NDL & NDT in 2026

[*JJ]

Do you really expect to make a profit in a training league? The riders should be doing it for the experience.

[Marky_Mark]

10 minutes ago, *JJ said:

Do you really expect to make a profit in a training league? The riders should be doing it for the experience.

So many complain about not enough British riders coming through but then expect the youngsters to get into the sport making huge losses for the privilege?

 

 

[Marky_Mark]

For me the national league was always at its best when we had independent teams running in it such as Weymouth, Wimbledon, Mildenhall, Isle of Wight, Stoke etc.

It was better supported then as they had their own fan base. As soon as it became lots of teams running second teams, although that’s admirable of those teams to try and develop young riders, when the crowd have a choice between watching the championship team/national team they tend to spend their money watching the higher standard. 
 

It’s a shame because often the racing is more exciting and it’s great seeing the superstars of tomorrow coming through but some families just can’t afford to attend meetings when running 2 sides. 

[Bojangles]

Buxton
Edinburgh
King's Lynn
Leicester
Middlesbrough
Oxford

Points limit confirmed at 42

No playoffs

[IainB]

27 minutes ago, Bojangles said:

Buxton
Edinburgh
King's Lynn
Leicester
Middlesbrough
Oxford

Points limit confirmed at 42

No playoffs

Looks like the BSPL have given up on Speedway!

Just when the sport is in its greatest need ever for home grown talent the chimps in charge decide to cut one of the competitions altogether and Belle Vue, Plymouth & Scuntfield elect not to run with one of those being run by the Chairman of the BSPL... You just couldn't make this 5h1t up!

Edited 7 hours ago by IainB

[Bagpuss]

3 hours ago, phillwhitewasmad said:

Currently no decision is made on Luke doing the league, my personal feeling is he shouldn't do it as with the current pay scales even scoring 15 every meeting means you run at a loss and even more so when you factor in the loss of a days working wage for us both as well. But on the flip side of that with only a championship spot and the limited amount of racing that it will provide he may have to do it for bike time and to justify the huge outlay on equipment during the winter. From doing 70 plus meetings last year  to probably less 35 this year is there any wonder why young riders give up.

Has Luke got anything in the pipeline on the continent for 2026 at all? 

[Dave_minall]

Only 6 teams confirmed is a travesty, but the bigger issue is only 1 home / 1 away per team, a total of 10 meetings per team.

This is absolutely nowhere near enough meetings for the youngsters to develop. Why not 2 home and 2 away?!

I know this was a very long time ago but in my short stint in the mavericks we rode 24 meetings in one season.

[phillwhitewasmad]

2 hours ago, *JJ said:

Do you really expect to make a profit in a training league? The riders should be doing it for the experience.

No not at all but if a rider on a 10 point average is losing money riding and a days wage on top of it then it becomes massively unviable can you imagine the losses a 3 pointer is incurring

[IainB]

1 minute ago, Dave_minall said:

Only 6 teams confirmed is a travesty, but the bigger issue is only 1 home / 1 away per team, a total of 10 meetings per team.

This is absolutely nowhere near enough meetings for the youngsters to develop. Why not 2 home and 2 away?!

I know this was a very long time ago but in my short stint in the mavericks we rode 24 meetings in one season.

I'd do away with it personally and make every team run a junior team as a 2nd half on the same night as the seniors. 

[arnieg]

3 hours ago, phillwhitewasmad said:

Currently no decision is made on Luke doing the league, my personal feeling is he shouldn't do it as with the current pay scales even scoring 15 every meeting means you run at a loss and even more so when you factor in the loss of a days working wage for us both as well. But on the flip side of that with only a championship spot and the limited amount of racing that it will provide he may have to do it for bike time and to justify the huge outlay on equipment during the winter. From doing 70 plus meetings last year  to probably less 35 this year is there any wonder why young riders give up.

A frank and informative response.

And what do riders like Ashton Vale, Charlie Southwick and Sonny Springer do next season? 10 NDL matches plus the British under 19 and that's it?

[Dave_minall]

1 minute ago, IainB said:

I'd do away with it personally and make every team run a junior team as a 2nd half on the same night as the seniors. 

Why not both?

The teams no participating in the NDL should be forced to host 3-5 2nd half races really.

[BuxtonTiger]

Does anyone know what effort or incentives were offered to Mildenhall, Kent and Isle of Wight to rejoin mainstream speedway?

[lucifer sam]

3 hours ago, phillwhitewasmad said:

Currently no decision is made on Luke doing the league, my personal feeling is he shouldn't do it as with the current pay scales even scoring 15 every meeting means you run at a loss and even more so when you factor in the loss of a days working wage for us both as well. But on the flip side of that with only a championship spot and the limited amount of racing that it will provide he may have to do it for bike time and to justify the huge outlay on equipment during the winter. From doing 70 plus meetings last year  to probably less 35 this year is there any wonder why young riders give up.

The sport is enough to drive you mental at times, but kept at it - Luke is too good to quit!

[IainB]

10 minutes ago, Dave_minall said:

Why not both?

The teams no participating in the NDL should be forced to host 3-5 2nd half races really.

Yeah, both, but to keep costs to a minimum it'd make more financial sense to run on the same night... especially as 3 teams have pulled out of the NDL.

[Bunce]

3 minutes ago, BuxtonTiger said:

Does anyone know what effort or incentives were offered to Mildenhall, Kent and Isle of Wight to rejoin mainstream speedway?

No help was given to Mildenhall who moved heaven and earth to make their fence safe. They covered all of the metal posts with very high density foam AND have an air fence in front of that, yet it was deemed not acceptable because they didn't get the foam from the one and only recommended supplier. They ran two highly successful meetings under the NORA banner last year with no problems and had big crowds. I appreciate that rider safety is the number one priority, but when I stand at Kings Lynn where just behind the wooden fence that isn't protected by the air fence, I see a huge concrete armco barrier, I wonder how that can be safe yet Mildenhall's fence is regarded as unsafe?

[phillwhitewasmad]

24 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

Has Luke got anything in the pipeline on the continent for 2026 at all? 

He has signed a warsaw contract which in reality is not a guarantee of a spot just allows a rider to practice and hopefully  get picked to race this involves no payment at all unless racing

[Son of Shaleman]

1 hour ago, BuxtonTiger said:

Does anyone know what effort or incentives were offered to Mildenhall, Kent and Isle of Wight to rejoin mainstream speedway?

Kent didn’t have a track available when time came to declare-that’s the gossip.

[Ben91]

British Speedway needs to be developing riders now more than ever. This flies in the face of that. 

I appreciate there are issues surrounding costs for riders, costs for teams in running this level of meeting but that is something the people in charge are and always have been aware of. They should be investing in the future and finding a solution. Investing time and money. 

A short time ago there was an announcement that all clubs would have to do something to help develop riders. To my mind that then didn't happen at all and it was such a wishy washy rule that it was no more than lip service anyway. 

If you want to run a professional club then it should be mandatory to do something to help develop British youth. If you don't there has to be consequences. 

There could even be a league set up of nomadic teams. Supplementing not instead of the National League. Each professional club has to stage 2/3 meetings in this league throughout the season, a condition of being a Championship/Premiership club. These meetings aren't about making money, or drawing fans in, or promoting defunct clubs. They're about developing youth. For the tracks they don't have the cost of running a full third division schedule at a loss, for the riders they are getting lots of competitive track time at a variety of tracks. Everyone should do their bit. 

[Triple.H.]

Every track not running an NDL team should have to run a couple of 16 rider individual meetings. Not in march/April or late September/October.

If teams running NDL want to run an individual meeting or a challenge match or two against select teams representing the likes of IOW, Kent and Mildenhall. Even thought they would be away meetings only for the 3 clubs mentioned, if they wanted to do them of course.

Or 2H 2A in NDL and have the B meetings with a slightly different format say 13 heats and a few reserve races plus a rider of the night competition 

Edited 4 hours ago by Triple.H.

[Marky_Mark]

27 minutes ago, Triple.H. said:

Every track not running an NDL team should have to run a couple of 16 rider individual meetings. Not in march/April or late September/October.

If teams running NDL want to run an individual meeting or a challenge match or two against select teams representing the likes of IOW, Kent and Mildenhall. Even thought they would be away meetings only for the 3 clubs mentioned, if they wanted to do them of course.

Or 2H 2A in NDL and have the B meetings with a slightly different format say 13 heats and a few reserve races plus a rider of the night competition 

Why would those 3 teams just want to do an away meeting? That’s all outgoings and no crowd income