scribbler

Getting rid of the patriality rule would help... These youngsters live in Australia and would ride for Australia if they became good enough. Leave the reserve positions for British riders only - that would help.

I think the problem is that a Settlement visa allows a child to come over and study - but not to compete in sports - and be paid to do so.

You couldn't have assets in the old Conference League - but I think that you can in the National League

Unless Ipswich have finished their season by 26th October

I rarely post nowadays because of the personal comments aimed at me for having an opinion. I can't get to meetings anymore - due to health issues - but I did enjoy contributing to the BSF forum. I'll always have a 'soft spot' for the NL - and I'll continue to read it... but I'll rarely post.

I'm not knocking Kyle as you will know Bob... Jayne knows the rules - but Kyle rides for Poole as their token Brit (well he's named but how often will he ride?) - so no problem with him riding all 3 Leagues...

Sharing No.7 with Hefenbrook - according to the BSPA website

That's a bit of a cheek... I'm over 60 and I have a valid NUS card. I'm also under 65 and at some tracks, I wouldn't get an OAP concession - even though I'm a pensioner - which I think is a bit sexist - surely they realise there are female supporters of any age.

Nice to see this race is back

Continuity... Knowing that if a rider is riding for a second team and then progresses to the first team then they have actually progressed... Bournemouth/Poole I discount because I really didn't see it as Poole promotion training up future riders for the Poole team. I can see Hackney Hawks riders being progressed to Rye House and then Lakeside. Possibly Belle Vue Colts might move to Workington (?) and then Belle Vue.

It looks totally unprofessional compared with the layout for the PL. If any prospective sponsors looked at that they'd run a mile!!! Better to do nothing than do something as shoddy as that

Why? The fact that a concession rate at an EL meeting is cheaper than a concession rate at an NL meeting is a serious issue. Goods and services aren't that much cheaper in the North - in fact they can be more expensive. I'm a southerner living in the north so I do have the experience of knowing the relevance of such issues. It's often a fallacy that things are cheaper in the north than the south - and my pension is the same here as it would be if I was living back in the South.

And will be back with Malcolm Vasey who he was with at Scunthorpe in 2009.

Can't say that I like the idea of a steel barrier ... reminds me of the KL concrete BUT - I do remember the injuries Luke Priest sustained when he landed speared on the remains of a metal post the other side of the safety fence. The injuries he sustained I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy...

I know - that's why I thought I'd put the record straight

I don't know anything about any of the others - but I do know that trying to find a site for Southampton was serious. I lived in Southampton at the time. I was born there and that's where my parents went for their speedway fix in the late 1940s'- early 1950s hence the So'ton Saints avatar. Charlie Knott did a lot for Southampton. In the late 1990s ( I think)there was a real effort to find a home for Speedway. Everywhere that was tried was refused planning applications - mostly from the NIMBY brigade. It was in the local paper on and off for a couple of years or more - mostly about yet another refusal of application. The nearest they got to sucess was (I think)in the Lordshill/Rownhams area on the Southampton/Hampshire border. Southampton Football club spent years and years trying to find a place for a new ground. Eventually they were successful - but of course they had a lot more money to use to fund their endeavours.

Possibly something to do with spnsorship - unless they can get a Sheffiels sponsor too. In which case calling them the Scunthorpe and Sheffield Saints would be useful(alphabetical - and training facilities are based at Scunthorpe).

My guess is that Sheffield are tentatively thinking about reviving an NL team. By working with Scunthorpe this year and having a few meetings at Sheffield they are testing whether there is enough interest. Maybe next year we'll see a Sheffield team in the NL...

Apparently not - 'cos about 3 of the England cricket team who won the Ashes were South African... let alone the World Cup in SA

I'm sure you'll find that the BSPA aren't to blame. It's the fault of the 2010 UK Border Agency rulings. As villiers says, it will be interesting how the BSPA handle the rules re certain PL riders...

From my understanding of the UK Borders Agency rules having foreign riders would mean EU riders and not Commonwealth riders. Do we really want to be training EU riders so that they can come into the PL and EL - giving British riders even less of a chance?

How can Rye House vote against because they are no longer a team ? My brain cells are struggling too...

No it's to do with the new ruling on sportmen in the top level of the sport. The relevant section in the UKBA rulings has been quoted on here several times before. If the BSPA broke the new laws they could damage a rider's career if they allowed him to ride IIRC.

I think that this has more to do with the United Kingdom Borders Agency. They brought in new rules in 2010 and will (I think) stop any Commonwealth rider coming over here without dual nationality unless they are at the top level of the sport. Nothing to do with the BSPA. At least there will be no more questioning of a rider's patriality...

Totally agree... It might also be a good idea if Mildenhall contact Peterborough and Coventry - to add strength to their case and perhaps join with them. Remind me - wasn't it the Chapmans who bought Mildenhall - fleeced it of all the riders and then dumped it?