mildenhall are running.

So we go into the season without one of the best riders in the world, so goodness knows where we go from here. Nicki Pedersen, Greg Hancock or Emil Sayfutdinov would be fair replacement for NKI, but don't think any would be the consistent scoring machine that Niels is. The season is nowhere near starting yet, and already the Elite League looks to be in a mess. Oh dear!!

My 'Inbox is now empty' so I'm getting a message telling me, so it might be worth you trying again.

I agree that having a fixed race night(s) MIGHT tempt a few top riders back to the UK, but am not convinced that would increase attendances to any great degree. I'm sure we all have things we do in life and are committed to on non speedway nights, as we know them at our respective clubs, which would it make virtually impossible to change. I personally organise and run other social activities on the nights my club doesn't race, and if that long established race night was changed to another on a regular basis, that would be me lost to the sport, and I'm sure I wouldn't be alone. On the other side of the coin of course, a different race night to that they currently have, might suit some better. So I'm sure at the end of the day, it would be a swings and roundabouts situation with to any increase in attendances levels.

My Inbox doesn't appear full, and to be honest, if it was, I don't actually know how to empty it...DOH!! You can send me a PM through my Facebook page, but as I'm off to Tenerife tonight, I won't have much chance to look at anything for a couple of weeks.

What a stupid posting that was by My H.