SimonB

New suggestion now that AndyP has added the NL greensheet averages to the BSPA website, thanks Andy. 1 Brundle 8.97 2 Rayson 4.96 3 Halsey 5.56 4 Jacobs 6.68 5 M Baseby 6.93 6 Lawrence 3.00 7 A Baseby 3.81

I looked and couldn't anything that seemed to give the "official" averages seems as if the BSPA are only interested in producing averages for the Elite & Premier Leagues

There are some differences between the averages on the site mentioned and those quoted in the NL line up page of the BSPA website

Just one suggestion 1 Brundle 8.97 2 Rayson 4.96 3 Halsey 6.24 4 Jacobs 6.68 5 M Baseby 6.93 6 Lawrence 3.00 7 Kirby 3.00

Excellent signings cant wait for the start of the season now. Who else for the remaining places ??

Obviously I am delighted by this news and am so looking forward to getting back on the terraces of Mildenhall Stadium to cheer the Fen Tigers on but I also feel a great deal of sympathy for Steve Ribbons. As I have said before I don't know Steve but it does from the outside seem as if his efforts have helped us get to the situation of speedway running and it also looks like some of his ideas will be put into action. So for that I would like to thank him for his efforts and hope that he remains at least a fan of our club. Mildenhall is definitely a club that needs its fans and its sponsors! SMS will continue the fight to raise both funds for the club and the profile of the club. We have achieved some good I believe and hopefully we will improve on that over the coming months and indeed years if that is what the promoters of the club want us to do. So at least for us Tigers fans there is some good news, however I still think there are a lot of questions around the way speedway is run and that also needs to be examined so that the same things do not happen again.

Good luck for your campaign

nailed on....

Tell me about it!!! although some glimmer of hope remains, I hesitate to feel hope as it was so cruelly dashed last time

My opinion has always tended towards the free for all approach although I fully understand the desire to develop young British riders. I think the football authorities must have done some sort of deal although I think that was linked to where the player has been developed rather than his nationality?

Makes you wonder what the result would be if any rider took the NL to court stating their rules were breaking the EU regulations?

Seems bloody nonsense Henning! I wonder why sport has an opt out on the open ability to work throughout the EU rules that every other industry has to comply with?

The posts by SMS itself always allow the right of reply, we hope, from the people concerned. As an organisation we do not wish to offend and if we have made an incorrect assumption then we will make the necessary apology and correction. Our aim is to highlight the position Mildenhall have been put in and to get some transparency of the decision making at the top level of the sport that we all love. We will continue that campaign. One thing we are not responsible for is the opinions of the individuals who post on our facebook page. It is open for all to debate the issues and to put forward their opinions. People are obviously very angry and that is hardly surprising in the circumstances. One way of countering that anger is for the whole issue to be handled in a more open and transparent manner. When you have a lack of real facts it is easy to make mistakes and to allow your anger to overcome better judgement. As mentioned we hope all of the SMS posts allow the right of reply and that those concerned use that right of reply. And if we have made mistakes we apologise. The campaign to raise funds and awareness of our situation will continue and I think in the current situation that will involve questioning the manner in which decisions are made in our sport.

Well to say I am gutted is an understatement. For the record I dont know Mr Ribbons or the financial position he would have been in as chairman of Mildenhall Speedway, I have met Kevin Jolly once (well about running the club anyway) and he seemed incredibly enthusiastic and at the same time realistic about what he would be taking on. SMS would have fully supported the new promotion in anyway it could as our aim is clearly to ensure as far as possible the financial stability of the club. We already have raised just under £1,500 and we had plans to bring in much more than that each year directly into the club, not big money for sure but significant enough at the NL level of the sport. This close season the BSPA have managed to close three clubs, from the outside that hardly seems the actions of a body that is actively seeking to promote the sport. Particularly at junior level where opportunities for british youngsters are few and far between. Well seven more riders are out of the sport now to add to the fourteen places at Coventry and Peterborough. I think the BSPA should be clear about this decision making, have Mildenhall been picked on due to past history (and I include my time at the club in that) and been asked to pay newly made up charges just to put off the new promotion, or indeed any prospective promotions? To have to find £10,000 in addition to the costs in promoting a club that has to re-establish itself to its past supporters is in my mind excessive. Particularly when you consider the time table that seems to have been imposed by the BSPA. Why did they not make all of these decisions early enough so that either funds could be sought or alternative promotions put in place. I can fully understand the desire to ensure that Mildehall did not fold again mid-season, it has done twice now, but these conditions could have made clear much much earlier if they had truly wanted to help support the re-opening of a long running track. SMS will contine its efforts and fund raising and hopefully we can get involved in the future of the sport at Mildenhall but it is going to be tough to keep up the levels of effort and enthusiam needed when the sport kicks you in the teeth so often. Speedway has made me many friends and was also the reason I met my wife and I dont want to lose that great feeling of being with friends watching the sport we all love. This coming season however is going to be difficult when the team I support is closed as is the team that used to run 200 yards from my house. It is going to be extremely difficult to re-open speedway at Mildenhall now unless the BSPA changes its demands and actually seeks to help new promotions rather than making life as difficult as possible.

Hopefully some good news will arrive today if the meeting is going ahead of course! I think the points limit needs to reflect the final number of teams and the available riders, as per Halifaxs comment. Personally I have never had an issue with foreign riders as I think they bring some much needed excitement to the racing, it is for the British lads to prove themselves good enough for a place. Having said that I do believe that any assessed average needs to be accurate in terms of their ability. Overall I hope that we have a decent number of teams, all of whom complete the season, that produce competitive quality racing that enough people come to watch!

I think they are on a curfew as well!

Not a 100% certain but I think Somerset may have some planning restrictions around how many meetings they are allowed to hold?

Unbelievable! And what do they get for that rent? Not much as far as I could see when I was last there

25th of January I heard. What about Weymouth any chance they might run? I presume Plymouth wont run in both leagues?

It does now seem clear that Coventry and Peterborough are not going to be allowed to run Elite League speedway, court proceedings permitting of course. Therefore perhaps the NL can get on with setting its rules for 2011. On the plus side it appears as if there is potential for a decent league this year if all prospective clubs do end up riding and hopefully they do. But all of the clubs will now face a lot of work in a fairly short period of time to attract the right team and promote the fixtures.

Fantastic news I hope I am able to make the visit of the fen tigers!

I tend to enjoy more supervisory roles these days lol

Whenever the new promotion is announced I will give them my full support. SMS will be kicked started again in the new year to continue our mission to raise funds to help the new promotion and obviously I look forward to working with them. I have no idea as to the depth of their pockets but they will definately need some financing as I would have thought it unlikely that they could make an immediate impact on the financial well being of the club. Promotion will help but it also costs and takes time. In terms of the fencing I am certain Mildenhall speedway has access to people who know exactly how it needs to be put together and who can train whoever is responsible for this work. It is a tricky process, I know from brief personal experience(the one time I was responsible for it I just bought the bacon rolls), but it is managable. And as to it being my round it is never my round as an ex-promoter I expect to use poverty as my excuse for many years to come....

At least wait to see who it is before you decide that!

I didnt say that they could. What I beleive is that it is far to easy to say well cut the rent in half and everyone wins when it is not as straightforward as that. Any event put on at the stadium costs the owners money (utilities, rates, repairs, fuel for the track equipment, staffing, cleaning) and with relatively small crowds at speedway I doubt the food and drink is particularly lucrative. Therefore a rent figure has to be agreed that actually makes it worthwhile for Mr Coventry to allow the stadium to be used. It is clear that any promotion at Mildenhall needs to be able to work alongside the owners of the stadium. Personally I had no issues with Dave, he was always very straight and helped out a great deal in my two years at promoter. I have no specific knowledge of the finances in the NL so I cant really comment on exactly how last season ended up, however I do know relatively large sums of support / sponsorship could have been available. This could obviously return depending on the attitude of the new promotion.