topsoil

Another excellent piece this week was the training schools at Belle Vue. What was so noticeable for me was that your average man in the street could have a go, as the cost of a bike and spares was manageable for somebody with an ordinary job. This is where the sport needs to get back to. Whether or not it is just for the beginners, or the sport in general, is another debate. But as Poland is now pushing for the big "stars" to ride in their league alone, could this be the right time to bring in standard / cheaper machinery? It would also be a great time to see clubs step up their games bringing in young riders by giving them as much track time as possible with rider schools / second halves. Or how about the BSPA making use of somewhere central like Buxton (open to other alternatives) where facilities could be used at any weekend / all weekend and there are no restrictions on time and usage? Been some seriously good articles in the Speedway Star this year. Actually been more interesting reading about riders / events of the past and debates about the sport rather than standard match reports.

Good luck getting this past the Ekstraliga. NOTHING stops the Ekstraliga. Well, except rain.

To be fair to the Berwick promotion, they have always kept the fans informed (and I am in exactly the same position as you). But how the hell are promoters supposed to predict the future when situations change almost daily. They have every sympathy from me.

His Scunthorpe obsession lives on

Lot of things to consider here. The full story was in the Speedway Star last week, the extract linked just seems to pick and choose items. Firstly he would be separated from his family for a time. Hasn't he just got a young child? Jason Doyle says in this weeks Star he and Troy Batchelor really struggled living in Poland this year as well. Then if Craig Cook didn't have any machinery out there, that could be another expense. Plus I'm sure he's had some bad experiences out there before about signing, then not being used after lying out money on transport and equipment. Maybe once bitten...? Easy to sit back and just blame a lack of ambition, but often more to it than that.

I doubt you will see any Polish riders in Britain in the future, if the Polish leagues insist on riders signing for only one team, which is on the horizon the way things are going. I think because of cost cutting, British clubs will need to look for home grown riders.

Why don't the BSPA insert a clause into the contracts of all British riders that if a Polish club wants to sign them in the future, there is a buyout clause. If Poland want to sign British riders in the future, British clubs should be compensated.

Really enjoying the sections on the KO Cup finals of years gone by. Any idea of there will be a similar series for the second level i.e. National / Premier League?

This question has been answered on other threads. The government pay out was to assist sports that take place between November and March. Speedway doesn't. Plus the payout, I've read, was in the form of loans that have to be paid back, not a hand out.

Polish clubs have the luxury of access to their facilities seven days a week, most British clubs have three hours a week and that's it. All it takes is a hold up for an accident and bang, there goes your second half. Can you imagine the reaction of local councils and residents if you applied to use tracks seven days a week over here? You only have to look at the trouble Kent have to tell you the answer.

It's a way of compensating clubs for bringing on young riders. Otherwise Polish clubs can just continually take away riders they want. You have to have some reward for developing talent if that's the way to go.

If Poland wants to do that, then I would look to adopt a policy where you concentrate on bringing through young home grown riders. I would then insist that it is a league wide policy that these riders sign a contract that says if they wanted to ride in Poland in the future the Polish club would have to pay a high buy out fee. Two can play that game.

I remember at Exeter years ago I heard "1 3 5 7 whose the best club in glorious Devon?"

I've only just got the chance now to watch the meeting, due to work and family commitments. The racing wasn't great, but that's what you get when you have riders of various abilities, who have had very little track time this year, on a heavy track, made difficult because of typical October conditions. To be honest, I had my doubts the meeting would go ahead, Berwick was lucky to miss a lot of the showers on Wednesday afternoon, after a lot of rain had already fallen in the previous days. Obviously the power failure before the meeting before the meeting caused a lot of disruption. But that can happen to anybody, just ask Gorzow. The production of the meeting has come in for a lot of criticism on here. If I could add one piece of constructive criticism, it would be to try and get elevated pictures, showing more of the track. There used to be a platform on the first bend that used to get used. That provided good coverage. But it was interesting to hear what a work colleague told me. He had spoken to an official of Berwick Rangers, who had been watching the stream live. Bear in mind neither of these have a great interest in speedway. "Looked good on TV" was his words. Certainly doesn't sound like the disaster some would have. I just wanted to give you the perspective from somebody outside the sport. After watching the meeting, I've made a donation. Not on the strength of the quality of streaming, but I know how much effort and hard work would have to go in to organising the meeting, preparing the track, which must have been a nightmare given the conditions and getting the power back on. I appreciate their efforts, that;s why I've donated.

Interesting post on Berwick's facebook page tonight about the difficulties they faced when it came to track preparation, the power failure and the setbacks suffered by those involved in the streaming.

Well done Leon

Dan Bewley should start as favourite, but I would think it will actually be a better meeting than the past two years, where only machinery gremlins were going to stop Robert Lambert. It was great to watch him fly around the track, but there was a huge gap in talent between him and the rest of the field. Of the others I was impressed by Tom Brennan at the event last year. Drew Kemp is talent and Anders Rowe should benefit from his time in Poland this year. Interesting to see how the new track looks, weather depending of course.

That would be a good option

Cheers. My reason for asking was that I would like to stream the meeting but not sure if I would have the opportunity to watch it 'same time'. There's more chance that I would have time later on.

Can anybody help with a general enquiry? Is it possible to stream an event like this, save it to a device, then watch it at a later date (much the same was as a Sky Planner)?

Any racecard download available?

because the virus only spreads at 'elite' sports

unfortunately somewhere in the small print there will be the phrase "we reserve the right to change our minds"

That's because there was very little other sport on during the league season. Now football, rugby union and other sports have returned, Polish speedway, which is a niche market within a niche sport, is bottom of the tank.

Is this yoda?