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The financial situation and team building in the NDL is very different to the other leagues. As greyhoundp has pointed out, the points limit was imposed - apparently without any discussion or negotiation - on NDL clubs by BSPL members who, in some cases, do not even have an NDL team. That is not the case in the higher leagues. A few years ago, Scunthorpe ran an extremely weak NDL side but every one of their matches was run as a double header with the Championship team for one reason and one reason only: Rob Godfrey knew no-one would pay to watch it if it ran the NDL meetings seperately. My understanding is that Newcastle (at least) plan to do the same. Consequently, a double up club can afford to run a weakened NL side - Isle of Wight cannot, as they rely on putting out a competitive and attractive team to pull in spectators. The reasoning for weakening the NDL - or at least the team strength - is an attempt to get other clubs to join. It has to be questioned just how many of the new teams would have joined the league if the points limit had stayed at 39. No rider is in a 'comfort zone for easy money' in the NDL. True, some have been there for years but that is simply because they have reached their level and have nowhere else to go. It would be ludicrous to suggest that any rider would remain in the NDL if their ability guaranteed a place in one of the higher leagues. You must know something I don't because at no point have Isle of Wight simply said this is a matter of 2021 only. They could, indeed, have closed for good. You say 'go back to its roots of bringing on young riders' as though that has not been done for years. One check of the British riders in the Premiership and Championship for 2021 will show that they all started their careers in the third tier of the sport, as did our two representatives at the highest level, Tai Woffinden and Robert Lambert. The NDL has no need to 'go back' to developing riders as it has been doing a pretty decent job of that since it was formed. You're obviously not aware of the reputation that the promotion at Isle of Wight have built up since 2016.When Mimmo said that they were the 'most forward looking club at any level, that I can remember seeing for many a long year' his comments were neither exaggerated nor misplaced - that's the general view of a large number of people from right across the sport who has either had the opportunity of attending one of their meetings or has followed their progress closely. One glance at facebook comments following the news of their closure will show that while there is a significant degree of sadness and disappointment at what has happened there is no anger or criticism whatsoever - indeed there is a large amount of support for their actions. As far as their supporters are concerned, while there are those to blame for the demise of the Warriors that does not extend to Barry Bishop and Martin Widman.

If anybody connected to the Warriors or supporting them feels let down, I'd wager that they most likely feel let down by speedway's governing bodies and not by Barry and Martin.

They'll be leaping for joy

G is for Geoff... As for A.H.....? Now let me think......

No disrespect to Kent, but their team just proves why these new proposals don’t work! They have a 40+ year old who cannot be described as ‘developing’. They have a number 1 who also has a Premiership team place! The rules should facilitate Kinsley to also ride Championship, not NL. Whilst having x4 3pointers which will clearly make a large disparity in races between those and the heat leaders. That’s not a team that attracts fans. Fair enough, it might as a second tier as their fans stay behind to watch which of the 3.00 men might grace the Championship team in the future but it won’t make competitive racing for a stand-alone team or a neutral to travel afar to come and watch.

CERTAINLY both fishy

Whooosh.......

I’d agree that things haven’t been the same since that night but I certainly wouldn’t put all the blame on Buster although he should take a large portion of it, Holder and Batchelor were an absolute disgrace and Lyon & Allit didn’t do anything to try a sort things out. Lots of people who could have put the paying public first did nothing at all and some of the damage done that night was permanent unfortunately.

Thanks for confirming your status as I predicted. Thanks for proving you are incapable of reading a basic message. Stated ive seen the changes at Leicester last year, was there for an amateur practise session. So yes I’ve seen the Covid ready changes. I said Ipswich were due to run the British final WITH fans when it got switched to belle vue without fans at the last minute. BV run the meeting under Covid regulations which is exactly what Ipswich would have done WITH fans. You are incapable of understanding what another poster posts, but you show yourself up with your incapabilities. Name calling is what kids in playgrounds do, are you really that juvenile?

She should be gone by now ,but her neck is made of Brass.Not just on the Salmon affair.She is more and more acting like a dictator.

I think the marginal gains like fitness, diet and psychology are really important nowadays too, Woffinden and Lambert like most other to riders recognise this and they are two very good role models for our youngsters to aspire to. They both rode in all three of our leagues as teenagers as well as getting experience abroad as soon as they could do the example and the pathways are there for Kemp, Rowe, Palin etc to follow if they want to be the best they can be.

Carry on sings everyone is entitled to their opinion and I have to say I agree with most of what you say

I presume then Swindon and Somerset have done the same too? The IOW have a business model, just like the two clubs above, and all three have decided that they cannot continue this season given the current less than clear conditions re levels of crowds.. And, unlike some, the IOW team dont seem to run the Speedway as some kind of 'hobby' and offset losses via other parts of a wider business ownership, therefore they have to make money. (Or at least break even/run at affordable small loss).. A shame we have lost one of the most progressive promotions in the UK, hopefully it's only for a year..

Personally I think all opinions are valid don't always agree but there are lots of posters on here have nothing positive to say. Moan about lack of opportunities and the state of the sport then moan about the things that are put in place to help it. Support it embrace it it's easier to smile than frown

Troy Batchelor and Josh Bates Sheffield Michael Palm Toft Peterborough Lewis Bridger Kings Lynn Tom Bacon Wolves

Do you no what I typed out a long reply to your post but I deleted it all - what’s the point ? Nothing will change under the current regime . Like him or not the man the club misses the most is Jonathon Chapman .

Listened to the radio link shared on Facebook earlier on that included a short interview with Garry May. The two main snippets to take from the interview was that he was determined and adamant that Somerset will be back. He also seemed very positive about Somerset still hosting the pairs this year if they’re allowed to do so and offered the chance. Great news on both fronts.

He has got worse since his name change- he was bad enough as Geoff 58 !!!!

It is impossible to be precise, but what happened back in 2017 with the Holder issue sure gave everyone the direction the club was going. That year we had the makings of a decent team that could have got somewhere near the top, but Busters attitude destroyed it all. At any other club the track man would prepare the track to suit the demands of the home team, but at Lynn, Buster does the track and sod what anybody else thinks . That day Buster sealed the fate of many fans. Some never to return since You only have to count the number of titles we have won in 50 odd years to see how well the club has done...

I wish they would update their website - its dreadfully out of date!!!

And yet they still want to say it's premier League, just to maintain the high price, I really can't see much between either league.

To be fair, 2018 was a pretty good team

Quite agree about progress and magical gains. Unlike some on here I don't even think of comparing young riders with others in the past who got to Poland and world championships. Riders all have their own ability, which as you say can be enhanced with fitness, nutrition, life style, coaching, competitive racing, etc, and it's by following that sort of path that riders and their supporters can gauge how far they are capable of getting to in our sport. Looking at Palin, Kemp, Thompsons twins, Rowe, etc and only thinking they are successful it they reach the world stage is foolish. If say any of them reach contesting being British Champion, I would say they were successful even if circumstances mean they can't go to the next stage. There needs to be a more realistic assessmeant of the next set of young riders.

Even exceptional riders can only get so far without huge funding. Tai admits that the early days his kit was rubbish but he then landed some mega sponsors and didn't look back. Young riders now need multiple good bikes and engines to even break into the sport for a normal season, the levels of presentation and PR required of them are huge to attact clubs and sponsors along with keeping fans on side and thats without the pressures of scoring points and maintaining any run of form. These are pressures that are not being applied to adults but children, kids are being raised in this manner from a very young age that they will succeed in speedway. Sadly the lack of depth in the UK means that these youngsters with big early funding can rise quite quickly and then stagnate once a level is found, its the ability to break through that barrier and achieve even higher that separate the good from the great.

I back the young Brits 100%,trouble is the sport has nosedived in GB over the last 10-15 years and these riders have trouble getting serious sponsors nowadays and the way the sport has developed technically you need to invested fairly large sums of cash to compete at Top level.We still have situation where after a few years in the sport most youngsters settle for earning decent money in GB ( doubling up ect).These days maybe numbered given the recent Pandemic.World Class is very difficult to achieve in any Sport.

IF Salmon triumphs in the courts she will be gone ...

im not sure whether it is an age thing or not but to me it seems like a straight swap on potential points scoring ability and like you say Leicester probably wasnt the best fit. problem is with the late changes it was always going to leave some riders high and dry

Halifaxtiger in response to your well written post I have just a couple of points to clarify; We don’t know officially that the points limit was imposed or discussed before hand as we were not there but it’s is the same for every club and therefore the club makes a decision to run based on that. As for knowing something you don’t know, where does it say IOW have closed for good ? it doesn’t, that’s just speculation on your part. Speedway in the UK needs to develop more young riders not just the odd one or two ‘ naturals ‘ who graduate up through the divisions through their own desire and talent. We need GP standard riders yes, but we also need the solid second strings and the guys who appear for a season or two till the ambition runs out. This has to be done in a structured way with a clear path , introducing riders from amateurs into the NDL , letting them develop without the promise of easy money and then moving up the standards. If you speak to the more honest riders who have spent several seasons in the NDL as heat leaders and they tell you the points money some NDL clubs were willing to pay them , then you will understand my term ‘ easy money ‘ and why those riders hung around in a league they were not developing in, if anything they were stagnating. I know riders in the NDL who were earning more for a race win than some people get paid a week ! I accept that wasn’t the case at every club, Buxton were the one and only club who ran as it should be and look what the rest of the league did to them by paying such wages. The loss ( temporary or otherwise ) of the IOW is extremely disappointing , a very well run club, but the sport needs overhauling and if this is the start , however unpopular it is, then so be it. We will never all agree on everything , that’s human nature.

So sensible standing and functioning tracks at this point or immediate future.....Iwade, Lydd, IOW, Buxton, Northside with the potential for Odsal, Oxford, Coventry and maybe Mildenhall to join the list. Thats enough tracks to run a sustainable league dependent on format (i guess that would depend on promotions / fans input). Ultimately the aim would be to provide a decent standard of entertainment and a sensible or even reduced price. Run under a different banner away from the tyranny of the BSPL so that all participants benefit and can continue to do so.

Agreed, there isn't much between the sides and certainly looks likely to fill the 5th and 6th spots

Lynn wanted Pedersen but he preferred P’boro apparently. Im not convinced there is too much difference between the teams but what they have done is stuck with riders who are popular with the regulars at the two tracks.....Kerr, Jorgensen and Proctor and Lynn, Hans, Bomber, possibly Ostergaard and BWD at P’boro. You have to remember we are a minority in here, many folk who go week in week out feel loyalty to riders who have been there several years regardless of what they score. I do think we are seeing a ‘spreading’ of resources and if Buster had one track it would be one much stronger team rather than two average ones. Welcome back Lewis Kerr by the way.

And a mention too for Adam Ellis.. Reminds me a bit of Jason Doyle's progression... Incremental improvements rather than one big impact in one year, and still a fair bit more to come from him I would say.. Lets hope some of these young lads coming through can progress through to International level and put GB back on top of the Speedway World.. Their off track support, and on track advice and coaching, certainly has never been better, so let's hope they can use it well..

well speedway at Peterborough and bangers at Kings Lynn has been mentioned when Buster took over at Boro

I’m trying to complete my Crewe Kings programme collection in blanks, this has been extremely hard work and time consuming but I’m down to just 12 more blanks to finish the set of both home and away programmes, I will make it worth anyone’s time if they can help with any and I’ll happily supply a filled in version of the same programme as part of the deal so as to put back in your own collection, any help here would be very much appreciated, here are the programmes that I’m looking for.. Crewe vs Reading 25/05/1970 - Long Eaton vs Crewe 03/09/1970 - Canterbury vs Crewe 17/09/1970 - Crewe vs Rochdale 16/08/1971 - Ipswich vs Crewe 14/10/1971 - Ellesmere Port vs Crewe/Bradford/Hull 4TT 19/09/1972 - Chesterton vs Crewe 26/071973 - Teesside vs Crewe 04/04/1974 - Ellesmere Port vs Crewe/Stoke/Birmingham 4TT 28/08/1974 - Ellesmere Port vs Crewe 27/05/1975 - Crewe vs Stoke 07/07/1975 - Crewe vs Ellesmere Port 13/10/1975.. once again any help would be so much appreciated as this has been quite a task

Both Ben Trigger and James Chattin were regulars at Leicester open practice sessions in 2020 which gave the promotion to look at both riders. Chattin did seem to struggle with the Leicester track at times both in his guest appearances and when I have seen him at practice with a few big crashes. But he is a lovely guy so I am sure that he will get another team place

It’s a completely unique situation regarding team building in the NL and even more so to the standalone clubs! The points limit was drastically reduced and they were just told it was being reduced. The league has to be viable and offer a competitive product, not just have other leagues impose rules on it for their own benefit. They wanted a reserve league and they’ve created a reserve league.

Why are a lot of negative posts on here regarding our youth riders ! Just let them develop onto the next stage of there carreers & see how they do

As my opinions are no longer considered part of debate or interest to the blinkered many i wont bother anymore. Speedway can poke it

As I apparently have an agenda to like the Bspl I will have my say. If the IOW were such a progressive club why have they not embraced what is in my opinion a dawning of a new era in British speedway with the advent of the rising stars and taking the NDL back to its original intention of a development league. Admittedly the cut to 35 for team build is harsh and has led to some unsavoury measures to allow teams to come under the limit but it had to be done . the new era may not be the promised land but speedway in the uk could not of carried on as it was . I personally hope the 5 year plan continues and in 4 years they announce what is going to happen after that . Remember the plan actually covers riders who are 11 now as they will be coming into the system. also like to add I do think it's a shame they didn't choose to try to make it work.

Poor taste that... He risks his life sledging for our entertainment... I would like to see you sledge for our entertainment... i bet you've never sledged for our entertainment... etc etc etc....

Where payment of riders is concerned, each NL club picks up the tab for their riders home and away. So when Mildenhall ride at IOW, the Fen Tigers meet the wage bill for their team. If you run a challenge or an individual, you pay all 12,14 or 16 riders. Aside from the fact that challenge matches are likely to attract lower attendances, they could increase the clubs costs. i don't know the full reasons why they have withdrawn but the above might be one, and I know they were against any reduction in the points limit as it almost inevitably lowers the standard of the product at this level (something that is most important if you are a stand alone club but matters little if you are running all your NL meetings as double headers with a higher league match, as Newcastle apparently plan to). If the clubs were simply told about the points limit without any form of negotiation amongst members and the Warriors promotion believed that that would damage their business taking into account other factors - the lack of fixtures, likely difficulties with sponsors, the confidence of fans returning to stadiums following covid etc - its little wonder they withdrew. Why should they accept being dictated to without even the chance to discuss the situation by persons who don't even run an NL team ? Following the BSPL's approach to arguably the most innovative meeting held in Britain for some years - the 2019 NICE challenge - the chances of them going out of their way to accommodate the Isle of Wight promotion were non existent.

MPT back at Boro so Lawson to complete the side with Proctor and Jorgensen? Can’t see too many other options.

Sturgeon is losing plot just to be different,Best thing that could happen is Boris to announced a Sept start up and Sturgeon would probably change her timing to April

The IOW are the most forward looking club at any level, that I can remember seeing for many a long year. We're not privy to whatever the issues were to cause Messrs Bishop & Widman to withdraw from the BSPL, but whatever they were, the Board of Directors should have worked their socks off to ensure the club could continue to provide much needed entertainment for those that live on the Island, along with the holidaymakers. The sport just can't afford to keep losing clubs like this, and I just hope that sense prevails, and they can be welcomed back in 2022, because speedway is dying on its feet, at a fast rate of knots. Gutted for all you people across the Solent, along with all your sponsors.

It'd be interesting to see them trying to take licenses from riders for riding in meetings held under an alternative authority, the ACU went to court over this in the 1970's and told it was illegal. They have blustered and threatened many times since but never actually carried out their threat. Didn't the BSPA or ACU make a similar threat about Lydd but didn't take any action when it came down to it? I'd love to ride the Island on a flat tracker so you're right about getting excited but whether there is any chance of a DTRA meeting there this year is very doubtful. Only issue I can see for following years is that it is an expensive trip in a van so a rained off weekend would be a disaster. I hope for both Martin and Barry though that Speedway returns, they must have put an unbelievable amount of work in and have left everybody impressed with their efforts. The rest of the sport should be looking at the Island for answers not shutting it out.

Not racing against you and if no restrictions were in place you would have your biggest attendance of the season, the rest of the the league can embrace that and enjoy it,you really need to stop sucking lemons your very bitter

Leader is not how I would describe Herr Furher. Children may log on from time to time so I will refrain on what I would like to call her.

Ordered it yesterday afternoon, it came today before 2pm.. Always liked Kelvin, even when he seemed to be less than a favourite of many of the English fans.. (Although to be fair to be him, many of the fans at that time seemed to think they were all Americans).. And for me, does a great job on the commentary with Nigel P... Not everyone's cup of tea, but who cares, they sell the sport fantastically well...

Yep and it's brilliant. I do wonder though why other club owners don't vote for change if there unhappy or is it just whining fans

Wightlink Warriors and Wizards 2020 Season Report. Firstly, I hope this update finds you and yours in good health and good spirits. Like yours, our 2020 was like no other and the knock-on effect for the clubs and sport has been traumatic, frustrating along with many other expressions that spring to mind. For us, and many others, 2020 was a non-starter for the Wightlink Warriors and Wightlink Wizards on our track due to government restrictions for the use of stadiums preventing the publics attendance, which culminated in the sport’s governing body, the BSPL/SCB, abandoning any form of league racing. But that’s not the end of our 2020 story……… Did we actually get to go racing? Amazingly, yes we did. The Warriors got to go racing at Plymouth for a 3 Team Tournament involving Plymouth, Eastbourne and the Isle of Wight. The Warriors management team worked extremely closely with Plymouth to ensure that fans were safe in a Covid secure environment before the meeting which proved to be a huge success. This kind of meeting involves 4 riders representing each team and our quartet of Ben Morley, Tom Woolley, Connor Coles and Chad Wirtzfeld did a superb job missing out by just a single point for the top spot on the night. The result being Eastbourne 31, Isle of Wight 30 and Plymouth 28. It was a great meeting in front of 400 spectators and streamed live to a wider audience and while this wasn’t on the Island we can rightly feel proud that we helped enable this meeting to happen and we were able to represent you all with pride. In addition to the team efforts Chad Wirtfeld continued to ride on the grass in the few meetings available winning all in his class – so congratulations to him. What else did we do? BDO Darts Sponsorship Working with our partner ASGUK we managed to arrange for a super opportunity for the Warriors logo to appear on stage at the BDO Darts. This raised huge interest in the club and also excellent marketing with speedway fan and professional dart player Scott Mitchel ensuring our logo was not only on Eurosport but also around the world on his twitter and FB pages. GB Young Lions U21 Training Camp The Warriors provided 3 days of intense on and off track training with Neil Vatcher for the GB Young Lions. The camp offered the cream of Britain’s young riders the chance to develop their on track knowledge with expert riders Steve Worral and Paul Hurry as well as media, nutrition, and fitness classes. My First Skid With the relaxation to allow training and amateur sports events without spectators, we reintroduced My First Skid. Unfortunately, we could not allow the use of hire bikes and places were limited to 15 riders who owned all their own equipment and had to follow a strict Covid guide. This proved to be a great success allowing us to ensure that our track equipment remained functional and our island-based riders more time to further develop their skills. Re-run of Meetings via Speedway Portal We have worked since the start with Speedway Portal and its owner Andy Hague. Andy has established a full history of the Wightlink Warriors from our very first fans forum, when we nervously announced our plans to return speedway to Smallbrook. Andy and his team have recorded almost every home meeting since 2016 and the quality and ingenuity is clear to see – so much so Andy is now invited to film at other stadiums across the UK. Andy asked Martin and I if we would like to stream our meetings for free to fans to ensure we keep them engaged with the Warriors and the sport in general. Of course, and we didn’t need to be asked twice because for us not only did we engage with our fans but by watching re-runs we can see where we can improve on race day as well as afford our sponsors more airtime which is always a great thing. Our re-runs were so popular that it encouraged our governing body and other clubs to do the same. Moving forward with Speedway Portal, we shall continue to stream our meetings for our fans throughout the winter period up until press day and should there be a delay to the season start we will continue to spread the Warrior Way using this forum. Hot Heats Unannounced spectacular races from across our seasons to keep the Warriors in the minds of fans across the nation and beyond. Rob Dyers Speedway Quiz From the start of the 1st lockdown our track announcer Rob Dyer produced a weekly quiz for fans to participate in. This proved extremely popular and indeed encouraged our own governing body and other clubs to produce their own. Virtual Skid Virtual Skid came about as a way to create a real meeting using historic footage. Working with Speedway Portal we invented an algorithm that would take 4 meetings, (60 races) and jumble them all up so to give 15 race choices of A, B, C or D. We invited two celebrity team managers, selected from ex-riders, referees, sponsors and super fans to try and guide their team to victory by selecting each race. So far, we have produced 15 meetings, all available on YouTube including one which raised over £1000 for the Ben Fund. Face Masks. The club has raised well over £1000 for charity from the sale of Warrior branded face masks. We employed two methods for the face masks. Firstly, key workers, no matter what they did could request one for free while anyone who was not a key worker we requested a donation and anything over the cost price we gave to charity. We gave £605 to Capt Tom, £261 to Mountbatten Hospice (IOW) and £250 Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund to injured Speedway Riders. And there is more. Even today, volunteers are giving their time and effort to ensure that Smallbrook Stadium is on point and ready to go and ready to serve the community in every way. We have refurbished rooms, improved areas and much more. We know it is a long continuous process but without your support nothing our volunteers do would be possible and Martin and I thank you so much for it. Our drive and enthusiasm is as strong as ever as we look to continue to win awards, trophies but most of all provide the best night out in Speedway in the UK. With 2021 just around the corner, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support this year, to assure you that we have continued to do our bit for club, community, and sport and together we look forward to a fabulous 2021. May we also take the opportunity, early to be safe, to wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas time and a brilliant New Year. All the best Barry