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The problem is most sports have this natural loss of fans, even football. I know of many, many folk who were season ticket holders or regular attenders to football but now don't go, or very infrequently go. However, the difference is, other sports, again especially football have a consistent flow of new supporters. Of course that is mostly down to media coverage. The sport isn't going to recover by aiming to get 'back' those lost fans.. it has to learn how to attract new fans and keep them. Unfortunately it is still such a long way behind in it's approach. Still trying to shun a tv deal that they had finally figured out how to use in a positive fashion (i.e. ensuring there is a decent crowd). Somehow being unable to find a sponsor for the TV coverage?? Seriously, how is that possible?ANYTHING is better than nothing. "Premiership Speedway brought to you by.." at the start and end of each advert break. Once one company has that, others will show an interest and bid a bit more to get it. Asking stupid prices from the off and ending up with nothing.. where oh where is the benefit in that?

THE attempted rule was illegal and never accepted by the SCB but the BSPA stubbornly refused to accept the inevitable until now. It wasn't changed to fit Scott as it was never implemented in the first place.

Ged 3 - BSPA 0

Which is exactly what i said weeks ago, only to be shot down in flames by certain 'know all keyboard warriors' on here. Just proves that the people who tried to implement these 'rules' are incompetent...

Absolutely disgusting if its true , how the hell can they justify the overturn when Lakeside were unable to sign them at the start of the season.. or any other team for that matter,. to be honest I don't think Nicholls or Kennett are that amazing these days anyway...complete farce

I remember at both Reading and Swindon, you'd get a massive crowd gathering around the exit at heat 13, many of whom would run into the car park before the race was even finished. I used to get a lift with one guy who used to do this. Never understood it myself. Much easier to leave half way through the second half and avoid the queues. I think some people these days over-estimate what second halves meant to the majority of the crowd.

Your problem Rodders is that you don't fully appreciate the complex issues facing promoters at this moment in time or what a very delicate issue this was, not withstanding the top level talks required to mutually agree interpretation of new 2018 regulations/guidelines.

to be fair restrictions on du/dd should be announced now for next season

No. But this year it was because it was applied to riders of equal standing in a differing ways. It's easy. Apply the bloody rule or not. But do it to everyone.

Many, many thanks to Paul Ackroyd for the excellent work that he has put in over the years as Ben Fund Secretary. The amount of time and money that he has contributed to the sport is remarkable. Plenty of people have been given honours for less. Good luck in his new role as Chairman, and to the new Secretary Stephanie Babb.

What a shocker - Im stunned Just simply didnt see that coming

I would imagine the Lakeside promotion are feeling a bit peeved.

Nice to see some sense at last.

No.. not usually. I like to mingle with people of similar views.

Until this is sorted by the BSPA/SCB, Ged cannot do anything about it, its gone on so long now the BSPA, have been trying to find any reason not to have this decision overturned as the last one was , this stupid rule is not just about Panthers it effects british riders allowing, Ausies, and other foreign riders, some are higher averages than Scotty and Kennett, ( some who also ride abroad )to earn extra money in England and these two stalwarts of English league cannot, total injustice and totally wrong

Although I'm a bit of a traditionalist, I do like the new design and think this is a very professional move. I've always been a strong advocate of the big red B and don't want to see it reduced in size. My one gripe in the last few seasons (and this doesn't only apply to Birmingham) is that the numbers on the reverse of the colours is far too small and is much too difficult to see from the terraces.

I can only hope that the Swindon Speedway Promotion have alternative plans for a new stadium site as I fear that the stadium as it is now is doomed. Having read the objections raised by Barrett Homes, it is clear that their solicitors have done their homework. They have not only raised objection to the speedway but also to the greyhound racing and car parking & noise emanating from all 3 due to the revised plans. They have made it clear that if the Borough Council do not take steps to alleviate these problems, that both present residents & future residents will have cause to take action against the stadium. It is my opinion that Stadium UK knew what they were doing all along. They changed the stadium location allegedly due to drainage problems, yet they still intend to build houses where the stadium was going to be re-located to. Does new housing not need drainage? Ask Torquay United FC supporters what they think of Stadium UK. They have plans to redevelop that ground since buying the football club & build houses on the site & move the football elsewhere. Unluckily for them though the local authority own the freehold of the ground & are at present refusing their attempt.

On the one hand “Yes”, rules should be rules; on the other hand common sense suggests that the promoters should realise that Scot and Eddie will be good for the CL and Jon Cook should support the move in anticipation of next year’s team building!

I have been accused so many times of kicking speedway when I don't even go anymore. Maybe I am stuck in the past, a time when I believed that speedway was a credible sport. I used to get angry that it wasn't given the column inches I thought it deserved in the papers. I used to scratch my head that other sports used to be on TV when speedway, I thought, was so much better than them. But time passes. You can't live in the past. You don't remain gullible. In fact, you get your eyes slowly opened. You get called for giving up on the sport, by some who then tell you dropping two heats from the format and returning to 13 heats, a tried and tested formula from when speedway peaked, who practically say they'll lose interest if two heats are dropped. Folk aren't as gullible, I hear. But then, I hear the argument that folk are so gullible, they get excited about an extra "ghost" point when their team wins by a certain margin, a point that has no impact on the positions in the actual final analysis. That is gullible. Like all those years we kept aggregate bonus point scores, again nothing changed in final placings with or without them (maybe the one switch in mid-table). Gullible, to me, turned to being cynical. I gradually began seeing what non-speedway fans saw in our sport. Somewhere during SKY's live coverage of league matches and the following decade, my belief in the sport evaporated. Maybe seeing it through the square box in the front room made me see it through the eyes of non-speedway people. There is still a place in my heart for speedway. But I just have to overcome my cynicism and get back to being gullible, turning up trackside and thinking the riders I'm cheering on actually are putting in that extra rev for my team, for me as a fan, and not because they want to finish quicker.. they have a match somewhere else, for another team, later on that day. I want to be gullible, and believe sides begin the season wanting to win match number one as much as they do the Play-Off Final second leg. Because now, I have it in my mind that there is a sway of piddling about before they get on with the real business, the Play_offs. There is too much leeway for teams to fine tune. What is the point in a series of league matches when sides manipulate their way and try to gain advantages before the Play-Off. And then we all start afresh there. I am cynical. But speedway made me this way.

Some mock fans who are stuck in the olden days. But, let's not forget, we are trying to rewind speedway to being as popular as those days. Those were the days we had little TV coverage but terraces were healthy, unlike now, when we have quite-healthy TV coverage but the terraces are mainly for growing weeds. Harping back to the past may infuriate some who protect their love of speedway like a caterpillar in a matchbox, but speedway needs to find what went wrong... otherwise it may as well be in a matchbox that has no holes to breathe.

Big difference between heat 15 and the rider of the night final. The rider of the night final meant sod all to most supporters and they'd already gone home - a lot of them after heat 13. To people who left after the main match they are getting two more races than they did under the 13 heat format.

a lot of time is taken between heat 14 and 15, if the riders in heat 14 aren't going to be in the last race i can't see why it takes so long

I don't have sky or bt or virgin, it's pretty cheap that way.

Something fundamentally wrong when you have the same rider number 1 in Cham/Prem.

What a load of absolute horsesh!t!! so i will be the first one to bite. Riders this riders that? What about the fans?Where is the respect for them? Who without them there is no speedway!! Fans are treat with utter contempt the length and breadth of the country man, They are shafted for value for money in everyway imaginable yet still pay their monies, people are sick of paying over inflated prices to watch substandard racing on ill prepared tracks, with poxy made up rules and short handed teams. they are treat like mushrooms and drip fed information when it suits. If you pay your money you are entitled to an opinion both good and bad surely?? Speedway riders are not gods imo and to suggest they do it for our entertainment is both futile and ridiculous, if that was the case they would do it for free or basic expenses.... they dont and no one forces them to ride either... our armed forces, police force, fire fighters put themselves in danger for us ffs not bloody speedway riders!! You will be telling us jockeys are the same no doubt? Yes its a dangerous sport but its their choice to ride ours to watch. Speedway fans are far too passive in accepting sh!te and being told to be thankful like promoters, riders and the bspa are doing us a favor. Wake up and smell the coffee man because without or after this generation of fans there will be no speedway because society today wont accept or support the current shambles that is speedway in the UK. Ive been going to Newcastle for 40 years, it was a passion, it was part a massive part of my life it was a drug.. I loved it. Now i couldnt give a monkeys if i go or not... so where are the next lot of die hards coming from?? Who is going to stand up for the fans? Etc.. id rather voice my opinion and how i feel rather than sit apathetic creaming my self thinking a bloke in kevlars is a god or a hero... and told to be thankful!! Thankful for what?. Says something when you couldnt care a less about something you once lived for... and im not alone.

Exposure on TV can help to remind the public that speedway exists and hopefully make them want to go and watch it live. Whether these are new or lapsed fans is immaterial, as long as they attend. Equally whether a viewer is a regular attendee at matches or just watches on TV is immaterial. They contribute to the viewing figures that keep the sport being televised. You could apply the above equally to sponsors. TV coverage to me is a superb bonus that allows me to watch matches that I could not otherwise attend and also maintains and feeds my love of the sport. I suspect I'm not alone. Are speedway supporters really only capable of watching one match a week? Only speedway with its limited, negative thinking, which does so very much to stifle it and destroys the opportunities I mentioned above, could blow it so consistently year in year out. All sports need TV, which is why they clamour for coverage. Well, all but one, it seems.

But you've got to be around to try. After the winter we've had I'm just happy we're still here. Team was clearly built on a) not knowing whether we'd have to pay the fine and b ) not attending the AGM and thus letting the others have a head start on team planning. Let's ride this year out & regroup next year. Also let's not forget the season we just had too, many other teams would have loved to have won one trophy let alone two.

The statement said riders who had or would qualify to ride in the developments leagues only

Race jackets instead of team Kevlars personally I think the thing that set speedway apart from other motor sports was the race jacket.

I think it's more likely the threat of lawyers and going to the Court of Arbitration that the change was made

Both have a Championship average from last season in any case!! Oh well, the plot thickens.... !!

Don't think its the 'best thing' to talk about on a Peterborough thread tho

http://www.peterboroughpanthers.co/news.php?extend.3297.2

...and more than probable that these same people question value for money nowadays. Personally I liked the 13 heat formula (as did John Berry) but I grew up watching matches over 14, 15 & 16 heats and each had their particular merits. However personally I would want more than just 15 heats of speedway (in whatever guise) to satisfy my deemed value for money but that's my personal choice.

Are there no ends to your nonsense?

No screw loose, my friend. The second half gave us the chance of watching individual speedway racing, rather than team racing. An opportunity to watch the home riders compete AGAINST each other as well as the opposing team members Boocock v McKinlay ; Mountford v Lightfoot ; Fisher v Craven ; Fundin v Nygren ; Knutsson v Briggs . . . etc Plus watching the stars of tomorrow develop - at Brandon there was Ron Wilson junior (Ray to you and me), the development of Mitch Shirra, Alf Busk, Rick Miller, Gary Guglielmi etc week on week, from falling off virtually every outing to competing with more established riders Perhaps the main point you and others are missing is that it was the speedway racing that was the attraction, there were 20 heats to watch (plus invariably the third half!) and it was the only way to watch speedway from one week to the next, without visiting other tracks [this is where my previous post remained on-topic with regard to television] Dont ever recall leaving after heat 13!

Will they be the same as the 69th anniversary bibs? Found only in third and fourth and covered in Swindon shale?

Good to read Guy Nicholls is sponsoring Cam this year and has already brought him a brand new engine with another on the way. That has to be a massive boost to him and will help him continue the superb progress we saw last year.

Live updates for all matches home and away will be available on the Monarchs website and I believe the chatzone chatroom will still continue this season to allow for people to chat as meetings are ongoing

I'm only missing out if I feel i am missing out. And since I watch other sports for free i don't feel like I'm missing out on speedway in the slightest. Most speedway they show is boring rubbish anyway. The gp's are better, am I missing out?? No, cos they on you tube about 2 mins after they have finished.

In the past. That is the whole point. The sport is still stuck in THE PAST. Reduce the main meeting by 2 more heats and you may as well shut the gates now. Folk aren't gullible now and won't be interested in 2nd halves.

So it seems mate..

If the new track is as good as we are all hoping for, then all 7 Poole riders will have to learn how to ride it.

Heat 15 - nominated riders heat - only really replaces the Rider of the Night Final in old second halves, and that used to be heat 20 We're shortchanged with 15 heat meetings these days 13 heats and proper second halves would be better value, and give a mix of team and individual racing In the past, many would view the match from outside, then move inside for a drink and to watch the second half - oh, and the riders would join them at the completion of their rides (mind you, the riders were only going home afterwards, not flying off to some foreign land for tomorrow's booking!) And of course, it wasn't on the tv, so to watch this wonderful sport, attendance at the track was the only way Ah! The good old days (when SStar had a red cover, was in black and white, and cost less than 2/-)

I don't buy steak so that's pretty cheap. But I don't have steak.... It's your choice but you're missing out on a lot of speedway to add to what you watch live. Each to their own.

From the Speedway Star. It says Poole have got rid of Giles Hartwell and racesuits as cost-cutting measures. It quotes Neil Middleditch saying this. And to be honest I'm more inclined to believe that Neil Middleditch and the Speedway Star know what they're talking about more than you do.

But,,, maybe after being absent for a while, he'll enjoy cheering his hero (possible no.1) on this season

Try explaining that to wa mate !!!

You are slightly wrong race suits are saving club between 5 and 10 k

Minutes silence for the Chatzone / Chatroom. Wonderful service run by ML and Dekker and a sad loss. Definitely enjoyed the banter there during a magnificent run, and all the texting from Monarchs fans up and down the country. Have a graceful retirement Caroline, and a few beaujolais