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Well I hope you strictly adhered to this

The top riders in the world ride in Poland so it is more marketable. The presentation over there seems a lot better than the UK music. The prices are dirt cheap (so I am told) and most clubs are bankrolled by local councils/sponsors. 9 times out of 10 the racing is better. Also, the Poles dont really have a decent football league. Their top player plays in Germany and I would be struggling to find any other top class Polish footballers. They dont follow rugby. So thats two huge sports that the UK is associated with on a large scale that Poland arent. Their stadiums in general are much better. Theres plenty of reasons why it thrives there and not in the UK. I remember Newport (Queensway Meadows) was classed as one of the better stadiums in the UK. Lets be honest, it was a total dump. When Stoney had it and when the Mallets did. It was a dump. I attended Swindon and Reading regular, both of them were dumps. Hadn't been given an upgrade since the 70s/80s at least. Stoke was an absolute toilet. Glasgow and Edinburgh were rubbish holes. As were 99 percent of UK speedway stadiums. You have stadiums that are in the middle of a field. Its fine for speedway fans, and I mean proper speedway fans. They would stand in cow dung watching speedway. But newcomers will not like it. And they wont like standing in a crappy, ancient, damp stadium listening to music from the 60s/70s and 80s. Paying nearly 4 quid for a pint of warm fosters in a plastic cup. And whatever the prices of food are etc. Which were no value for money when I last attended so I cant see that of changing. The sport in the UK has just been neglected, it hasn't moved with the times, the prices are way ahead of the times, is run by a bunch of buffoons, the list goes on. It would take an absolute miracle to get the crowd levels anything like it was even in the early 2000's, let alone the 90's and 80's. Its finished. I am just being realistic. I would love nothing more than it to boom again and my home town and every other club thats lost the sport to get a club again. But it is not going to happen. And the quicker thats accepted, the better.

It's the people at Arena i miss. Yes it was a dump, and a poxy place to get to for us fans south of the river. With Rye gone as well, it's pretty bleak for speedway fans in that neck of the woods.

Undoubtedly all the crap we had from HM government in March will happen again. I just cannot believe hardly no one is challenging anything! Desmond Swayne MP just said on tv that he would expect to lose a vote on his views if their was one, however as he stated his right to have a debate and a vote is a cornerstone of democracy, worrying times ahead for all our freedoms I'm afraid.

Social distancing will still be needed so isnt this the best option....

And people fall for this crap. When October comes we're beginning to head into winter, where deaths naturally increase. What do you think will get the blame?

Who plans to go to the British Final at Foxhall on Sept 26th

Just seen on sky news website speedway added to list of sports for test events with some spectators in September Women's Super League game between West Ham and Arsenal plus a men's football friendly at Brighton are among a list of sporting events which will be able to welcome a limited number of spectators. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed a raft of new events where spectators will be allowed in on a socially-distanced basis, following the ban on mass gatherings introduced in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The events, which cover football, rugby union, horse racing, cricket, basketball and speedway, will take place over the rest of August and in September. The aim remains for spectators to be allowed back into sporting venues in limited numbers more widely from 1 October.

Yes, Poland insisted Daugavpils had to race all their home meetings in Poland which of course completely defeats the object of having a Latvian based club, who by my understanding actually do pretty well for crowds etc. I think people really do need to come to terms with the fact Speedway is finished in the United Kingdom. OK, some clubs still do well enough but over the three leagues, how many? 5 or 6 at a push. Glasgow apparently do well, but their promoters have thrown so much at it and their crowds were starting to shrink. Even going back 20 years, a crowd in the second tier of anything less than 1000 was classed as poor. Now anything over 6-800 is classed as good. Prices in operating the sport have gone up, riders demand more money etc. Add to that ancient promoters who still insist on putting on a 70's style show, it is no wonder crowds are falling rapidly. A night out at speedway simply isn't attractive enough for youngsters. Standing in a clapped out stadium, drinking over priced pints of lager served in plastic cups listening to I shot the sheriff whilst watching tractors going round a track half the night isnt worth what they are paying to get in. No matter how good the racing is, which lets be honest is poor to say the least at times. You can spend the same, or less going to your local boozer with mates for a night out or out for a meal and a few drinks etc. And that is before you try beginning to explain the way the sport runs. Telling them the exciting number 1 rider for the home side wont be there next week as he is riding for his other club. That number 6 who actually over takes? He is a guest rider and wont be here next week. It just sounds like a farce. I loved speedway, it was a big part of my youth but sadly it is a thing of the past in the UK. It is no better supported than a lot of non league football now. And the quicker people accept that and move on, the better.

I certainly would like to but tickets could be like gold dust given alot of fans speedway starvation this year. Also we don't know at this stage what percentage of capacity will be allowed, even its 25% that would be only 2500 to maybe 3000 with the seating. I'm sure it won't be the usual 1500 who want to attend, I personally believe many more than that would want to go. My thinking behind this that Chris Louis put Ipswich in the hat due to the fact that Foxhall is probably one of the largest speedway stations in the country.

That’s what speedway is all about really. Watching it on the telly is never quite the same.

I was the same at Cowley...it was the group that I stood with who made the evening.

Basically the sport just needs people who are enthusiastic and positive. I've witnessed it with a local non-league football team. They were relegated and last season finished the season in their lowest ever position. A new board came in, showed that they were willing to work hard, brought a bit of enthusiasm and as a result, sponsorship from local and not so local businesses has exploded, which is no mean feat in this climate. And all this despite being in a lower standard of football than ever before. It's like the Premier League football on BT / Sky. We are constantly told it's the best league in the world, the players are made out to be superstars and the games are hyped up. As a result fans lap it up. But if we are constantly told the sport is dying / dead, we will believe this as well. I often think speedway fans are the sport's own worst enemy.

Imo the start is about reaction not chancing. Jumping the start isn't allowed in any other sport with standing still reaction start. The rules says that the riders shall be start ready when the 2 min expires and shall stand still when the green light is on until the tapes are released. There are too good starts because the reaction time for them are faster than theoretically possible. Therefore I approve of the uneven start. Unfortunately some good clean starts gets called back but is something we'll have to live with until they start using transponders

Too bloody right!

The attendance will be restricted to 33% of the stadium capacity. So given Foxhall has the largest capacity of any UK speedway stadium it makes perfect sense.

I am not sure if there actually was a compulsory purchase order . There was certainly talk of planning permision but one of the problems was pollution on other parts of the land. The main problem with the speedway track was that the stock cars were not bringing in money. They depended on a few big meetings but the smaller ones were said to be poorly supported. Once Chick Woodruffe died the family, who weren’t really enthusiasts, only saw it as a business and once the income started to dry up they just wanted to sell. The place is badly run down now , after two years of not being used and I think it would cost too much money to re open especially with the state the sport is now in.

The trick of watching it on Premier/Free Sports is to watch it on delay with your finger hovering over the Fast Forward button

I think the cradley situation was a lot more sneaky. Arena Essex was at risk during the Olympic build phase to a compulsory purchase order. And I think the Woodruffe family have been quite open for a number of years that the place would not be there for ever as land prices rose. They were totally honest and open. Think Cradley had promises of replacement venue and all that guff and were sold down the river.

ssshhhhh its a BSPA secret

Government Department for Digital culture media and sport Link here - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-pilots-announced-for-return-of-spectators-to-elite-sport

http://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/_mobile/news.php?extend.38266

Sorry I did mean the A19...confused or what!

It’s worth noting that Speedway in Poland is cheap for us but not necessarily for the Polish. The average national wage in Poland is just shy of £10,000 less than the average national wage in Britain (from a quick Google search). A night at the speedway for a Pole may still be better value for money than for a British fan attending in Britain but it isn’t cheap when compared to the living wage. I’m not too sure what the costs of going to a league meeting are in Poland but I know the individual meeting at Bydgoszcz the day after the Toruń GP last year only cost £5 to get into and the field looked roughly Championship standard to me. You’re looking at over three times that price to watch second tier Speedway here. When I went to Ostrow a few years back a beer was less than £2.

They never have done- certainly with Bet 365 they haven`t - not sure about every bookmaker.

No it`s for U 21`s- ie the 6 and 7`s- although U 16`s are allowed and a couple of 15 years old Ratajczak and Trzesniewski who both rode yesterday have taken some good scalps Here is yesterday`s Rybnik result Zielona Góra - 27 16. M. Tonder 3 , 3 , 3 , 3 = 12 17. D. Pawliczak 2 , 3 , 2 , 2 , 3 = 12 18. J. Osyczka 1 , - , 1 , 1 = 3 2. MRGarden GKM Grudziądz - 22 1. D. Zieliński 3 , 2 , 1 , 3 = 9 2. K. Łobodziński 2 , 1 , 2 , 2 = 7 3. M. Turowski 3 , 2 , 0 , 1 = 6 3. MOTOR Lublin - 20 7. W. Lampart 2 , 2 , 2 , 3 = 9 8. W. Firmuga 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 = 1 9. V. Trofymow 3 , 3 , 1 , 3 = 10 4. Eltrox Włókniarz Częstochowa - 15 19. M. Świdnicki 0 , 2 , 1 , 3 = 6 20. B. Kowalski 1 , 3 , 3 , 2 = 9 21. K. Król 0 , U , U , 0 = 0 5. PGG ROW Rybnik 14 10. M. Tudzież 3 , 3 ,W, - = 6 11. P. Trześniewski 1 , 1 , 2 , 1 , 2 = 7 12. B. Wypior 1 ,U ,W, D = 1 6. Betard Sparta Wrocław - 13 13. Michał Curzytek 1 , U ,-,-, - = 1 14. Bartosz Curzytek U , - , - ,- = 0 15. P. Liszka 2 , 2 , 3 , 3 , 2 = 12 7. FOGO Unia Leszno - 13 4. D. Ratajczak 1 , 1 , 2 , 2 , 2 = 8 5. H. Ścibak U , 1 , - , 0 = 1 6. K. Sadurski 0 , 3 , 0 , 1 = 4

Just as well Gorzow got away with the stadium " electrical problems" shenanigans- it was the longest repair job in history

The bookmakers will be betting on points scored during the 20 heats and the 1,2,3,4- they will not be betting on the new GP points

Col please re-edit your bet- that comes to £409 !!

Well they got it wrong. Switch the percentages around and you might be more accurate.

That is 6 names not 5. I'm beginning to think no one understands a simple question

Whilst you two have your disagreements , the current regulations do allow for mixed cubic capacity teams although not in the same races. The current Northern Junior league runs separate classes in the same team and in previous years at amateur level, different classes have competed within the same team, so it is not a new idea, although one I believe should be encouraged to give clubs incentive to find new youngsters to bring into the sport.

No foreign teams allowed in the Ekstraliga. Why should the Poles want the have a British Club in their league anyway? Way to complicated to include one, and not really an attraction for the Polish fans, who love the traditional rivalries between their own clubs and fans. Send a British touring team over there, allright, they could meet some of the Polish club teams in challenge matches, that would be good.

I've accepted the situation. This seasons FA cup final was the first domestic Arsenal final I've missed in 40 years. With little chance of grounds returning to full capacity anytime soon, I'll give my support to my local non league clubs, that are due to get going next week.

Poole is still Matt's tenure even though he's now based in France. He still owns the club, has strong political and business allies locally, is adamant that speedway will continue at Poole Stadium in 2021 and will be doing his utmost to retain speedway in Poole for the longer term.

I could have asked top 1 2 3 4 5 or 6. Its only a question

far better to more concerned about what happens next season than what happened ten years ago dont you think ?

It's all inclusive. Most National League tracks charge £14, plus a couple of quid for the programme. The price is for admission, programme and parking. At how many tracks could you do all of those for £15.50? It's 19 heats and nine riders per team.

Forums are for debate Rob. So as fans we should fight because the people we would be fighting for seemingly couldn’t run a piss up in a brewery? It isn’t the job of the fans to save the sport, it is the job of the people running the sport to save the sport. For. The. Fans. No fans, no sport. It amuses me that anyone who doesn’t agree with your opinion is apparently trying to “be clever” and trying to put people off the sport. How about some reasoned debate as opposed to toy throwing.

Correct on both , Tony swales always prepped a very good track - wonder wheel followed by some sort of wire fencing to scatter the shale material evenly . I don't think many tracks were as good.

Along with Reg Luckhurst and Leo McAuliffe, Jimmy (James Everard) Gooch was one of the three second strings at New Cross when I started watching speedway back in 1960. They all went on to become world finalists and represent their country.

Absolutely. With no fans in football grounds at any level, how can this be allowed.

Go on holiday that day, ruddy typical

Gosh, that's a difficult one. Can you give all the dimwits a clue