MattK

Very good question. The Workington site says "Luke Crang has been called in to replace Kenneth again as this is the only option the Comets management team has as Poland is not Kenneth's home country" Will be intertesing to see what happens on Tuesday. Maybe Swindon will be granted a facility "in the best interests of the sport"?

I've always wondered why clubs don't offer free entry to the first meeting of the season to get people "in the habit"?

You have to hand it to Belle Vue, they are the masters of marketing.

Isn't the actual reason that both Poole and Coventry have strong reserve who's point obviously count towards winning a meeting, but not towards averages? Not if a team's total points is below 34. Poole effectively have 0.84 in the bank, plus the average of the rider they wish to replace.

That's the point though, isn't it? WWE is massively popular due to the hype and atmosphere of an event, even though it is not classed as a "sport". Speedway on the other hand is a proper sport yet is dying on it's feet (at least in Britain) and your average meeting is about as riveting as a visit to the local morgue.

I think charging a local news outlets for the "rights" to cover your sport would be the dictionary definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face. Either way, I don't think live text updates has any inherent value, certainly not compared to live TV or even radio, therefore it would be unlikely any outlet would pay for the privilege.

Where was Nielsen today?

Presumably the same as all the other sites and Twitter accounts which provide live updates?

I agree. Given speedway's target market, maybe they should spray bottles of carbonated energy beverage at one another?

Rules don't make any reference to starting line-ups: 16.1 Fixtures shall take priority as follows: FIM SGP, SWC, SGP Qualifying Meetings, FIM Junior Speedway Championship Meetings British Championships (Senior, Junior), BSPA Shared and Fee Events Official Competitions: 1. Elite League; 2. Premier League; 3.National League. NB. Non-Official Competitions have no priority over any of the above. A Rider must be released to take part in a higher priority Meeting, unless he is “Doubling Up” or on the “Elite Draft”, in which case the priority for a clash of Official Meetings is as follows: 16.1.1 The “owning” Club (ie. on Club’s Retained List) or before the start of the Season was transferred with the full Transfer Fee being paid. 16.1.2 If neither Club has “ownership”, then it is determined by the League status of the Club that does “own” the Rider. If that Club is a NL Club then agreement can be made otherwise SR 16.1 applies. 16.1.3 The Original Fixture if there is a clash with a re-Arranged Fixture 16.1.4 A Transfer during the Season does not change this priority.

Have we concluded why Grajczonek, as a Poole asset, is riding for Somerset rather than his parent club?

I don't think so. 17.6 FACILITIES a) Absent Rider (1 – 5) G or ARR Absent #6 or #7 G (EDR Rider only) c) “No Facility” for Absent 1-5 PL G (PL MA of 6.00 or less) 17.6.1 When an ACU licensed Rider is nominated by the ACU to represent the ACU in an FIM Speedway Championship, or is selected to ride Speedway for Team GB or GB U21, then irrespective of the Rider’s MA a choice of Guest or Rider Replacement facility is available. 17.6.2 Where a Team uses the ARR Facility, they may nominate an additional Rider (#8), who is eligible to take any rides that could have normally been taken by the Absent Rider during the Meeting, provided that the nominated Rider is another contracted Rider, but not included in an Elite League Team's currently declared 1-7 and whose MA does not exceed EL 3.00. 17.7 A GUEST RIDER (G) replaces an absent regular Team Member subject to the following: 17.7.1 If the absent Rider is in the Top 1 – 5 of the Team, then the Missing Rider’s MA will be enhanced by + 5% at a Home Meeting to determine the allowance for the Guest Rider. 17.7.1.2 A Rider may ride as a Guest (in an Official Meeting) at a Track only once in an 8-day period unless replacing the Home Teams #1 or is a NL Rider guesting for the Home Team. 17.7.1.3 The Guest must be in a current Team Declaration and have an MA that is the same or lower than that of the absent Rider. If a replacement PL Rider also has a current EL MA then the higher of the MA’s will dictate the eligibility. 17.7.1.4 The Guest assumes the position and MA of the Missing Rider.

Yes, there are greyhounds on this morning

Nothing in the rules about signing for clubs in any particular order: 16.1 Fixtures shall take priority as follows: FIM SGP, SWC, SGP Qualifying Meetings, FIM Junior Speedway Championship Meetings, British Championships (Senior, Junior), BSPA Shared and Fee Events Official Competitions: 1. Elite League; 2. Premier League; 3.National League. NB. Non-Official Competitions have no priority over any of the above. A Rider must be released to take part in a higher priority Meeting, unless he is “Doubling Up” or on the “Elite Draft”, in which case the priority for a clash of Official Meetings is as follows: 16.1.1 The “owning” Club (ie. on Club’s Retained List) or before the start of the Season was transferred with the full Transfer Fee being paid. 16.1.2 If neither Club has “ownership”, then it is determined by the League status of the Club that does “own” the Rider. If that Club is a NL Club then agreement can be made otherwise SR 16.1 applies. 16.1.3 The Original Fixture if there is a clash with a re-Arranged Fixture

So if Grajczonek is a Poole assets, why isn't he riding for Poole tonight, instead of Somerset?

Is Grajczonek a Poole asset?

Which rule are you looking at?

Much as I try to support companies who sponsor speedway, you cannot beat Schindler's Lifts

Despite all those players, the best we achieved was one semi final. However, the point I am making is that England have qualified for the last five WCs, despite foreigners "flooding" the leagues and qualification being arguably harder now than in the 70s, when there were less foreigners in the England leagues AND we failed to make the WC finals twice. The suggestion that limiting foreigners will improve English standards has no foundation in fact.

It makes me laugh when they use the excuse about having a competitive national team, all the while forgetting to mention that England have been rubbishe for nearly 50 years.

I'm not that amazed by Poole. Holder and Janowski both have the distraction of the GPs, Watt is no heat leader, Gomolski was very hit and miss at Swindon and their reserves are mediocre.

I think the sensible thing to do is rerun the 2014 play offs.

Why? There is a massive amount of stuff marketed at the up to 30 demographic. Computer games, DVDs, boozing etc. Speedway would have to compete with all those to attract people in that age range. Coupled with the fact that younger peeople tend to have less disposable income. Over 40s on the other hand have better incomes, more free time and you could argue that less things are "aimed" at them. In fact there are very few activities which specifically target older age groups. The other main problem with trying to attract younger crowds is that you will arguably alienate older supporters. Youngsters want banging dubstep, flashing lights and twerking, I'm not sure that would go down with speedway regulars.

The regulations state: 9.4.2 The track at the Starting Gate area must be must be uniformly graded Woffinden playing about with a spade clearly meant the gates were not "uniformly graded" and therefore, as said, the referee should have ordered them to be re-graded by the track staff.

Arguably, over 40s have far more disposable income than youngsters. Also, most people who run speedway are over 40 themselves, so have much more in common with that market and are more likely to understand their tastes and preferences.