How a one league system could work for 2027 onwards

[Falcon1983]

Proposal to Restructure British Speedway from 2027 Onwards

This is my suggested format to take British Speedway forward from the 2027 season.

---

1. Team Racing Format

• One national league consisting of 14 clubs.

• Each club races every other club home and away once, giving 26 league fixtures per season.

Proposed clubs:

Belle Vue, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Leicester, Oxford, Sheffield, Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Plymouth, Poole, Redcar, Scunthorpe & Workington.

• The team finishing top of the league after 26 fixtures are crowned “League Champions”.

• The top 8 teams progress to an end-of-season “KO Cup” competition.

---

2. Rules & Team Building

• Teams are built to a maximum of 42.00 points.

• Rider averages are calculated as follows:

  • Any rider with a current Championship average uses that figure.

  • Any current Premiership rider has their Championship-equivalent average multiplied by 1.5, with a maximum average of 12.00.

  • Any National League rider has their current average divided by 2, with a minimum average of 2.00.

Team Composition

Each team consists of 7 riders:

1. No. 1 – Heat Leader

   • Only one designated heat leader per team, always riding at No. 1.

2. Nos. 2, 3 & 4 – Second Strings

   • Form the main body of the team alongside the heat leader.

3. No. 5 – Senior Reserve

   • A rider acting as the senior reserve.

4. Nos. 6 & 7 – Junior Reserves

   • Development riders.

   • Must be Commonwealth riders.

This structure allows:

• Each club to include a genuine Grand Prix or top-level rider at No. 1.

• A strong Championship core across every team.

• A meaningful development pathway via the junior reserves with a clear link to National League-level riders.

---

3. Heat Format & Points System

Because of the varied rider levels within each team, the traditional format is split into two parts on the programme:

1. Support Card

2. Main Card

3.1 Support Card

• The Support Card consists of 4 heats:

  • Two heats where each team’s No. 6 & No. 7 race against each other.

  • Two further heats where the Senior Reserve (No. 5) races together with the No. 6 & No. 7 riders.

Scoring for the Support Card:

• Over the 4 heats, the aggregate result determines:

  • 1 league point for a win.

  • 1 league point each for a draw.

  • 0 league points for a loss.

So, the Support Card alone can earn a team up to 1 league point from the meeting.

---

3.2 Main Card

• The Main Card consists of 9 heats.

• The Senior Reserve (No. 5):

  • Rides with No. 2 once and No. 4 once, ensuring 4 programmed rides.

• The Heat Leader (No. 1):

  • Rides once with No. 2 and once with No. 4.

  • Has two rides alongside No. 3.

After the 9 Main Card heats:

• The scores are added up and league points are awarded in the same manner as the Support Card:

  • 1 league point for a win.

  • 1 league point each for a draw.

  • 0 league points for a loss.

Again, the Main Card can earn a team up to 1 league point.

---

3.3 Nominated Heats (Heats 14–16)

After both the Support Card and Main Card are complete, there are three nominated heats: Heat 14, Heat 15 & Heat 16.

• Heat 16 is reserved for the two highest point scorers from the main body (Riders 1–4).

• Heats 14 & 15 are also nominated heats, with the restriction that:

  • A rider may appear in only one nominated heat.

This rule ensures:

• At least one of the No. 6 or No. 7 junior reserves gets a fourth ride.

• All other riders get at least five rides across the meeting.

Scoring for the Nominated Heats:

• The combined result of Heats 14–16 is treated as a third card:

  • 1 league point for a win.

  • 1 league point each for a draw.

  • 0 league points for a loss.

---

3.4 Overall League Points Per Meeting

Across the Support Card, Main Card, and Nominated Heats, each team has three separate chances to earn league points.

In total, a side can earn up to 3 league points from a single meeting.

---

4. Rider Movement & Averages Through the Season

To maintain structure and development:

• A Junior Reserve (Nos. 6 & 7) can only progress up to Senior Reserve (No. 5) status.

• A Senior Reserve (No. 5) can:

  • Move into the main body (Nos. 2–4), or

  • Drop back into a Junior Reserve position, depending on averages.

• A rider in the main body (Nos. 1–4) can only drop as low as Senior Reserve (No. 5) and not into a Junior Reserve slot.

This ensures a clear hierarchy while still allowing progression and reshuffling based on form and averages.

---

5. Race Nights & Rider Absences

• All meetings take place on the race night chosen by each club.

• It is up to each club to build a team suited to their chosen race night.

• In the event of absent riders, they are covered by:

  • Rider Replacement (R/R), or

  • An approved guest rider.

---

6. Example Team Line-Ups

Below are four illustrative team line-ups of different strengths. These are purely examples for the purposes of demonstrating the system, not predictions of actual signings.

Belle Vue Aces

1. Brady Kurtz (Heat Leader)

2. Norick Blödorn (Second String)

3. Ben Cook (Second String)

4. Jake Mulford (Second String)

5. Ben Trigger (Senior Reserve)

6. Jack Smith (Junior Reserve)

7. Arran Butcher (Junior Reserve)

Ipswich Witches

1. Jason Doyle (Heat Leader)

2. Jason Edwards (Second String)

3. Adam Ellis (Second String)

4. Jonathan Grahn (Second String)

5. Cameron Heeps (Senior Reserve)

6. Dayle Wood (Junior Reserve)

7. Connor King (Junior Reserve)

Glasgow Tigers

1. Dan Bewley (Heat Leader)

2. Ace Pijper (Second String)

3. Chris Harris (Second String)

4. Villads Nagel (Second String)

5. Paul Starke (Senior Reserve)

6. Max Perry (Junior Reserve)

7. Jack Kingston (Junior Reserve)

Poole Pirates

1. Jack Holder (Heat Leader)

2. Fraser Bowes (Second String)

3. Richard Lawson (Second String)

4. Tobias Thomsen (Second String)

5. Will Cairns (Senior Reserve)

6. Vinny Ford (Junior Reserve)

7. Kai Ward (Junior Reserve)

---

7. British Championship Series

To compensate for riders no longer doubling up/down between leagues, this proposal includes the creation of a British Championship Series. The aim is to:

• Provide more meetings for riders.

• Generate additional income via sponsorship, gate receipts, and streaming revenue.

• Help offset the financial “loss” from running a single unified league.

Format

• A 6-round championship series held at:

  • Belle Vue

  • Glasgow

  • Ipswich

  • Poole

  • Leicester

  • Oxford

• The series features 16 riders.

• There are two Semi-Finals held early in the season at:

  • Workington

  • Sheffield

• The Top 8 riders from each Semi-Final qualify for the 6-round series.

Riders apply to enter the series. It is not primarily aimed at GP-standard riders, but rather the strong domestic core.

Example Semi-Final Line-Ups

Semi-Final 1 – Workington (example):
Brennan, Harris, King, D. Thompson, Howarth, Nicholls, Flint, Kerr, Barker, Mountain, Hume, Rushen, Gilkes, Ablitt, Morley, Scott.

Semi-Final 2 – Sheffield (example):
Lawson, Wright, Ellis, Cook, Kemp, Rowe, Worrall, Edwards, Jenkins, J. Thompson, Harrison, Bowtell, S. Lambert, Mulford, Starke, Cairns.

• The top 8 from each Semi-Final progress into the 16-rider British Championship Series.

• Each season, the host venues for the 6 rounds can be rotated to share the opportunity and exposure around different clubs.

[RoundTheBoards]

Sadly, all you have proven there is that some fans live in cloud cuckoo land.      

[SJA]

An there was Kurtz on the front cover of this weeks Star saying he does not have a free weekend to spend in the UK and that applies for most of the riders in Poland. So that also means loosing riders in addition to the SGP starts like Douglas, Becker and Masters at Leicester alone. 

One division would only work if you stuck to the two fixed race nights without exception and good luck in getting Poole and the clubs that race Friday, Saturday and Sunday to change race nights for the good of the sport.

[The White Knight]

1 hour ago, Falcon1983 said:

Proposal to Restructure British Speedway from 2027 Onwards

This is my suggested format to take British Speedway forward from the 2027 season.

---

1. Team Racing Format

• One national league consisting of 14 clubs.

• Each club races every other club home and away once, giving 26 league fixtures per season.

Proposed clubs:

Belle Vue, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Leicester, Oxford, Sheffield, Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Plymouth, Poole, Redcar, Scunthorpe & Workington.

• The team finishing top of the league after 26 fixtures are crowned “League Champions”.

• The top 8 teams progress to an end-of-season “KO Cup” competition.

---

2. Rules & Team Building

• Teams are built to a maximum of 42.00 points.

• Rider averages are calculated as follows:

  • Any rider with a current Championship average uses that figure.

  • Any current Premiership rider has their Championship-equivalent average multiplied by 1.5, with a maximum average of 12.00.

  • Any National League rider has their current average divided by 2, with a minimum average of 2.00.

Team Composition

Each team consists of 7 riders:

1. No. 1 – Heat Leader

   • Only one designated heat leader per team, always riding at No. 1.

2. Nos. 2, 3 & 4 – Second Strings

   • Form the main body of the team alongside the heat leader.

3. No. 5 – Senior Reserve

   • A rider acting as the senior reserve.

4. Nos. 6 & 7 – Junior Reserves

   • Development riders.

   • Must be Commonwealth riders.

This structure allows:

• Each club to include a genuine Grand Prix or top-level rider at No. 1.

• A strong Championship core across every team.

• A meaningful development pathway via the junior reserves with a clear link to National League-level riders.

---

3. Heat Format & Points System

Because of the varied rider levels within each team, the traditional format is split into two parts on the programme:

1. Support Card

2. Main Card

3.1 Support Card

• The Support Card consists of 4 heats:

  • Two heats where each team’s No. 6 & No. 7 race against each other.

  • Two further heats where the Senior Reserve (No. 5) races together with the No. 6 & No. 7 riders.

Scoring for the Support Card:

• Over the 4 heats, the aggregate result determines:

  • 1 league point for a win.

  • 1 league point each for a draw.

  • 0 league points for a loss.

So, the Support Card alone can earn a team up to 1 league point from the meeting.

---

3.2 Main Card

• The Main Card consists of 9 heats.

• The Senior Reserve (No. 5):

  • Rides with No. 2 once and No. 4 once, ensuring 4 programmed rides.

• The Heat Leader (No. 1):

  • Rides once with No. 2 and once with No. 4.

  • Has two rides alongside No. 3.

After the 9 Main Card heats:

• The scores are added up and league points are awarded in the same manner as the Support Card:

  • 1 league point for a win.

  • 1 league point each for a draw.

  • 0 league points for a loss.

Again, the Main Card can earn a team up to 1 league point.

---

3.3 Nominated Heats (Heats 14–16)

After both the Support Card and Main Card are complete, there are three nominated heats: Heat 14, Heat 15 & Heat 16.

• Heat 16 is reserved for the two highest point scorers from the main body (Riders 1–4).

• Heats 14 & 15 are also nominated heats, with the restriction that:

  • A rider may appear in only one nominated heat.

This rule ensures:

• At least one of the No. 6 or No. 7 junior reserves gets a fourth ride.

• All other riders get at least five rides across the meeting.

Scoring for the Nominated Heats:

• The combined result of Heats 14–16 is treated as a third card:

  • 1 league point for a win.

  • 1 league point each for a draw.

  • 0 league points for a loss.

---

3.4 Overall League Points Per Meeting

Across the Support Card, Main Card, and Nominated Heats, each team has three separate chances to earn league points.

In total, a side can earn up to 3 league points from a single meeting.

---

4. Rider Movement & Averages Through the Season

To maintain structure and development:

• A Junior Reserve (Nos. 6 & 7) can only progress up to Senior Reserve (No. 5) status.

• A Senior Reserve (No. 5) can:

  • Move into the main body (Nos. 2–4), or

  • Drop back into a Junior Reserve position, depending on averages.

• A rider in the main body (Nos. 1–4) can only drop as low as Senior Reserve (No. 5) and not into a Junior Reserve slot.

This ensures a clear hierarchy while still allowing progression and reshuffling based on form and averages.

---

5. Race Nights & Rider Absences

• All meetings take place on the race night chosen by each club.

• It is up to each club to build a team suited to their chosen race night.

• In the event of absent riders, they are covered by:

  • Rider Replacement (R/R), or

  • An approved guest rider.

---

6. Example Team Line-Ups

Below are four illustrative team line-ups of different strengths. These are purely examples for the purposes of demonstrating the system, not predictions of actual signings.

Belle Vue Aces

1. Brady Kurtz (Heat Leader)

2. Norick Blödorn (Second String)

3. Ben Cook (Second String)

4. Jake Mulford (Second String)

5. Ben Trigger (Senior Reserve)

6. Jack Smith (Junior Reserve)

7. Arran Butcher (Junior Reserve)

Ipswich Witches

1. Jason Doyle (Heat Leader)

2. Jason Edwards (Second String)

3. Adam Ellis (Second String)

4. Jonathan Grahn (Second String)

5. Cameron Heeps (Senior Reserve)

6. Dayle Wood (Junior Reserve)

7. Connor King (Junior Reserve)

Glasgow Tigers

1. Dan Bewley (Heat Leader)

2. Ace Pijper (Second String)

3. Chris Harris (Second String)

4. Villads Nagel (Second String)

5. Paul Starke (Senior Reserve)

6. Max Perry (Junior Reserve)

7. Jack Kingston (Junior Reserve)

Poole Pirates

1. Jack Holder (Heat Leader)

2. Fraser Bowes (Second String)

3. Richard Lawson (Second String)

4. Tobias Thomsen (Second String)

5. Will Cairns (Senior Reserve)

6. Vinny Ford (Junior Reserve)

7. Kai Ward (Junior Reserve)

---

7. British Championship Series

To compensate for riders no longer doubling up/down between leagues, this proposal includes the creation of a British Championship Series. The aim is to:

• Provide more meetings for riders.

• Generate additional income via sponsorship, gate receipts, and streaming revenue.

• Help offset the financial “loss” from running a single unified league.

Format

• A 6-round championship series held at:

  • Belle Vue

  • Glasgow

  • Ipswich

  • Poole

  • Leicester

  • Oxford

• The series features 16 riders.

• There are two Semi-Finals held early in the season at:

  • Workington

  • Sheffield

• The Top 8 riders from each Semi-Final qualify for the 6-round series.

Riders apply to enter the series. It is not primarily aimed at GP-standard riders, but rather the strong domestic core.

Example Semi-Final Line-Ups

Semi-Final 1 – Workington (example):
Brennan, Harris, King, D. Thompson, Howarth, Nicholls, Flint, Kerr, Barker, Mountain, Hume, Rushen, Gilkes, Ablitt, Morley, Scott.

Semi-Final 2 – Sheffield (example):
Lawson, Wright, Ellis, Cook, Kemp, Rowe, Worrall, Edwards, Jenkins, J. Thompson, Harrison, Bowtell, S. Lambert, Mulford, Starke, Cairns.

• The top 8 from each Semi-Final progress into the 16-rider British Championship Series.

• Each season, the host venues for the 6 rounds can be rotated to share the opportunity and exposure around different clubs.

I think you have put an awful lot of work into this.

You deserve, at least, consideration for your effort.

I think  it is a possibility - but crucially - you have not got all the riders that you quote, Steve Worrall, Retired, Brady Kurtz are just two examples.

I do admire your enthusiasm and your work.

Well Done.

[gjcone44]

like your thinking, i know all your riders are just examples, and i do think the programme does need to be revamped, so top riders dont race the juniors, which will help the juniors progress better, dont think gp riders will do it unless they could fit the right days in. i dont think your in cloud cuckoo land , its the BSPA, who are in cloud cuckoo land. it has got to start from scratch.

[Falcon1983]

1 hour ago, SJA said:

An there was Kurtz on the front cover of this weeks Star saying he does not have a free weekend to spend in the UK and that applies for most of the riders in Poland. So that also means loosing riders in addition to the SGP starts like Douglas, Becker and Masters at Leicester alone. 

One division would only work if you stuck to the two fixed race nights without exception and good luck in getting Poole and the clubs that race Friday, Saturday and Sunday to change race nights for the good of the sport.

Does having riders available for all meetings save speedway? As a genuine product yes absolutely 

But what keeps most clubs going is well attended fixtures and consistent riders

so one league would work, but sides must build their teams to what suits their race night to keep a consistent side and their crowd levels high

 

Yes unfortunately it means if a weekends visiting side has 3 riders in Poland there will be RR and guest but with limited away supporters we would just have to cope with what brings the crowds in to the home sides 

46 minutes ago, The White Knight said:

I think you have put an awful lot of work into this.

You deserve, at least, consideration for your effort.

I think  it is a possibility - but crucially - you have not got all the riders that you quote, Steve Worrall, Retired, Brady Kurtz are just two examples.

I do admire your enthusiasm and your work.

Well Done.

Appreciate it but there are enough riders to compensate for S. Worrall if teams are built this way which gives a supporter a bit of everything rolled into one

[Falcon1983]

3 minutes ago, gjcone44 said:

like your thinking, i know all your riders are just examples, and i do think the programme does need to be revamped, so top riders dont race the juniors, which will help the juniors progress better, dont think gp riders will do it unless they could fit the right days in. i dont think your in cloud cuckoo land , its the BSPA, who are in cloud cuckoo land. it has got to start from scratch.

With the GP riders and those in Poland they'd opt to ride for the side that gives them most meetings on a home night so if belle vue want Kurtz they'll run Mondays

 

He would then fit in as many away meetings where possible those that clash then his side will need to use a guest or RR

 

There is no perfect scenario but this plan works on most levels for the home side

[SteveLyric2]

2 hours ago, SJA said:

An there was Kurtz on the front cover of this weeks Star saying he does not have a free weekend to spend in the UK and that applies for most of the riders in Poland. So that also means loosing riders in addition to the SGP starts like Douglas, Becker and Masters at Leicester alone. 

One division would only work if you stuck to the two fixed race nights without exception and good luck in getting Poole and the clubs that race Friday, Saturday and Sunday to change race nights for the good of the sport.

'For the good of the sport' does not mean forcing any clubs to change their racenight!

[Falcon1983]

4 hours ago, SteveLyric2 said:

'For the good of the sport' does not mean forcing any clubs to change their racenight!

Exactly that

So clubs pick the best night for them build a side who should be available for that day and benefit mostly from those home matches

[PersonalResponsibility]

Top marks for effort (asking AI to create it), but this is probably the single worst set of ideas I've seen and that's despite the BSPL operating our sport in this country.

[PotteringAround]

59 minutes ago, PersonalResponsibility said:

Top marks for effort (asking AI to create it), but this is probably the single worst set of ideas I've seen and that's despite the BSPL operating our sport in this country.

I agree.   Top marks for wanting to make an effort to solve the problems, but sadly zero out of ten for execution.   I'm afraid it's all a terrible contradictory nonsense.

It would take too long to show everything that is wrong, but just to highlight some points:

1.   OK, you want 1 league  (we'll come back to the problems with that).  But then you want just 8 teams in the KO Cup.   So what do the other 6 teams do for those 2 months?  That doesn't work.

2.  You want a 42-point CL level for 14 teams.   What's your calculation for this?   The CL limit was 40 with just 9 teams.  It would have to be much lower than this to staff 14 teams (even if there were enough riders available... which there aren't).        You want a "GP or top-level rider at every team".  So that's a Monday/Thursday league?   Even then, where are you getting 14 GP or top riders from?   And how do you fit all the fixtures in on Monday/Thursday only?  No chance.

3.  You seem to want a 16-heat format, with 3 nominated races.  OK.   But what about the other 13 heats?   You say who you'd like riders to be paired with, but it just doesn't work.   It's mathematically impossible.  Are you wanting them riding against the same rider every time?  It just doesn't work in any way.   If you think you can make it work, please provide the heat-by-heat race format.   (You can't because it doesn't work).     -   Then we have one point for a win and one point for a draw.   Well, obviously that doesn't work, but it's ideal if you're trying to encourage race-fixing!  

4.  Well, we haven't got a workable race-format.    But let's just assume you have everyone racing the same rider every race.  Your GP stars would see their averages brought down to around 6-7.    The best reserve would gain an average of around 8 -9 points.   I'm sure you see all the problems with riding positions and bringing in injury replacement riders after the first green sheets.

5.  Now, you're asking for a 7-days-a-week league instead.   So if you're not sticking to the Monday/Thursday league with "top stars", you have just made about 25 "top star" riders unavailable.  You now have no chance of filling 14 teams.   (You talk about R/R, but this no longer works with your impossible race format, so you need a rethink on that too).

6.  No disrespect to Connor King, Arran Butcher, Jack Kingston and Kai Ward, but your teams are an uneven joke.    And you've only listed 4 "Example teams".   Presumably this is because you have realised that it's impossible to fill 14 teams with a 42 point CL limit.   (In fact it's impossible to fill 14 teams at all, as it would need 98 riders, and there aren't that many available).

 7.  A G.P. style British Championship would be a nice idea, but not economically viable without a big sponsor.  A British Championship would need Bewley, Lambert, Woffinden etc, but they wouldn't commit to more than a one-off British Final  (But it is the least impossible of your 7 items).

 

Edited yesterday at 02:36 AM by PotteringAround

[gjcone44]

falcon1983, what you have created here is a example of what happens at a bspa meeting..🤣

[IainB]

Same old aggressive sociopaths on here (in the middle of the night 🕯️) shooting somebody down who has taken the time and trouble to sit down and work out a possible future, I wonder if they actually have any friends in real life 🤡

[mikebv]

1 minute ago, IainB said:

Same old aggressive sociopaths on here (in the middle of the night 🕯️) shooting somebody down who has taken the time and trouble to sit down and work out a possible future, I wonder if they actually have any friends in real life 🤡

They have just joined "Your Party".....

[SJA]

6 hours ago, PotteringAround said:

I agree.   Top marks for wanting to make an effort to solve the problems, but sadly zero out of ten for execution.   I'm afraid it's all a terrible contradictory nonsense.

It would take too long to show everything that is wrong, but just to highlight some points:

1.   OK, you want 1 league  (we'll come back to the problems with that).  But then you want just 8 teams in the KO Cup.   So what do the other 6 teams do for those 2 months?  That doesn't work.

2.  You want a 42-point CL level for 14 teams.   What's your calculation for this?   The CL limit was 40 with just 9 teams.  It would have to be much lower than this to staff 14 teams (even if there were enough riders available... which there aren't).        You want a "GP or top-level rider at every team".  So that's a Monday/Thursday league?   Even then, where are you getting 14 GP or top riders from?   And how do you fit all the fixtures in on Monday/Thursday only?  No chance.

3.  You seem to want a 16-heat format, with 3 nominated races.  OK.   But what about the other 13 heats?   You say who you'd like riders to be paired with, but it just doesn't work.   It's mathematically impossible.  Are you wanting them riding against the same rider every time?  It just doesn't work in any way.   If you think you can make it work, please provide the heat-by-heat race format.   (You can't because it doesn't work).     -   Then we have one point for a win and one point for a draw.   Well, obviously that doesn't work, but it's ideal if you're trying to encourage race-fixing!  

4.  Well, we haven't got a workable race-format.    But let's just assume you have everyone racing the same rider every race.  Your GP stars would see their averages brought down to around 6-7.    The best reserve would gain an average of around 8 -9 points.   I'm sure you see all the problems with riding positions and bringing in injury replacement riders after the first green sheets.

5.  Now, you're asking for a 7-days-a-week league instead.   So if you're not sticking to the Monday/Thursday league with "top stars", you have just made about 25 "top star" riders unavailable.  You now have no chance of filling 14 teams.   (You talk about R/R, but this no longer works with your impossible race format, so you need a rethink on that too).

6.  No disrespect to Connor King, Arran Butcher, Jack Kingston and Kai Ward, but your teams are an uneven joke.    And you've only listed 4 "Example teams".   Presumably this is because you have realised that it's impossible to fill 14 teams with a 42 point CL limit.   (In fact it's impossible to fill 14 teams at all, as it would need 98 riders, and there aren't that many available).

 7.  A G.P. style British Championship would be a nice idea, but not economically viable without a big sponsor.  A British Championship would need Bewley, Lambert, Woffinden etc, but they wouldn't commit to more than a one-off British Final  (But it is the least impossible of your 7 items).

 

In my opinion this post has hit the nail on the head with regards to the present situation of British Speedway.

[secsy1]

18 hours ago, Falcon1983 said:

Proposal to Restructure British Speedway from 2027 Onwards

This is my suggested format to take British Speedway forward from the 2027 season.

---

1. Team Racing Format

• One national league consisting of 14 clubs.

• Each club races every other club home and away once, giving 26 league fixtures per season.

Proposed clubs:

Belle Vue, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Leicester, Oxford, Sheffield, Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Plymouth, Poole, Redcar, Scunthorpe & Workington.

• The team finishing top of the league after 26 fixtures are crowned “League Champions”.

• The top 8 teams progress to an end-of-season “KO Cup” competition.

---

2. Rules & Team Building

• Teams are built to a maximum of 42.00 points.

• Rider averages are calculated as follows:

  • Any rider with a current Championship average uses that figure.

  • Any current Premiership rider has their Championship-equivalent average multiplied by 1.5, with a maximum average of 12.00.

  • Any National League rider has their current average divided by 2, with a minimum average of 2.00.

Team Composition

Each team consists of 7 riders:

1. No. 1 – Heat Leader

   • Only one designated heat leader per team, always riding at No. 1.

2. Nos. 2, 3 & 4 – Second Strings

   • Form the main body of the team alongside the heat leader.

3. No. 5 – Senior Reserve

   • A rider acting as the senior reserve.

4. Nos. 6 & 7 – Junior Reserves

   • Development riders.

   • Must be Commonwealth riders.

This structure allows:

• Each club to include a genuine Grand Prix or top-level rider at No. 1.

• A strong Championship core across every team.

• A meaningful development pathway via the junior reserves with a clear link to National League-level riders.

---

3. Heat Format & Points System

Because of the varied rider levels within each team, the traditional format is split into two parts on the programme:

1. Support Card

2. Main Card

3.1 Support Card

• The Support Card consists of 4 heats:

  • Two heats where each team’s No. 6 & No. 7 race against each other.

  • Two further heats where the Senior Reserve (No. 5) races together with the No. 6 & No. 7 riders.

Scoring for the Support Card:

• Over the 4 heats, the aggregate result determines:

  • 1 league point for a win.

  • 1 league point each for a draw.

  • 0 league points for a loss.

So, the Support Card alone can earn a team up to 1 league point from the meeting.

---

3.2 Main Card

• The Main Card consists of 9 heats.

• The Senior Reserve (No. 5):

  • Rides with No. 2 once and No. 4 once, ensuring 4 programmed rides.

• The Heat Leader (No. 1):

  • Rides once with No. 2 and once with No. 4.

  • Has two rides alongside No. 3.

After the 9 Main Card heats:

• The scores are added up and league points are awarded in the same manner as the Support Card:

  • 1 league point for a win.

  • 1 league point each for a draw.

  • 0 league points for a loss.

Again, the Main Card can earn a team up to 1 league point.

---

3.3 Nominated Heats (Heats 14–16)

After both the Support Card and Main Card are complete, there are three nominated heats: Heat 14, Heat 15 & Heat 16.

• Heat 16 is reserved for the two highest point scorers from the main body (Riders 1–4).

• Heats 14 & 15 are also nominated heats, with the restriction that:

  • A rider may appear in only one nominated heat.

This rule ensures:

• At least one of the No. 6 or No. 7 junior reserves gets a fourth ride.

• All other riders get at least five rides across the meeting.

Scoring for the Nominated Heats:

• The combined result of Heats 14–16 is treated as a third card:

  • 1 league point for a win.

  • 1 league point each for a draw.

  • 0 league points for a loss.

---

3.4 Overall League Points Per Meeting

Across the Support Card, Main Card, and Nominated Heats, each team has three separate chances to earn league points.

In total, a side can earn up to 3 league points from a single meeting.

---

4. Rider Movement & Averages Through the Season

To maintain structure and development:

• A Junior Reserve (Nos. 6 & 7) can only progress up to Senior Reserve (No. 5) status.

• A Senior Reserve (No. 5) can:

  • Move into the main body (Nos. 2–4), or

  • Drop back into a Junior Reserve position, depending on averages.

• A rider in the main body (Nos. 1–4) can only drop as low as Senior Reserve (No. 5) and not into a Junior Reserve slot.

This ensures a clear hierarchy while still allowing progression and reshuffling based on form and averages.

---

5. Race Nights & Rider Absences

• All meetings take place on the race night chosen by each club.

• It is up to each club to build a team suited to their chosen race night.

• In the event of absent riders, they are covered by:

  • Rider Replacement (R/R), or

  • An approved guest rider.

---

6. Example Team Line-Ups

Below are four illustrative team line-ups of different strengths. These are purely examples for the purposes of demonstrating the system, not predictions of actual signings.

Belle Vue Aces

1. Brady Kurtz (Heat Leader)

2. Norick Blödorn (Second String)

3. Ben Cook (Second String)

4. Jake Mulford (Second String)

5. Ben Trigger (Senior Reserve)

6. Jack Smith (Junior Reserve)

7. Arran Butcher (Junior Reserve)

Ipswich Witches

1. Jason Doyle (Heat Leader)

2. Jason Edwards (Second String)

3. Adam Ellis (Second String)

4. Jonathan Grahn (Second String)

5. Cameron Heeps (Senior Reserve)

6. Dayle Wood (Junior Reserve)

7. Connor King (Junior Reserve)

Glasgow Tigers

1. Dan Bewley (Heat Leader)

2. Ace Pijper (Second String)

3. Chris Harris (Second String)

4. Villads Nagel (Second String)

5. Paul Starke (Senior Reserve)

6. Max Perry (Junior Reserve)

7. Jack Kingston (Junior Reserve)

Poole Pirates

1. Jack Holder (Heat Leader)

2. Fraser Bowes (Second String)

3. Richard Lawson (Second String)

4. Tobias Thomsen (Second String)

5. Will Cairns (Senior Reserve)

6. Vinny Ford (Junior Reserve)

7. Kai Ward (Junior Reserve)

---

7. British Championship Series

To compensate for riders no longer doubling up/down between leagues, this proposal includes the creation of a British Championship Series. The aim is to:

• Provide more meetings for riders.

• Generate additional income via sponsorship, gate receipts, and streaming revenue.

• Help offset the financial “loss” from running a single unified league.

Format

• A 6-round championship series held at:

  • Belle Vue

  • Glasgow

  • Ipswich

  • Poole

  • Leicester

  • Oxford

• The series features 16 riders.

• There are two Semi-Finals held early in the season at:

  • Workington

  • Sheffield

• The Top 8 riders from each Semi-Final qualify for the 6-round series.

Riders apply to enter the series. It is not primarily aimed at GP-standard riders, but rather the strong domestic core.

Example Semi-Final Line-Ups

Semi-Final 1 – Workington (example):
Brennan, Harris, King, D. Thompson, Howarth, Nicholls, Flint, Kerr, Barker, Mountain, Hume, Rushen, Gilkes, Ablitt, Morley, Scott.

Semi-Final 2 – Sheffield (example):
Lawson, Wright, Ellis, Cook, Kemp, Rowe, Worrall, Edwards, Jenkins, J. Thompson, Harrison, Bowtell, S. Lambert, Mulford, Starke, Cairns.

• The top 8 from each Semi-Final progress into the 16-rider British Championship Series.

• Each season, the host venues for the 6 rounds can be rotated to share the opportunity and exposure around different clubs.

A really well thought out plan, but the main element is missing to enable any of this to ever happen................FANS. 

[Falcon1983]

1. KO Cup timing / “2-month gap” argument

 

My Response:

I’m not sure where the idea of a “two-month gap” comes from. If the aim is to crown the league winner as the actual champion — which many fans prefer over the play-off system — then you need a way to keep league racing meaningful for everyone, not just the title contenders.

 

Using a KO Cup with the top eight qualifying provides that, similar to how football clubs aim for “European” places even if they cannot win the league.

As for timing, the KO Cup does not take two months. Realistically it’s around three weeks of fixtures, assuming no rain-offs. If the league finishes around mid-September, you might run into the first week of October to complete the competition — perfectly manageable.

---

2. 42-point limit / rider availability / GP riders in teams

 

My Response:

Higher team-building points limits have been used before, and my suggestion follows the same logic. Riders entering from the Premiership without a Championship average would come in capped at a maximum 12-point figure, which I already outlined.

 

Regarding the idea of each club having a “GP or top-level rider,” that depends entirely on your definition of “top-level.” A top-level rider in British Speedway is not necessarily a GP rider. We do have GP riders who already ride here and could remain involved — a positive for the league. But teams don’t have to sign a GP rider; they build according to budget, availability, and their chosen race night.

Each club would select a race night that suits them and their team building. For example, Poole might avoid signing Danes if they race Wednesdays unless fixtures allow flexibility. Visiting clubs with Danish riders would need guests or R/R when clashes occur. Home fixtures are financially vital, so clubs must be allowed to choose race nights that maximise attendance and rider availability.

---

3. 16-heat format / mathematical structure / “race fixing” argument

 

My Response:

On the “race-fixing” point — do you genuinely think that’s something that generally happens? The format I suggested separates the meeting into a Main Card, Support Card, and Nominated Heats, creating multiple scoring opportunities while ensuring every rider has a role. This keeps meetings closer, maintains interest, and allows all riders to contribute.

 

I can produce a race card easily — I wrote one out below. Some pairings could be tweaked (e.g., avoiding back-to-back rides), but it demonstrates the structure:

 

Race Type Heat H1 H2 A1 A2 Main Card 1 1 2 1 2 Support Card 2 6 7 6 7 Main Card 3 3 4 3 4 Support Card 4 5 6 5 6 Main Card 5 1 3 2 4 Main Card 6 2 4 1 3 Support Card 7 6 7 6 7 Main Card 8 1 4 2 3 Main Card 9 2 3 1 4 Support Card 10 5 7 5 7 Main Card 11 4 5 2 5 Main Card 12 2 5 4 5 Main Card 13 1 3 1 3

This isn’t the “final version” — but it shows the general concept and that the format is workable.

---

4. Rider averages / reserves inflating averages / injury replacements

 

My Response:

Yes, reserves in a Support Card heat racing mainly against each other will naturally score higher — but they can only progress so far within the team structure.

 

 

As for averages, that’s straightforward:

Injury replacements come in on the starting average, not the fluctuating in-season average.

If a rider begins on an 8-point figure, the injury replacement enters on that same starting number. That prevents abuse or manipulation and keeps things stable across the season.

 

---

5. Race night flexibility / availability of “top riders” / R/R

 

My Response:

I haven’t made any top riders unavailable. Each home team chooses the race night that best suits both the club and the riders they want to sign. That naturally means certain riders become easier or harder to use depending on the night — but that’s the trade-off clubs already deal with.

 

For example, if Workington race on a weekend and Belle Vue have a rider competing abroad, Belle Vue may need a guest such as Harris. It isn’t ideal, but it’s manageable.

R/R remains workable too with clear rules. For example:

• Missing No.1 → rides split between 2, 3, 4, with one taking an additional ride.

• Missing No.2 → rides shared between 3, 4 and the senior reserve, again with one rider allowed a second RR ride.

• Max rides could increase from 7 to 8 to accommodate.

There are multiple workable approaches; I just haven’t written out every regulation in full yet.

---

6. Rider numbers / “uneven joke” / ability to staff 14 teams

 

My Response:

This is where your claim is incorrect. Across the Premiership, Championship, and both National League divisions, 140 riders took part last season. That is more than enough to staff 14 teams.

 

Calling the example teams an “uneven joke” is unnecessary — they were simply examples built from a list of averages.

 

As for top riders, a realistic set of No.1-level riders could include:

Kurtz, Doyle, Kvech, Fricke, Becker, both Holders, Brennan, Masters, Bewley, Iversen, Wright, Pickering…

 

That’s already 14 without mentioning Lidsey, Musielak, Zagar, Tungate, Janowski, etc. Some won’t ride here, but enough would.

Based on average brackets:

• 33 riders have an average over 8

• 26 riders between 5.5 and 8

• 26 riders between 4 and 5.5

• 54 riders under 4

So rider availability is not the problem you claim.

---

7. GP-style British Championship

 

My Response:

A GP-style British Championship is a nice ambition and could work with the right sponsorship. But it doesn’t depend on Bewley, Lambert, or Woffinden — the event has run for years without two of those riders participating.

 

The purpose of a British Championship series is to reward British riders, give them something meaningful to aim for, and provide younger riders with real motivation and opportunity.

A well-marketed, well-funded national championship also serves as an effective gateway for attracting new fans. It is far easier to promote a single major event than regular league meetings. Someone attending the British Final might then come back for the club’s next home fixture — that’s how you grow audiences.

 

[Falcon1983]

1. KO Cup timing / “2-month gap” argument

 

My Response:

I’m not sure where the idea of a “two-month gap” comes from. If the aim is to crown the league winner as the actual champion — which many fans prefer over the play-off system — then you need a way to keep league racing meaningful for everyone, not just the title contenders.

 

Using a KO Cup with the top eight qualifying provides that, similar to how football clubs aim for “European” places even if they cannot win the league.

As for timing, the KO Cup does not take two months. Realistically it’s around three weeks of fixtures, assuming no rain-offs. If the league finishes around mid-September, you might run into the first week of October to complete the competition — perfectly manageable.

---

2. 42-point limit / rider availability / GP riders in teams

 

My Response:

Higher team-building points limits have been used before, and my suggestion follows the same logic. Riders entering from the Premiership without a Championship average would come in capped at a maximum 12-point figure, which I already outlined.

 

Regarding the idea of each club having a “GP or top-level rider,” that depends entirely on your definition of “top-level.” A top-level rider in British Speedway is not necessarily a GP rider. We do have GP riders who already ride here and could remain involved — a positive for the league. But teams don’t have to sign a GP rider; they build according to budget, availability, and their chosen race night.

Each club would select a race night that suits them and their team building. For example, Poole might avoid signing Danes if they race Wednesdays unless fixtures allow flexibility. Visiting clubs with Danish riders would need guests or R/R when clashes occur. Home fixtures are financially vital, so clubs must be allowed to choose race nights that maximise attendance and rider availability.

---

3. 16-heat format / mathematical structure / “race fixing” argument

 

My Response:

On the “race-fixing” point — do you genuinely think that’s something that generally happens? The format I suggested separates the meeting into a Main Card, Support Card, and Nominated Heats, creating multiple scoring opportunities while ensuring every rider has a role. This keeps meetings closer, maintains interest, and allows all riders to contribute.

 

I can produce a race card easily — I wrote one out below. Some pairings could be tweaked (e.g., avoiding back-to-back rides), but it demonstrates the structure:

 

Race Type Heat H1 H2 A1 A2 Main Card 1 1 2 1 2 Support Card 2 6 7 6 7 Main Card 3 3 4 3 4 Support Card 4 5 6 5 6 Main Card 5 1 3 2 4 Main Card 6 2 4 1 3 Support Card 7 6 7 6 7 Main Card 8 1 4 2 3 Main Card 9 2 3 1 4 Support Card 10 5 7 5 7 Main Card 11 4 5 2 5 Main Card 12 2 5 4 5 Main Card 13 1 3 1 3

This isn’t the “final version” — but it shows the general concept and that the format is workable.

---

4. Rider averages / reserves inflating averages / injury replacements

 

My Response:

Yes, reserves in a Support Card heat racing mainly against each other will naturally score higher — but they can only progress so far within the team structure.

 

 

As for averages, that’s straightforward:

Injury replacements come in on the starting average, not the fluctuating in-season average.

If a rider begins on an 8-point figure, the injury replacement enters on that same starting number. That prevents abuse or manipulation and keeps things stable across the season.

 

---

5. Race night flexibility / availability of “top riders” / R/R

 

My Response:

I haven’t made any top riders unavailable. Each home team chooses the race night that best suits both the club and the riders they want to sign. That naturally means certain riders become easier or harder to use depending on the night — but that’s the trade-off clubs already deal with.

 

For example, if Workington race on a weekend and Belle Vue have a rider competing abroad, Belle Vue may need a guest such as Harris. It isn’t ideal, but it’s manageable.

R/R remains workable too with clear rules. For example:

• Missing No.1 → rides split between 2, 3, 4, with one taking an additional ride.

• Missing No.2 → rides shared between 3, 4 and the senior reserve, again with one rider allowed a second RR ride.

• Max rides could increase from 7 to 8 to accommodate.

There are multiple workable approaches; I just haven’t written out every regulation in full yet.

---

6. Rider numbers / “uneven joke” / ability to staff 14 teams

 

My Response:

This is where your claim is incorrect. Across the Premiership, Championship, and both National League divisions, 140 riders took part last season. That is more than enough to staff 14 teams.

 

Calling the example teams an “uneven joke” is unnecessary — they were simply examples built from a list of averages.

 

As for top riders, a realistic set of No.1-level riders could include:

Kurtz, Doyle, Kvech, Fricke, Becker, both Holders, Brennan, Masters, Bewley, Iversen, Wright, Pickering…

 

That’s already 14 without mentioning Lidsey, Musielak, Zagar, Tungate, Janowski, etc. Some won’t ride here, but enough would.

Based on average brackets:

• 33 riders have an average over 8

• 26 riders between 5.5 and 8

• 26 riders between 4 and 5.5

• 54 riders under 4

So rider availability is not the problem you claim.

---

7. GP-style British Championship

 

My Response:

A GP-style British Championship is a nice ambition and could work with the right sponsorship. But it doesn’t depend on Bewley, Lambert, or Woffinden — the event has run for years without two of those riders participating.

 

The purpose of a British Championship series is to reward British riders, give them something meaningful to aim for, and provide younger riders with real motivation and opportunity.

A well-marketed, well-funded national championship also serves as an effective gateway for attracting new fans. It is far easier to promote a single major event than regular league meetings. Someone attending the British Final might then come back for the club’s next home fixture — that’s how you grow audiences.

 

[RoundTheBoards]

13 hours ago, PotteringAround said:

I agree.   Top marks for wanting to make an effort to solve the problems, but sadly zero out of ten for execution.   I'm afraid it's all a terrible contradictory nonsense.

It would take too long to show everything that is wrong, but just to highlight some points:

1.   OK, you want 1 league  (we'll come back to the problems with that).  But then you want just 8 teams in the KO Cup.   So what do the other 6 teams do for those 2 months?  That doesn't work.

2.  You want a 42-point CL level for 14 teams.   What's your calculation for this?   The CL limit was 40 with just 9 teams.  It would have to be much lower than this to staff 14 teams (even if there were enough riders available... which there aren't).        You want a "GP or top-level rider at every team".  So that's a Monday/Thursday league?   Even then, where are you getting 14 GP or top riders from?   And how do you fit all the fixtures in on Monday/Thursday only?  No chance.

3.  You seem to want a 16-heat format, with 3 nominated races.  OK.   But what about the other 13 heats?   You say who you'd like riders to be paired with, but it just doesn't work.   It's mathematically impossible.  Are you wanting them riding against the same rider every time?  It just doesn't work in any way.   If you think you can make it work, please provide the heat-by-heat race format.   (You can't because it doesn't work).     -   Then we have one point for a win and one point for a draw.   Well, obviously that doesn't work, but it's ideal if you're trying to encourage race-fixing!  

4.  Well, we haven't got a workable race-format.    But let's just assume you have everyone racing the same rider every race.  Your GP stars would see their averages brought down to around 6-7.    The best reserve would gain an average of around 8 -9 points.   I'm sure you see all the problems with riding positions and bringing in injury replacement riders after the first green sheets.

5.  Now, you're asking for a 7-days-a-week league instead.   So if you're not sticking to the Monday/Thursday league with "top stars", you have just made about 25 "top star" riders unavailable.  You now have no chance of filling 14 teams.   (You talk about R/R, but this no longer works with your impossible race format, so you need a rethink on that too).

6.  No disrespect to Connor King, Arran Butcher, Jack Kingston and Kai Ward, but your teams are an uneven joke.    And you've only listed 4 "Example teams".   Presumably this is because you have realised that it's impossible to fill 14 teams with a 42 point CL limit.   (In fact it's impossible to fill 14 teams at all, as it would need 98 riders, and there aren't that many available).

 7.  A G.P. style British Championship would be a nice idea, but not economically viable without a big sponsor.  A British Championship would need Bewley, Lambert, Woffinden etc, but they wouldn't commit to more than a one-off British Final  (But it is the least impossible of your 7 items).

 

Superb response.

Thoroughly shows up all the flaws.      Like you say, a good effort, but fatally flawed in many areas.

The biggest flaw is there wouldn't be enough riders available for 14 seven man teams, so it falls down right there without the rest.  AI just doesn't understand enough about speedway.

[Falcon1983]

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