Is It Finally Time For One League?

[cowboy cookie returns?]

1 hour ago, IainB said:

I think the goal is to improve isn't it, but you need to do this from a strong foundation, 1 step back to take 2 steps forward... or you just keep jumping forward into the abyss with a model that has continued to prove time and again just doesn't work.

One big league has been tried before, watering down the product to cut costs has been in action since the late 80s neither have worked.

Unfortunately money should have been spent in raising the profile & making it a better show & rider development when the Sky money was flowing in.

If it goes one big league what will happen, the championship clubs will raise their admission prices because as sure as eggs are eggs the premiership teams won’t reduce theirs.

You’ll end up the the championship supporters paying out more for a lesser product while the premiership supports pay out the same for less.

That doesn’t sound like a great marketing strategy.

Real change needs to start with the equipment to make it not only more reliable & cheaper to run but also to provide a better spectacle. The sport is on its ass everywhere expect Poland. The FIM need to lead from the front to make equipment changes mandatory to reduce rider costs.

The bottom line is that in its current guise Speedway isn’t something that appeals to the masses & one big league severing up a lesser product UK wide isn’t going to address that.

The really annoying thing & it was proven at Ipswich on Thursday with a group of first timers in the sponsor lounge is that if you can get new comers in they do find it a great spectacle & want to attend again. 
 

The issue comes later when the operating model of doubling up rampant guest fest & the many other things that eat credibility start to become apparent.

 

[Fromafar]

8 minutes ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

One big league has been tried before, watering down the product to cut costs has been in action since the late 80s neither have worked.

Unfortunately money should have been spent in raising the profile & making it a better show & rider development when the Sky money was flowing in.

If it goes one big league what will happen, the championship clubs will raise their admission prices because as sure as eggs are eggs the premiership teams won’t reduce theirs.

You’ll end up the the championship supporters paying out more for a lesser product while the premiership supports pay out the same for less.

That doesn’t sound like a great marketing strategy.

Real change needs to start with the equipment to make it not only more reliable & cheaper to run but also to provide a better spectacle. The sport is on its ass everywhere expect Poland. The FIM need to lead from the front to make equipment changes mandatory to reduce rider costs.

The bottom line is that in its current guise Speedway isn’t something that appeals to the masses & one big league severing up a lesser product UK wide isn’t going to address that.

The really annoying thing & it was proven at Ipswich on Thursday with a group of first timers in the sponsor lounge is that if you can get new comers in they do find it a great spectacle & want to attend again. 
 

The issue comes later when the operating model of doubling up rampant guest fest & the many other things that eat credibility start to become apparent.

 

If the Premiership can survive as it’s being run at Present then just let them get on with it. championship needs too change their model too suit rider availability and Guest Fest and fixtures and it will survive in its present number of Teams

[KevtheRev]

19 hours ago, RS50 said:

I believe something similar was proposed a few years ago, more like a cup competition than a league. Also included Poland. Never happened though.

Shame I thought that would work, but keep Poland out, just three countries, 5/6 teams each.

[SpeedwaySlider72]

3 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

Speedway must be one of the few things in life where the goal is to become weaker & not improve.

How do you define improve?

The sport is restructured into one league at a sustainable level and the clubs make money that can be reinvested into the sport - is that an improvement?

Or

The Premiership reaches further and strengthens the league but the crowds don't improve and the clubs lose even more money - is that an improvement?

[IainB]

1 hour ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

One big league has been tried before, watering down the product to cut costs has been in action since the late 80s neither have worked.

Unfortunately money should have been spent in raising the profile & making it a better show & rider development when the Sky money was flowing in.

If it goes one big league what will happen, the championship clubs will raise their admission prices because as sure as eggs are eggs the premiership teams won’t reduce theirs.

You’ll end up the the championship supporters paying out more for a lesser product while the premiership supports pay out the same for less.

That doesn’t sound like a great marketing strategy.

Real change needs to start with the equipment to make it not only more reliable & cheaper to run but also to provide a better spectacle. The sport is on its ass everywhere expect Poland. The FIM need to lead from the front to make equipment changes mandatory to reduce rider costs.

The bottom line is that in its current guise Speedway isn’t something that appeals to the masses & one big league severing up a lesser product UK wide isn’t going to address that.

The really annoying thing & it was proven at Ipswich on Thursday with a group of first timers in the sponsor lounge is that if you can get new comers in they do find it a great spectacle & want to attend again. 
 

The issue comes later when the operating model of doubling up rampant guest fest & the many other things that eat credibility start to become apparent.

 

So we've tried one big league and it didn't work, we tried the "Elite" league and it worked to some extent with a nice juicy tv contract, what we have now is an Elite League Lite with a meagre tv contract and who knows if that's going to be renewed.  So we either limp on as we are with ever dwindling crowds or do something radical. Whether that be 1 big (small) league of 14 or an Elite+ with all the riders Poland use... the latter ain't going to happen without a massive tv contact or at least a 50% increase in admission prices. A 6 or 7 team league where the play off places are nailed on before a wheel is turned like we've had the last couple of seasons is not a great watch. 

The FIM ain't interested, they're currently too busy running their own SGP series into the ground, the only way would be to break away from the FIM, to what I don't know, I'm not sure we currently have the talent in place to run a ruling body. 

Edited Monday at 12:14 PM by IainB

[YeOldPitGate]

1 hour ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

One big league has been tried before, watering down the product to cut costs has been in action since the late 80s neither have worked.

Unfortunately money should have been spent in raising the profile & making it a better show & rider development when the Sky money was flowing in.

If it goes one big league what will happen, the championship clubs will raise their admission prices because as sure as eggs are eggs the premiership teams won’t reduce theirs.

You’ll end up the the championship supporters paying out more for a lesser product while the premiership supports pay out the same for less.

That doesn’t sound like a great marketing strategy.

Real change needs to start with the equipment to make it not only more reliable & cheaper to run but also to provide a better spectacle. The sport is on its ass everywhere expect Poland. The FIM need to lead from the front to make equipment changes mandatory to reduce rider costs.

The bottom line is that in its current guise Speedway isn’t something that appeals to the masses & one big league severing up a lesser product UK wide isn’t going to address that.

The really annoying thing & it was proven at Ipswich on Thursday with a group of first timers in the sponsor lounge is that if you can get new comers in they do find it a great spectacle & want to attend again. 
 

The issue comes later when the operating model of doubling up rampant guest fest & the many other things that eat credibility start to become apparent.

 

Agreed no good/easy choices moving forward but if the premier is reduced to say 4 or 5 teams next season and given no one is daft enough to move up what are the alternatives to say a 10-12 team championship standard top league ?

[Hawk127]

Whatever the good folk on this forum think and you can read many a worthy suggestions that could make a difference to the sport, the problem is it is a niche product run by a closed shop of promoters looking primarily after their own interests but trying to market a sport with no level playing field as far as machinery used is concerned with riders basically dictating what days they will race because that have commitments elsewhere around Europe.
 

On machinery, back in the day when the bikes were roughly the same a rider could jump on the track spare and still win races and was partly down to rider skill and not the power of the bike. Up and coming riders using the same type of machinery could often run heat leaders close and sometimes get that surprise win. Today you have throttle jockeys on highly tuned machines that cost an absolute fortune to maintain trying to negotiate a range of tracks that were just not designed for today’s machinery.

Wholesale changes are needed from the way the promoters run the sport to presentation, machinery, rider attitude and lot of thinking outside the box to take the sport to another generation. The trouble is no one on the top table is either interested or has the balls to rock the boat because of the ramifications from the closed shop controllers.

One can only fear for the sport and the sad decline due to so many factors some of which could have been avoided/stopped in their tracks but no one could step up and say no. It probably says more about the lack of respect on the top table for the fellow owners of clubs that no one listens to each other.

[mikebv]

For a TEAM SPORT to be successful, it requires some very basic fundamentals that need to be box ticked...

They are, in no particular order of priority...

To have a level of prize size that grabs the attention of the public and media...

To have jeopardy and consequence in every match that takes place..

To engender a tribal following with a decent number of away fans at every match to create atmosphere...

To ensure any followers of a team have a close emotional attachment to their representatives, with, ideally, affinity built up through years of loyalty from their "heroes"...

To have credibility, whereby each team stands alone on their own two feet, for good, bad or indifference...

To deliver matches to their fans when the fans can, or want, to attend, not when their employees tell them they can hold the events..

To organise events regularly, so the fans have continuity, and don't get out of the habit of attending..

To charge an admission fee that reflects the level of entertainment on offer, organic size and standing of the sport and current cost of living challenges, and not one that just reflects how much their employees want to be paid...

To work collaboratively with each other, knowing that the league itself is only as strong as its weakest team...

To have a joined up, fit for purpose in 2025, marketing plan that sells "the league(s)" as a collective,  rather than each team just going it alone with varying degrees of capability, reach and cut through..

Sadly, UK Speedway currently ticks none of those basic fundamentals, and, until it does, it has zero chance of growth, and, in its current guise, quite probably even threatens its long term survival, in the UK, (as a team sport)....

Something akin to moving the deckchairs on the Titanic simply won't work anymore...

 

Edited Monday at 03:51 PM by mikebv

[gjcone44]

kids under 16 free. 

[SteelShoe]

On 7/20/2025 at 8:10 PM, Diamonds85 said:

Nah not drop the scheme at all. But the RS should never come up against an oppositions number 1 or 5 really. I actually think somehow developing a race format that allows 2 RS riders would be better. With a slightly loosened rule set for the number 6 RS. With riders who could still develop even at an older age being considered, such as connor mountain. However they should only really come up against the other teams reserves and second strings where they stand more of a chance.

I stopped going to the speedway years ago now because I was sick of seeing spread out races. Times might have changed now I dunno.

I do miss it sometimes because there's been some brilliant memories, but the sport in the country just has a sombre feeling about it that I don't feel in Poland, Sweden or Denmark and I just can't put my finger on what it is.

Sensible post , an example was last night at Leicester where Joe Thompson was tailed off behind Max Fricke after less than 1 lap. 

[YeOldPitGate]

2 hours ago, SteelShoe said:

Sensible post , an example was last night at Leicester where Joe Thompson was tailed off behind Max Fricke after less than 1 lap. 

Surely it would make sense to have the rising star in the championship rather than slinging them in the top league and maybe 1 in 20 makes it and the rest lose heart/confidence and are lost to the sport. You don't see in boxing the next great young hope being put in with Usuk after 4-5 fights, look at the young UK riders lost to speedway over the years, its bonkers to me miss out the next logical step in the ladder and sling in a boy with a years experience against Doyle and Emil.

[IainB]

1 hour ago, YeOldPitGate said:

Surely it would make sense to have the rising star in the championship rather than slinging them in the top league and maybe 1 in 20 makes it and the rest lose heart/confidence and are lost to the sport. You don't see in boxing the next great young hope being put in with Usuk after 4-5 fights, look at the young UK riders lost to speedway over the years, its bonkers to me miss out the next logical step in the ladder and sling in a boy with a years experience against Doyle and Emil.

Everybody can see this apart from the people that run the sport unfortunately. 

[SpeedwaySlider72]

1 hour ago, YeOldPitGate said:

Surely it would make sense to have the rising star in the championship rather than slinging them in the top league and maybe 1 in 20 makes it and the rest lose heart/confidence and are lost to the sport. You don't see in boxing the next great young hope being put in with Usuk after 4-5 fights, look at the young UK riders lost to speedway over the years, its bonkers to me miss out the next logical step in the ladder and sling in a boy with a years experience against Doyle and Emil.

All riders who are good enough manage the next logical step into Championship racing without issue. The step to Premiership proved tougher for many, as well as many Premiership clubs showing no interest in British riders beyond the superstar youngsters, so a rising star system helped.

There is not one NDL rider who is stuck at that level struggling to break into the Championship.

[Glen]

What goes around comes around the saying goes - reading mags from 1960 said much the same thing.’’ Where are the new riders coming from - races are too spread out - watching same tracks against each other’’ 

In 1960 there were 10 top league tracks and 10 second or provincial tracks. Most commentators said the sport had been given a new lease of life by the introduction of the provincial league - better racing (more mistakes) and cheaper to run meetings. 

The 2 leagues wandered along for several more years until the top stars began to disappear ( Craven Moore Fundin Knutsson ) then in 1965 the leagues amalgamated. Probably saved speedway as we know it. Lesson over! 

[WeymouthPirate]

My two cents for the little that it’s worth. I’m fairly sure the discussions are already underway and have probably already been sorted out, but here we go. This is based on 14 clubs riding (No Brum, Oxford running one side and all other clubs still running as usual)

 

League - 14 Team league. Based on current Championship standard. Number ones along the lines of Brennan, Lawson, Klindt, Masters, Picko etc. maybe a Doyle could be convinced as well perhaps but who knows.

I do believe the riders are there for 7 man teams, but 6 is also more than acceptable. None of this 5 man rubbish. Reserves must be NDL riders however

 

26 league fixtures. I’ve seen some suggest two home and two away but clubs struggle to fit the current list in so the increase cannot be too much. 

 

I’d have the top 6 into the Play Offs and follow the 2023 Championship format. Two groups of 3 and group winners into the final. I thought it worked well

 

KO Cup - Usual stuff, straight knockout

 

League Riders & Pairs Championship. I liked the Big Championship weekend idea and would like to see that repeated. 

 

The important stuff, the promotion and the image - 

 

If he wanted too, keeping Phil Morris in the role is vital as I feel he adds so much to the sport (I know some people don’t but hey that’s the wonder of opinions). Everything has to be run as professionally as possible. That means the media day, the casual clothes the riders wear in press etc. Things like the KO Cup draws need to be live streamed and done properly. If TNT want to be involved, then amazing, but if not then BSN are more then good enough to be the main partner. Track staff up and the down the country need to be in matching overalls, start Marshall’s need to look the part. Seeing Workingtons in joggers and on his phone isn’t a good look. Push off areas like they have on TNT must be compulsory. The pre meeting parade should look the same up and down the country. 

 

I know that stuff doesn’t seem important but when rebuilding a sport, the image is the most important thing.

 

The race format doesn’t need changing, the way the meetings are run don’t need changing. The product itself is not the problem. 

Is it ideal? No of course not. We all want the best riders over here, but they are not the be all and end all. 

A 7 team top league isn’t acceptable, so a 5 team one would be embarrassing 

 

And 250cc engines? Get a grip 

[tyretrax]

To Cowboycookie. Is there much difference in admission prices between the leagues?

To WeymouthPirate. I was with you untill you mentioned Morris.

[cowboy cookie returns?]

2 hours ago, tyretrax said:

To Cowboycookie. Is there much difference in admission prices between the leagues?

To WeymouthPirate. I was with you untill you mentioned Morris.

It’s somewhere between 2 & 4 quid some not massive. The problem is that any big league would be weaker than the championship because of the current doubling up. 
 

 

[Diamonds85]

On 7/21/2025 at 8:47 AM, cowboy cookie returns? said:

Speedway must be one of the few things in life where the goal is to become weaker & not improve.

Getting big names in isn't always going to improve the sport... the aim is to improve the quality of racing and that's only ever going to happen if all the riders are at a similar standard. Some of the best races I've ever watched were at amateur level 😄 may have been slower but all 4 riders were all over eachother.

[Diamonds85]

8 hours ago, YeOldPitGate said:

Surely it would make sense to have the rising star in the championship rather than slinging them in the top league and maybe 1 in 20 makes it and the rest lose heart/confidence and are lost to the sport. You don't see in boxing the next great young hope being put in with Usuk after 4-5 fights, look at the young UK riders lost to speedway over the years, its bonkers to me miss out the next logical step in the ladder and sling in a boy with a years experience against Doyle and Emil.

I'd be all for a RS system in both leagues. With Jake Mulford, Jason Edwards and Leon Flint being the standard for the Premiership and Ace Pijper, Max Perry and William Cairns being rhe standard for the Championship. It creates a clear next step on the ladder so to speak for riders progressing up the leagues.

And the slightly stronger RS at 6 and slightly weaker RS rule being implemented in both leagues tbh.

Prem example -

6. Connor Mountain

7. Joe Thompson

 

Champ example -

6. Luke Killeen

7. Jody Scott

If someone like Tate Zischke wants to ride in the Premiership or Jacob Hook in the championship they should be at number 2 or 4. Reserves should be protected for young(ish) British riders who can develop.

Maybe it could be extended out to Aussies for the likes of Fraser Bowes and Jordy Loftus but that's another topic.

[cowboy cookie returns?]

31 minutes ago, Diamonds85 said:

Getting big names in isn't always going to improve the sport... the aim is to improve the quality of racing and that's only ever going to happen if all the riders are at a similar standard. Some of the best races I've ever watched were at amateur level 😄 may have been slower but all 4 riders were all over eachother.

However with all the cost cutting & watering down of the product has done nothing to improve the sport.

The fundamentals are broken & until the foundations on which the sport are changed nothing will work.

In fairness some of the best racing I’ve seen at Foxhall was in the old NL days 80/90 With out the super stars of the day.

There is so much wrong doubling up, guests, poorly prepared tracks, lack of investment, self interest, rocket ship equipment. All this detracts from the product & the credibility.