Humphrey Appleby

What does OneSport pay you to shill for their competitions?

I thought SpeedSport was supposed to be in charge of the track? You miss my point about the park pitch though. I've played on some decent surfaces even in parks, but you wouldn't take the FA Cup Final (or even an Extra Preliminary Round for that matter!) to somewhere with park facilities.

What prestige is a competition of made-up teams that no-one identifies with and promoted by a private company, going to bring to Britain? For better or worse, Britain already has extensive team competitions - the fans of whom would prefer all the riders named in those teams to actually turn-up to domestic meetings most of the time.

How long have BSI been organising GPs now? Why is it things always have to be improved after the fact, rather than before it? Only last week you were telling me I had no idea how much effort does into organising a GP, and yet here once again, several people on here alone are telling you basic things for the paying customer seem not to have been arranged or even checked in advance. I'd accept that a track organising a big event for the first time might not have the experience of doing it, but that's part of the role of the 'franchiser' to work with them to help get things right. And as Iris points out, Teterow surely has long experience of putting on big grass track events? I've been to plenty of enjoyable sporting events in fields, but you wouldn't expect the FA Cup Final to be held on a park pitch, would you?

I guess Terenzano weren't getting you to do the programmes there...?

They also don't have to be held in fields either.

Of course not, but it's the only one apparently willing to put up the readies.

Bellamy moved on within the organisation, Nicola Sands left and at least one other seemed to disappear, and I think there were board level changes. You know that perfectly well though.

I think they did ultimately. There was something of a movement of staff after the Warsaw fiasco, although Philipe told us it wasn't related. Wasn't the official explanation that the shale wasn't stored in the right pyramid shaped conditions? Or was that another indoor GP I'm thinking about, or both?

Did Gustix go?

So what happened to 'the Latvian GP is likely to back in Riga in 2016'?

It's fun to chew the fat over these things, but I'd think it's quite likely that IMG/BSI have explored a number of options for holding a GP in the US. That it's never happened in 17 seasons suggests that neither BSI or local promoters see it as being financially viable. I'm also not sure why the sport should be chasing audiences in new territories. It's generally dying on its a**e in the places where it's ridden now, so efforts really need to be going into improving existing audiences before embarking on excursions elsewhere.

Polish GPs don't always sell out, and women's basketball was given as the reason why one of the Polish GPs was poorly attended by one of the SGP's associates. Polish speedway does get some good attendances, but like Rugby League, its popularity seems to be confined to particular areas and doesn't seem to have nationwide appeal, let alone with the layman. You have a hard job finding anyone from Warsaw and a number of other major cities who knows anything about the sport, so the odds on expat second or third plus generations being interested seem remote to me. I think you need to be putting GPs where there's the best chance for existing fans to turn-up.

Why would any sane person want to pay a third party to stage an event where they assume all the financial risk? It's not like a McDonalds franchise which is (or at least was) a licence to print money. Different sports. Speedway doesn't bring the Polish community together in the UK, so why would it in a country where the sport is virtually unknown? Presumably much of the Polish community in the US is also several generations removed from Poland now. Pick any Polish person at random in the street and ask them what they know about speedway. I've met precisely two outside of speedway circles, which demonstrates the relative standing of speedway in Poland. Don't forget that womens' basketball is even more interesting than a speedway GP..

Think outside the box? Someone just needs to stump up the readies which clearly no-one is willing to do. Not sure why people think Polish communities would be interested. Speedway is a largely regional sport in Poland and most Poles have little or no interest in it. I somehow don't think North Dakota would be a very attractive proposition...

Yep, but the SGP organisers shouldn't have approved a GP there then. A number of people on here observed the stadium didn't look conducive to good racing, and we even had Philippe on here making excuses about it before it was even run, so one wonders how it passed muster in the first place. Similarly for the Riga stadium which had to be rebuilt from a dilapidated state and which no-one seems to have bothered to inspect in advance, far less run a trial meeting (which at least Finland managed). Bottom line is that it comes down to who's prepared to put up the bucks. Would have thought the best bet in the Netherlands would the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium (which is outdoors) or the Gelredome in Arnhem, but there's only a small fanbase in the country and any GP would have to rely heavily on travelling fans.

A surprising number of officials in sport don't have a great grasp of the rules, although in fairness it's difficult to keep up with some of them in speedway. Reading the judicial reports from motorsports federations is comically funny sometimes, and quite often the officials make themselves look foolish when a competitor appeals against a decision they've made. Unfortunately though, this is just reality and regardless of how good or bad officials might be, they're also necessary to the running of a meeting. It's also harder than most fans (and evidently journalists) think to judge racing incidents - there are actually a lot of things to think about and observe beyond two competitors racing side-by-side, and it's well known that human beings can only process a limited number of things at once which is why you sometimes see GP drivers (and referees) making what seem to be apparently ridiculous mistakes. The same with football which nowadays has professional referees, but who still make mistakes. The bottom line is that just as competitors make mistakes because they're human, so do officials. I have less tolerance for officials that can't be bothered to acquaint themselves with the rules or who are unnecessarily jobsworth'ish, but I've every sympathy for officials who just make honest mistakes of judgement. I've also occasionally been asked to clerk motor sports events and whilst you do get paid, it's basically expenses and a bit of beer money. You're not going to make any sort of living unless you're doing Formula 1, and even then probably not.

Heerenveen is considered the Wembley of speed skating, hence the investment in the facilities in a small town.

I made a perfectly reasonable point about the sport's premier event being run for the benefit of those who run the sport day-to-day, as indeed happens in many if not most sports. You merely responded with your usual shilling for the incumbent organiser, without actually explaining why you think others are incapable of doing similar. And it wasn't me that made those ridiculous excuses for a litany of organisational screw-ups.

Yes, it's much more complex to arrange shale in a pyramid shape than we can imagine... and it's difficult to avoid women's basketball tournaments.

I've more than a fair idea about event organisation. There's nothing inherently complex about running the GP series, and BSI have hardly always been the best exponents of it over the years. The most difficult part is undoubtedly the track construction at temporary venues, and there's a bit to think about with respect to television. But that's why they hire in specialists to deal with that aspect, and it primarily comes down to being organised. Why on earth do you think that leagues that stage far more meetings per year and manage to televise them, wouldn't be capable of doing the same if they put their minds to it? I know that BSI probably look good when compared to the BSPA, but nothing they're doing is rocket science for a moderately capable events management company.

The main change that needs to happen to the SGP, is being run by a consortium of the professional speedway leagues for their benefit. A competitive qualification system is also needed whereby riders qualify via their performances in national leagues rather than the current handpicking of those whose faces fit. The rest is just tinkering around the edges.

Nice deflection, but no doubt one of the conditions of hosting a GP is contracting with Speedsport to provide the track. I'd certainly not carry the can for their incompetence.

So BSI don't agree to do provide anything at a GP then - like the riders for example? What about Speedsport who no doubt BSI insisted on building the track? If the PZM didn't have contracts in places for these things, then more fool them, but astonishing that you think the BSI shouldn't carry any responsibility for the whole fiasco.

The local organiser was PZM, so they're the ones who get shafted. Maybe they can countersue BSI for breach of contract.