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In a sport where "winning" brings you so little reward, and is pretty much down to it's most die hard followers, and no more, everywhere... I would think having EVERY track competitive is far, far more important to any possible future growth of the sport as a generic entity than having teams possibly close down due to riders not being shared around, meaning home crowds drop.. Especially in Div 2 where clubs are using Div 1 level riders in the first place, and a 2nd div in any league has less kudos in winning than the top league in any sport.. If the likes of Newcastle and Birmingham do close the sport will lose around 1500 or so die hards, who will have attended virtually every week.. No team winning any league will add 1500 to their attendance every week of the season. Therefore. Another net loss in fans to add to the many other times this has happened over the past 20 years or so.. And the irony of it all is that having uncompetitive teams also impacts every other team financially as when these teams visit, crowds will invariably drop due to some home fans feeling it not worth attending.. Bottom line is, hardly anyone cares who wins any UK Speedwsy title, so the sport would be much healthier generically if the vast majority of meetings delivered entertainment through both teams being at least relatively even, and clubs all ended each season...

Whilst the 6 PL Clubs can take 90% plus of the TV money the "closed shop" of the PL will continue. Whilst CL Clubs pay too much for doubling up Heat Leaders there will be "the haves and have nots and some who try to have what they cant afford will struggle. The likes of Poole; Leicester and Glasgow have sufficient support and financial clout to enhance the PL if the PL will let them in and if they could share the TV pot it would be more viable for them surely. The best current solution is surely a 9 - 10 team PL of similar strength to now but with lower points limit to share heat leaders around and a similar 9 -10 team CL/DL with one double down heat leader over say 8 points and a lower points limit with more focus on development. More competitive racing, more balanced leagues and less financial risk to those who have to struggle to survive. When Justin Sedgeman complains of reduced points money and having to spend more on equipment he truly hits the nail on the head! I'm not picking on him but it just shows the mentality of too many riders who over-spend on engine tuning in particular and then blame the Promoters for not paying enough points money and then moan when they are paid late or not at all, rather than look at what they actually need. Maybe the idea Barry Bishop tried with the homoglated Jawa Ice engines is the way to go at CL level??. No tuning and only essential repairs allowed. Would the racing spectacle suffer in any way? I doubt it! The days of a rider having 2 Jawa 2 valve engines that would both last a season and the secong one only a back up in case of a calamity are a distant dream but until riders show reality and in some cases actually get a day job and turn semi pro the situation will get worse.

I would suggest if Justin was good enough to be a heat leader in Div 1 and Div 2, like so many other riders are, he may put up with the "sh*t money" given he would be getting two wages.... I am off to email my boss now asking her if she will let me work for just six months this year but pay me enough to live on for the full twelve.. Will keep everyone updated as to her answer...

I personally think rider control did work 95% of the time! The current biggest problem in the U.K. is lack of riders per team places available. Maybe it's time to bring back second-half's & introduce 4 to 6 new riders per club to the sport with regular second-half rides. By next season you could have 30 riders in the U.K. ready for team spots. Also a couple of years of second-half's would "mix" things up a bit.

We finished top in 05 Kenny was flying 18 point max in the semi at home then broke his leg before the final, won us the cup a few years back, and it was a wrong exclusion put us out that year in the play offs.

I do agree that there needs to be a top rider limit. Each team need to field an 8+ rider. Though it’s not Poole’s fault, we have 3 whilst Newcastle and Brum struggle. Yes it’s a dog eat dog sport but a bit of team balancing wouldn’t go amiss. I guess it’s the same in the football where the top clubs get all the best players while the likes of Burnley and Watford struggle to attract anyone of real worth. Though that sport doesn’t have the same financial problems of speedway.

because the bitter twisted and ill informed blame him for everything

You wouldn't be able to go through them all by the end of the month.......

No rider control in whatever form will be replaced by track control. The number will just keep reducing. Let's face it Birmingham and Newcastle will do well to survive for any serious length of time (bar a miracle) with poor teams

Perhaps a bit optimistic to think that 30 riders would even take up the sport let alone make it to league standard in a year BUT ther has to be a link between available track time and the number of riders picking up the sport. It can cost a fair lump of cash just to put a respectable amateur bike out on track without the added costs of practice fees, travelling et all. There are obviously some clubs who suffer with planning restrictions and curfews which offer restrictions but a lot of the resistance comes from within, track staff who want to get off home, referee's who wish to get on their way (or want double pay for more than 21 heats). Then of course there was the beating out of the ghost teams, groups of enthusiasts who heftily out of their own pocket were tracking teams to offer up available track time. There are still some great clubs out there who go the extra mile and offer track time, 2nd halves and encouraging development league racing but sadly there are others who do nothing but moan about the lack of available riders.

I apologise if this has been put up before, but it is an amazing site with tons of facts and some great reads If for instance you are looking for details of the first Wimbledon meeting in say 1928, this would be the first place to look Enjoy https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/

I refer to it regularly, excellent site.

Well many would wouldnt they? As they are all Div One heat leaders... (And therein lies a pretty big problem in itself)... The counter punch though is that many would then NOT go along and watch their home team against a visiting team with no Div One heat leaders in their ranks... Due to a great many of the fans (the majority I would say), being Speedway fans first (those who want to watch close racing as an entertainment), and fans of "their team" second, (those who still take it seriously and want to see their team "win")... With no promotion, relegation, europe to qualify for, financial reward etc, for many teams their season can be effectively "over" by June/July, therefore keeping each meeting competitive has to be a priority to keep fans engaged...

Birmingham now is suffering from having had such a chequered history over the past 10 years, that must be off-putting for riders signing for them. You add-in a new promotion with no record when it comes to paying riders and it's bound to all add up to difficulties with recruitment. In an ideal world there would be collective support amongst the other clubs to help a new promotion to establish itself, but that's for the birds, unfortunately.

Isn’t that why there’s a team building points limit ? So that all teams have the chance to be equal, at least at the start of the season . I doubt that Birmingham and Newcastle together have 1500 ‘die hard’ supporters based purely on their attendance levels last season as neither got anywhere near 750 regular attendees. No one cares who wins ? Ask the fans who support the winners if they care ….of course they do ! Yes, financially it makes little sense although if your a successful club crowds do increase in the majority of cases with Workington being the exception. My local club produces entertainment on a good track with good presentation and they have increased their attendances for the last 5 years since they got rid of the old school promotion style and got younger , enthusiastic , forward thinking promotors in. The healthy clubs are healthy for a reason. They work within their budget but still prioritise a competitive team producing entertainment that will attract a financially viable crowd, it’s called working to a business plan, many struggling clubs are simply not doing just that.

IF the leagues stay the same in 2023 but with the likely addition of Eastbourne then there will need to be some form of control to spread the top end riders about, maybe a points limit for the top 3 built into the overall team limit

I should hope he would be the first to do the first laps at the opening meeting

Surely everybody will wish this to be the case. Can't imagine opening night without Hans in attendance hopefully maybe even ride the first lap.

Not sure what to make of Granty.Is he one man show.

That's it! 42 years on and you lot are still rubbing it in!!!

Ah - so just turn right instead

I HATE YOU LOT!!! I had to miss the bloody thing as I was laid up with chicken pox...

If you are genuinely in front you don't wipe someone out....

You must be thinking of another of Freddy's incidents.

You must be wrong on this mate, Bandits4eva after all.........lol

Believe me it isn’t feasible and yes, it’s been tried. A PL match was once put in jeopardy because the track concerned had the air fence damaged by an accident and the paramedics were then taken away to deal with the injured , never mind the last minute track maintenance . Have you ever watched a complete novice child try to ride four laps? Besides the painstaking time it can take, usually with an adult running along side to keep them ‘ steady ‘ how many kids are you going to get on track in an hour ? How many different size kits are you going to require? How many qualified ‘ trainers ‘ ? and so on and so on…. As someone who helps run a training school with hire bikes I do know a bit about what’s involved.

Might cause a few arguments on Sunday, that’s my seat , sod off !!

She might just send you for a 6 month holiday in Australia.

But by Definition that is a form of rider control, a team cant sign every rider thay want.. Im not advocating that riders should be placed by a governing body to teams but with a 'Team strength control' of heat leaders would be a good move for the league in 2023.

No, it’s ‘ Team ‘ strength control.

Do you know how much that TV money is? In fact, is there any TV money at all? The last I heard, speedway in the UK is lucky to have any TV coverage at all, let alone get paid for it.

What ? Where do you watch the sport ? All northern tracks run second halfs and have done for many years , not just the NJL matches either .

Sad thing is a few years ago you had a fallout with Berwick, and for a couple of years you were welcomed by us at Newcastle. Rather ironic that you childishly slag off the Diamonds fans which for a short time you were one of them.

Not feasible for many reasons including insurance, safety clothing, track time , costs etc , never mind the length of time it takes to kit / dress one kid out for a go on a bike without brakes.

To reduce your reply to one sentence , you want to bring back rider control ? Which didn’t work the last time it was tried.

I,m not blaming Poole just the system , running with three potential League one heat leaders in Lawson, Worrall and King.

I was shocked and saddened to see on the Warriors website that the stadium has been flooded by a water main being burst on the road outside during construction. Better news is that Warriors have announced their team with Danno Verge, Connor King, Alex Spooner and Ben Morley. All four have NDL team spots and were pleased to get the chance of extra competitive track time. Once again the full details are on the Warriors website.

Makes sense. Worry is that the clubs already in existence might not see the big picture and want to hang on to what they have, which would be a shame to say the very least

If he’s not riding for Birmingham

Probably only cos you have a common enemy, us at Newcastle. Quite sad.

Salt of the earth, Comets fans. Used to love a Saturday evening at Derwent Park then down to the Persian restaurant on Clay Flatts after.

With Poole having 3 number one riders hasn’t helped the situation.

So the BIG question will be... which team will be the first to announce who it's 7 riders are? The Coventry Bees or the Birmingham Brummies?

Surely the point would be ( no matter which clubs were involved ) that more teams means more riders required meaning more team opportunities for new riders and more proper track time for all riders ?

Always liked Kenny... Seemed to get a rep as a bit of a "gating tart" early in his career but having watched him often both here and in Poland he can certainly mix it and pass, both inside and out... Always well turned out and professional too.. Takes many a "top scalp" in Poland regularly, so wouldnt let the Aces down if he ends up going there, and would provide more solid back up for Fricke than Kurtz will I would suggest..

You could say this for most, if not all the tracks in the country. 99.9% of fans are fine and you can have a decent conversation with them and enjoy the banter, but you still have that 0.1% who (usually) have "one over the eight" and cause you grief. Rather than cause trouble, unfortunately, the only option is for you to move to another part of the track. I must say though in all the years of travelling away to support the Diamonds, it's never come to that, but I know it's happened to others, even at Brough Park.

This is the official address of the stadium. Sunday midday appears to be the time of the meetings but as mentioned check into the British speedway website for clarification. The NDL fixtures tend to come out nearer the start of the season. Iwade Speedway,The Old Gun Site,Old Ferry Road,Iwade,Sittingbourne,Kent,ME9 8SP.

Fixtures not released yet. Hopefully the League will agree them soon and release them - watch out on British Speedway Website https://britishspeedway.co.uk/

The way I understand the race night decision is as follows; Monday - premiership race night Tueaday - free Wednesday - free Thursday - premiership race night Friday - too many other clubs already ride Friday Saturday/Sunday - greyhounds

1. Edinburgh Monarchs ….the rest