cyclone

One concern re Fox was the following statement in the Official Press Release:- It is true that he is currently injured, but he will be fit by the end of this month. “I broke my clavicle in the middle of last month, I was told it would take four weeks to heal and I wouldn’t need surgery. When I went back on Tuesday I was told it would need surgery. But I should be ready to start riding and training again in three weeks, by the start of the new year.”

The full details will no doubt appear when the 2014 PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM DECLARATIONS & GREENSHEET AVERAGES are issued on the BSPA website, I believe that individual clubs can submit their proposed team declarations to the BSPA for homologation by the Management Committee any time prior to the commencement of the 2014 Season. The Management Committee will no doubt be mindful of Kurtz's Danish League experience and the implications of assigning him a lower starting GSA than they would for an EU newcomer with similar professional league experience. Perhaps you should seek an update directly from the Somerset Promotion.

Where & when did the BSPA publish BK's "official rating" as 3.00 ? The fact that it appeared in a Somerset press release is as credible as your's & Cliffeboy's ramblings on here

But both rode in the Australian U-21 Championship Final in Kurri Kurri on 19th January, 2013. This is a National Championship restricted to Australian nationals aged under 21, btw

But he was recorded as being excluded from ht3 of Scunthorpe vs Plymouth 16/8/2013, having fell, so therefore he is on the record books for 2013, and this would be included as a meeting for recalculating his GSA. Riders who do not complete 3 rides in a meeting also have their scores included in GSA/Rolling Average calculations, so KK is not being treated differently from others.

Brady Kurtz appears to haven ridden twelve meetings in Danish Div 1 and two meetings in the top tier of the Danish Speedway League, for HSK Holsted in 2013. If a Danish newcomer had the same experience he would be assessed as 7.00 not 5.00 when entering the PL

Out of interest has the Somerset 2014, one to seven as detailed in their press release, been formally approved by the appropriate authorities ? The appearance on the BSPA Official Website of a Somerset press release does not confirm that the Rebels declaration has been homologated.

A three word reply is not a meaningful response. Would you be kind enough to provide a more detailed response as to why the criteria set out in SR 17.2.1 above do not apply to Brady Kurtz, inasmuch that he should be assessed as 5.00 ?

As observed by others, Sedgemen is a risky signing having recorded various scores between zero & 16 in the UK in 2012. Assuming that Fricke will be back, it means either Sneddon or Tabaka cannot be accommodated, with Jozsef likely to be the unlucky one, given the fitness doubts for 2014 after his horrific crash. Whoever the final trio are, it looks likely Monarchs will not have a recognised third heat leader at the start and this means they will not be considered as one of the "on paper" title challengers for 2014.

What is Brady Kurtz d.o.b. as according to one internet site, he was not 16 until September , so was therefore ineligible to compete in the PL ?? Another change in circumstances is that apart from appearing in the 2013 Oz U-21, he rode in two meetings for HSK Holsted in the top tier of Danish League racing in 2013. Maybe the above do not affect patriality, bit iirc, Cameron Heeps, did not participate in the Oz National Finals in order to ride in the NL & also start with a 3.00 GSA in the PL.

Posted on Monarchs Chatzone that Andrew Tully is taking a year out in 2014.

Unless Pijper was given a wild card for the 2014 World Long Track Finals, he will not be involved as he did not enter the qualification round for the remaining Final slots for 2014 which was run at the end of 2013 season.

Looking likely that Kevin Woelbert is not in BV plans. Reckon his converted ave would be 8.4 so will Redcar be interested ?

Given Robert Lambert is friendly with Lewis Kerr I wonder if he is a possibility ? Only problem would be if King's Lynn have Kerr & Lambert at reserve, they probably would not wish both riding for the same PL side. If Berwick use Carr instead of Starke, then PS might be a target. Likewise if Ellis is not in Ipswich plans, he's worth considering.

IMO the greatest impact in the diminishing number of UK riders in the sport is the increasing cost of purchasing and maintaining competitive equipment. Notwithstanding that some are fortunate to be assisted by generous sponsors, they still need to maximise the use of their expensive equipment, hence why doubling up provides an essential return on investment in order to make a decent income.

Re weather, this was posted on Edinburgh website at 2.35pm :- " the rain is off and it's not coming back, and the sun is shining at the track! Online tickets are still available if anyone was wavering while the weather around the country looked threatening. "

Personally I'd scrap the League Cup and truncate the season to start in April and finish by September. Agree if both legs are cancelled, or it is an aggregate draw, that Somerset should be champions on the basis of superior position in league table. However if only one leg is completed, the winner of that contest, should be declared Champions. BTW the weather for tomorrow might not be as bad as earlier predicted. The online weather forecast site, yr.no, is predicting minimal rainfall in the Armadale area between 2pm - 9pm on Friday.

The fact that Brady Kurtz has already ridden in the 2013 Australian U-21 Championships should be taken into account, and imo, would make him ineligible for a 3 point start GSA, irrespective of dual nationality/patriality.

Perhaps because of the exceptional circumstances of both clubs having the same race night, Somerset should be allowed to hold the second leg on Friday, 1st November. There have been in instances in previous seasons where official matches have been held in November. (e.g Edinburgh vs Berwick, KO Cup Final was held on 6th November, 1981)

Suffering from amnesia ? To remind you, Rebels had first and third choices in selecting Play-Off Group opponents as reward for being League winners. Where is it stipulated that the League winners are automatically assigned seniority regarding race day, in the Championship Play Offs ? I would imagine Edinburgh would be agreeable to Somerset having the choice of holding either the first or second leg, but to expect them to also surrender their long established Friday race night is unreasonable.

Apart from the top team having first choice in selecting opponents in the 3 team mini leagues , the race day priority does not appear to be specified in the published regulations - 18B.4 PREMIER LEAGUE PLAY-OFFS.

No meeting at Armadale this Friday, irrespective of result at STMP.

Apparently was a stipulation added later at one of the three year renewals . The three year renewal has now been dropped but as far as I am aware the time & weekly restrictions still apply.

IIRC Only 1 meeting weekly between specified hours (7pm - 10pm ??) are permitted. Any additional meetings require dispensation from the local authority.

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