Halifaxtiger

I once spoke to former Plymouth promoter Ashley Taylor about this and he told me that when he took over the Devils opted for two ambulances at every meeting. It did cost more, but it was his belief that having just one was a false economy that could easily backfire. I was at Plymouth the night that Ashley Birks was severely injured, and due to Plymouth's medical cover policy the meeting was delayed only for as long as it took to repair the fence.

To me, that is very important and can't be overstated.. You can usually tell the difference between a speedway presenter or announcer who actually loves the sport and someone who is merely hired to do the job. Dave Lanning, perhaps, is the best example of that.

I suppose it depends on how you define 'amateur'. Some might say it is not being paid, others might suggest it is being paid but not sufficiently to make a living from it. I don't know for sure but suspect that Isle of Wight will have paid riders for competing this season (albeit very much within the grounds of what they can afford), suggesting that NORA works for the latter. Coming under the NORA umbrella will mean that the NDL can make their own decisions. Based upon the events of this season, we know only too well that the BSPL will force regulations on the that league solely for the benefit of the higher two leagues, without consulting NDL clubs and without regard of how those regulations might detrimentally affect them (and there is no guarantee that they won't do it again). Being allowed to completely control your own destiny without such selfish interference must surely be a more attractive proposition both to existing and potential NDL promotions than being dictated to by those who don't even have any financial stake in the NDL. Decisions could be made by member clubs regarding all aspects of speedway at development level and for the benefit of riders and the clubs themselves, very much taking into account the differences that operate at that level. There would need to be someone to adjudicate on the disputes that would inevitably arise, but that person would be entirely independent (in sharp contrast to the crooked, prejudiced and inconsistent system operated by the BSPL) from any team. That person would need to be familiar with speedway, have a strong sense of integrity and be able to command respect. Someone like you, perhaps ? Any attempt to ban riders - publicly or privately, individually or collectively - would be contrary to case law relating to restraint of trade and therefore illegal and could be subject to court redress, either from the riders themselves or any business that might be affected by it. On a final note, I suspect that if this did happen, some might put them blame squarely on the south coast. In my view, they would be far better placed pointing their fingers much farther north.

Given the huge success of Isle of Wight Speedway (even allowing for exceptional circumstances) you might not be the only one with that view. From what I am hearing, the circumstances of the closure of Eastbourne are very different to that of Workington. I think there are grounds for optimism where Eastbourne is concerned and that this closure may well only be temporary. The stadium, I am assured, is going nowhere (unlike about half of the above) with stock cars and bangers still pulling in nigh on capacity attendances. In addition, the joint owners of Arlington are Eric and Margaret Dugard (the late Bob's brother and wife) and the family have a strong history of supporting, running and even competing in speedway.

I'd say the subject - as I initially put t is the 'stupid BSPL decision to run before Covid restrictions were removed and before the vaccination programme got into its stride hamstrung Eastbourne (and indeed all the other clubs)'. If indeed Eastbourne had bigger gates at the outset, based upon the likes of Birmingham, Wolverhampton & Newcastle they have seriously bucked a trend. Too much is being made of the fact that a speedway team has nigh on doubled its gates ?? Really ?? I would have thought any speedway fan would have been giving that more consideration than any other topic or subject brought up by the sport given its current plight. Two points you have missed and, first, one you deliberately ignored. Isle of Wight is no more a holiday destination in holiday season than Eastbourne is. For every person 'captive' on the Island, there is one who doesn't have to pay £50 to a ferry company to get there. I don't doubt that Eastbourne's problems are substantially about financial mismanagement, but why have the formers gates gone up spectacularly while the latters have stagnated or decreased given that their circumstances are almost exactly the same ?? Isle of Wight has always been a holiday destination in holiday season, so why is the speedway getting far, far bigger attendances now than it did when riding NL meetings ?? Covid doesn't account totally for that. 'Zero' chances of it working elsewhere. What is certainly true is there are a number of people on this forum who gave it 'zero' chance of working at Isle of Wight - after all, all they were offering was a 'circus' or' fairground', composed of small children, has beens, grasstrack riders, second halfers and even females. Even the Warriors management knew they were taking a major gamble but the fact remains is that while the rest of speedway has had the begging bowl out, been pleading fans to turn up and running up losses, they have been a huge success. I see no reason why such an approach wouldn't work at Eastbourne or possibly Poole, King's Lynn., Kent, Mildenhall, Berwick and Plymouth, all of which are in holiday areas. Truth is, you - and you are not alone - are terrified that other tracks might copy it, and only one thing terrifies you more................that it might just work. The sport has to embrace change and doing nothing is not an option. If a track massively increases its gates by adapting its race night programme that must be given very serious consideration.

I would not term it as such but I have to admit that speedway for me is 15 heats with 14 blokes, nothing more. The difference between me and some others, though, is that I will embrace changes of the kind that Isle of Wight have introduced if it is going to benefit the sport and they won't, despite the fact that they know only too well that the one thing that speedway cannot do is carry on the way it is. You would think that the near closure of Birmingham and Newcastle and Eastbourne now in the balance - I am told they are relying on someone taking over - might have changed a few minds but it seems not.

Wolverhampton promoter Chris Van Straaten said : “It’s a dire situation for us, we are suffering severe losses every time we stage a home meeting because we simply cannot get any more supporters in due to the restrictions. Eastbourne is no less speedway in a holiday destination in a holiday time. I don't know if it would work elsewhere but I know it definitely works on the Island and what we presently have is, at best, scarcely working anywhere. Just because you regard it is a 'circus' and don't like it is absolutely no reason to dismiss it as a way forward for the rest of the sport. The way I see it, the one thing that speedway cannot do is continue as it is.

I agree with much of what you have said but you have to question why Eastbourne are on the verge of closure when 70 miles along the south coast it is - by all accounts - boom time at Isle of Wight (I am reliably informed that last nights attendance was the biggest ever under the present promotion). Smallbrook is no less inaccessible than Arlington, and you need a car to get there (you can walk but having done so a few times I certainly wouldn't recommend it - with no streetlights and no pavements, its like a rather nasty game of chicken with speeding motorists). I think the stupid BSPL decision to run before Covid restrictions were removed and before the vaccination programme got into its stride hamstrung Eastbourne (and indeed all the other clubs) That meant reduced capacity (Wolverhampton, for instance, described that as a 'financial disaster') and people - rightly or wrongly - still being nervous about attending spectator events. Isle of Wight, in contrast, waited until all Covid controls were lifted and more had been vaccinated, and therefore suffered no limited attendances nor misgivings about actually being there, nor were they burdened by financial loss in the early part of the season. Covid has actually worked in Isle of Wight's favour, at least to a point. Its likely that the amount of domestic holidays in 2021 has been greater than at any time since the early 1970's (every day I seem to read about how packed Cornwall is) and the Warriors have really cashed in on it. You have to ask why Eastbourne - which is in no less of a holiday area - have not done the same. Part of the reason might be Isle of Wight's furious attempts to publicise the sport on the Island, recognising that many visitors might be unaware of the speedway's existence. In my many trips to Eastbourne, I don't recall any such attempts at all. Then there's the fact that Isle of Wight have substantially diversified their activities on race night. That might not be to everyone's taste (me included) but is anyone going to suggest it doesn't work ? The main factor, though, I think is financial responsibility and that is taken extremely seriously by the Isle of Wight promotion. Whatever else might have been said about the Warriors, they operate on the basis that income must reasonably cover expenditure. To me, its seems clear that Eastbourne grossly overestimated income and/or grossly underestimated expenditure and that's why one club is in the black (more than that, much more, I suspect) and the other is on the brink of closing down.

You do have a case, particularly this year. Eastbourne aren't much different though, are they ? Unless you have actually experienced a night at Isle of Wight, you can't really comment on just how customer focussed they are. Believe me, nowhere else comes remotely close.

You have a better memory than me, Sid. I can only recall getting there

While an air of doom and gloom settles over speedway, I'd remind everyone that one track seems to be doing very well indeed. It might be a coincidence, but its the only one operating on a commercial basis outside of BSPL control. Step forward Isle of Wight, Barry Bishop and Martin Widman

Star Lady put it in a nutshell for me earlier. I have said before that - even in the glory days of the 1960's and 70's - only the top boys (Nielsen, Olsen, Penhall. Jessup etc) were full time speedway riders and, for most, it was little more than - as the former Reading and Coventry rider Mick Bell once put it - 'a good paying hobby'. Tom Owen, for years an NL kingpin, always worked at his plant hire business during his racing career. The blight on the sport that is uncontrolled doubling up is there for one reason : so that riders can be full time (in the season at least). it needs to change if the sport is to survive.

My friend at Isle of Wight told me there was light drizzle 'on and off' throughout the entire meeting on Thursday.

My memory is a bit hazy but I can recall catching the tube to see the Inter Continental Final there in 1983 (my one and only visit). I went to Cradley in 1984 when Wimbledon ended their long home league winning streak. A trip to Park Road, Barrow during their truncated 1985 season is the one I'll always remember.

There's a few places where you can still see some of the remnants of the speedway track and/or stadium - Nelson and Hastings spring to mind.

That one would be most difficult to prove. Even if it was as a result of Coles riding on the Island (and I am sure it was ), they can simply say that for a one off meeting they chose to select someone else and deny any suggestion relating to his competing in one of the Warriors events. Even the BSPL aren't stupid enough to publicly or privately ban riders from league speedway if they ride outside their control because they will be fully aware of restraint of trade case law and the almost certain consequences of such an action.

Did Ellesmere Port back in 85 with Wimbledon. To my knowledge, it stayed in existence for many. many years afterwards and was only demolished reasonably recently. The thing I remember most was the Gunners pub opposite the stadium with its speedway memorabilia.

I can tell I am getting old because a number of the tracks mentioned I have been to. 5 for me : Nelson, Trelawny, Romford, Crewe, New Cross.

No idea. Seemingly he did, though.............and now he's out. Truth is we'll get one side only. Frankly, though, I'd appreciate hearing the BSPL view as much as you would (and I suspect Isle of Wight speedway would too).

One thing is absolutely certain. The BSPL aren't going to tell us why they dropped Coles from the meeting. I don't think we have a half explanation either. According - apparently - to the rider himself, he was ruled out because he rode at Isle of Wight. That, to me, is a full explanation. What rule (s) is that ?

Reserve.

It doesn't (or it certainly shouldn't). Its a typically spiteful, childish and totally unjustifiable action.

My understanding is that the initial attendance was 350 but the subsequent two meetings were substantially greater. 5-600 would be a very decent attendance for an NL standard meeting. I am sure Barry Bishop himself could respond to your enquiry - he, pretty much uniquely among British speedway promoters, engages with fans directly on this forum (unlike others who consider that paying customers opinions should be at best be ignored and at worst treated with contempt, derision and even abuse) and his record of three likes to each post shows what forum members think of his contributions - but I'll state what I am aware of. The decision to withdraw from the NL was prompted by a 34pt limit for that league - a decision which has subsequently been criticised by the likes of Len Silver, Peter Oakes., Randall Butt and Jason Pipe - but became a reality when that limit was forced on the NL by the BSPL (apparently at the behest of Premiership and Championship clubs) and without any consultation or voting by NL promotions. Indeed, had there been a vote - as there unquestionably should have been - the BSPL proposals would almost certainly have been refused. Barry and his partner Martin Widman formed the view that they could no longer be part of an organisation where decisions were made by others without regard for their needs, wishes and requirements and where Glasgow had more say about their team line up than they did. Some have suggested that Isle of Wight speedway is now a 'sideshow' or fairground', but I don't know of a single Warriors fan that did not agree with their decision and many outside the club have also endorsed it. Furthermore, it appears from the increasing attendances and remarkable feedback that what they are putting on has been a nigh on unqualified success. To my knowledge, Barry and Martin then decided to hold meetings after Covid restrictions had been lapsed (that coincided with the holiday period) and to run only a short season (my further understanding is that may not be the case in 2022). Given the disastrous attendances running with covid regulations in place - two Championship clubs have been very near closure and a third is about to join them - that decision was unquestionably correct. For myself, I am greatly pleased that Isle of Wight have been so successful. Barry and Martin deserve it, and its a rather nasty poke in the eye for the arrogant, selfish and incompetent BSPL. On a final note, the ironic bit is I agree with you - for me, speedway is about 14 blokes going hammer and tongs for 15 heats. The difference, perhaps, is that I know that isn't enough.

I actually agree with the professional, serious sport bit. But what that says is sticking to the same old methods and formats - that, frankly, are clearly not working. As examples, Newcastle and Birmingham have been to the brink of closure this year. I am reliably informed that Eastbourne are in serious financial trouble. In sharp contrast, a friend of mine who has watched speedway on the Island since it opened in the 1990's told me that the last two attendances at Smallbrook are amongst the biggest he has ever seen there. The Warriors are definitely doing something right and if that is what it takes to get people in, lets do it. One final thing. Speedway is a serious, professional sport but it most certainly has not been run like one for years, and that is one major reason why it is on its knees. Seeing is believing, Steve. I have been banging the drum for the Isle of Wight promotion since a cold April night in 2016 when I went to the second meeting after they re-opened and was hugely impressed with the enthusiasm, professionalism and hard work put in by the promotion to ensure that I, as a paying customer, had a good time. In all the meetings I have been to since - and that's a large number considering it is nigh on 250 miles from my home - they have never wavered. One rather obvious point : Barry Bishop is on here, engaging with paying customers, giving his viewpoints and hearing ours. How many others do that ? First of all, I'd remind you that Barry Bishop promoted Isle of Wight for 4 full NL seasons from 2016-19 and this is first time he has run a truncated programme. In doing so, he clearly took account of Covid restrictions - something the BSPL and the rest of the clubs effectively ignored and which has cost them very dearly indeed. I am sure Barry would do very well as a Premiership or Championship promoter but as part of his philosophy - unlike certain Championship promoters - is that income must cover expenses (or, at worst, that losses must be sustainable) he's never going to do that on the Island. The very fact that he has that philosophy marks him out. My understanding is that Isle of Wight's last two meetings finished at 9pm. What you want is one thing - and I am sure that there will be many who agree - but what is best for the sport could be something very different. What seems to me to be certain is that you want to carry on exactly as before regardless of the fact that we know that simply isn't working. In terms of attendances, Isle of Wight have been hugely successful this season (my friend told me that the food outlets ran out on Thursday). Not to give consideration to their style of format would surely be foolish to the point of madness.

Me too. Saw him at Scunthorpe a couple of times and he was easily good enough to ride in the top flight.