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Saw this pop up on Facebook yesterday. What a cracking piece of film, well worth half an hour of anyone's time. Really takes in the surroundings of a much loved iconic venue. I was there too, but couldn't quite spot myself! Others might see themselves here.

https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/news.php?extend.38468

i can't see a 'normal' for a long time unfortunately .. stay in, figures go down, go out, figures go up - ad infinitum we have to learn to live with it like we have flu and get things on track again

Realistically the BSPA have so much to discuss. After the Polish ran a full league, and Swedish a limited one in 2020, whilst in the UK we were spectators from a far.... The bspa need to plan for a full season. A full season with limited capacity. A full season behind closed doors A stop start season with ever changing restrictions. A season where non UK based riders may become unable to travel Etc etc etc. Basically the BSPA have to try and make a viable plan a,b,c,d,e,f,g,and h Whether we will need to enter speedway team and mechanics into social bubbles. In an ever changing world, the BSPA need to have total flexibility. Think Ben91 said it best. Plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Completely off topic for a minute but just found this bit of nostalgia on YouTube 1983 4TT finals with Beaton hunter Emerson Joe Owen and Martin Scarisbrick

Poland are just looking after their product, and well within their rights to do so. This year has been ideal for them with riders all based over there and very few travelling to Sweden later in the year for the odd meeting once a week with very few injuries throughout the course of the season too. Losing some of the biggest earners in this country might be a blessing in disguise and can be the beginning of lowering costs and lowering prices in this country. This is likely to effect Jason Doyle, Nicki Pedersen, Jack Holder, Rasmus Jensen, Rohan Tungate, Brady Kurtz, Niels K Iversen, Robert Lambert, Dan Bewley and Jaimon Lidsey.

No it's not

You have to have some sympathy. We've been doing that for years.

Sure will... got the old BCG at school an never looked back... They should be made compulsory... this thing is a killer and anything that helps to fight it off and stops it spreading is okay by me... Had a business lunch on Osbourne Road in Jesmond about 3 weeks back and there were students on the other table planning a Covid party cos they reckoned once they had it that would be it... idiots... give me a jab any day of the week... Regards THJ

Yes

Full time for both of them now though

They have amended the guest rule for next year, so that they can only replace people who have returned a positive COVID test. I think from memory it is only juniors who can be used as oppose to anybody like we saw this year

Just make sure you have had your Flu Jab and your Covid Vaccine and we will all be good to go... Yeah... Inoculations and celebrations... Regards THJ

Pretty much a stock reply from a net receiver from the EU, and I believe they are the largest recipients. Only to pleased to receive the millions from Germany, France and the UK( and others) over the years, and quick enough not to toe the line when it doesn't suit them. Expect a lot of parts of their stadia and roads to them have been part funded by us as well, still at least they can dictate speedway at our expense in more than one way!

Looks like things are progressing positively in the Championship https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/news.php?extend.38468

Leigh Lanham has joined brother Nicky running Hot Stuff Fish and Chips Following on from dad Mike of course....

For the 'average rider' the last I read (pre covid), was twice the money of the UK in Sweden and five times the UK in Poland.. More obviously for the 'top riders'.. Meaning (if still the same) you can earn the same in Sweden in half the number of meetings you would need to ride in over here.. Same money for less risk, and less wear and tear to man and machine... An easy choice to make for many I would think..

Its a shame that the Poultec stuff seems to have been hidden amongst a thread for a someone convicted of an evil crime. The Poultec scheme looks an excellent programme for young riders and they deserve lots of positive coverage for it imo

I was at that meeting and I think that this was Martin Scarisbrick's first ride of the day and later on I learnt that Dave Younghusband Newcastle's Team Manager gave him the best advice in the circumstances, ride like you go round the old Belle Vue track at Hyde Road which was his home base i.e. go as fast as can and don't shut off at any time.

He certainly wasn’t pushed Pendelbury unlucky there.IMo.

There will certainly be a number of riders who have decisions to make. Interesting one for me now will be whether the BSPA are clever enough to use and maximise the one draw and advantage they have over all the other speedway leagues. I bet they won't The advantage that Sweden and Denmark offer to any rider in Poland is that the travel is less, and you can do both leagues on one set of equipment. One van, one set of full time mechanics, one workshop, one set of bikes. You can even do the GPs with this same single set up. If you want to run in the UK, you have to have a complete other set up, and you pretty much cannot use it for anything else other than racing in the UK. That adds significant costs to riding in a country that doesn't pay great compared to the others, so what is the attraction of racing in the uk apart from the "technical tracks" ? Simple. No Squad System, and lots of meetings. You are not going to be asking any top riders about choosing the UK over Poland, it's how do you attract them away from Sweden or Denmark. Now would be the perfect time for the powers that be to announce that there can be no team changes in the top league other than to replace injuries, and that you want a full calender of racing, 2 home and 2 away plus playoffs with a guarantee of say 28 meetings. Ask any rider who has been frozen out because of a couple of poor meetings on the continent whether they would rather do that or run the risk of sitting on the side lines. Most top level riders like riding the uk as it starts early, so they can get dialled in for the season on the continent and it guarantees them lots of meetings and time on the bike. opportunities to show how they're going should they struggle overseas. They won't do it though, they are too stupid to understand the only real draw they have to attract the higher level riders and maximise it. Hence they've been talking about a squad system for the last few years. Poland will do what they want to do, over here you need to understand what strengths you have and how to make the most of them. Just watch our "genius's" miss an open goal

Who can blame the Pole's? Rider's want the money & they pay the money. Unlike most other league's they pay large signing on fees too. The Pole's rightly so have to protect themselves. It's now down to the rider's. Sweden & Poland will 100% be the picks. The only rider of the top of my that may have a tug at the heart string will be Bewley at Belle Vue. Doyle has been a stalwart of British Speedway but even he would drop the UK without a thought. Pedersen is upset, but that more to do with his age & wanting to earn a maximum amount before retirement. A genuine question here, which other of the Premiership's "top" rider's will get Ekstraliga rider's & be missed from British Speedway? I'm genuinely struggling & don't see why British fans are concerned. Jaimon Lidsey will have a choice to make but has shown on the continent he could already be above British Speedway level.

For the best part of two decades the collective powers that be have buried their heads in the sand, thrutching around from one knee jerk plan to another, without ever accepting the glaring fact that they couldn't afford the riders that they kept insisting they needed. Riders whose own personal agendas often meant matches taking place as contrived, credibility destroying 'guestfests', or ran on nights suited to their calendars, rather than suited to when their clubs would have liked to have ran to get their largest crowds in.. Maybe Covid has finally meant that the "go it alone" policy, that should have been instigated years ago when it was clear Poland were calling the tune, will finally come to fruition and British Speedway will start to be in charge of it's own destiny..

This is part of the problem. The sport is bigger than the riders, yet there seems to be the thought process that they are owed a living so can have two teams so they don’t have to get a proper job and race as a hobby. It’s time to put the fans first.

I personally wouldn't care if we rode at Div2 level with one big league with more local riders invested in their home club. We are like many other sports now where the power lies elsewhere, e.g. ice hockey, basketball, etc who have to rely on British talent and people who frankly are no longer or never were good enough in the best leagues. A parallel could be drawn with MLS football which is very successful using USA talent and lesser talents from elsewhere. Its true that people like to watch big names but that's no longer possible so we must emphasise the team aspect more. It no longer makes sense to fly people from all over the place to ride in front of 1000 people, in football terms a non league crowd level. Do they fly strikers in?

Well, rightly or wrongly, you have made it appear that you are just a troublemaker. I suspect that is why they haven't answered.

That is one big notable difference in Poland,the starting procedure is a lot more rigid, 2min clock,no lining up at an angle, disobey the start marshal at your peril !!. How it should be over here.

I think it needs to be seriously considered that if we do have a season we will potentially have to use British riders only and/or those who will be based solely in the UK. It would be prudent for the people running the sport to make a plan to go next season using British riders only and with the potential that there could be no fans allowed in to tracks to watch the racing.

Woe betide that there should be an online ticketing facility with admission upon the scanning of a barcode on a phone app....Pubs & Clubs can have these things, but not speedway. ...oh wait a minute..."not everyone has a fancy phone"...well, not that generation that still watches black & white television. And therein lies your answer.