mikebv

Circa (at best) 20-25000 people visit Speedway in Britain each week on average. My shop in a small part of Manchester has more customers than that.. That's the size of the sport., So.. Let the Promoters charge what they want and can get away with, supply and demand will dictate the business plan.. Most of those 20-25000 are complete die hards who will turn up every week regardless of price so fair play to the Promoter who can make money out of them..

Presume it must be in a 'conserve'ation area..? Buddum Tish.... I will get my coat.. ..

Phil or Jason?

I remember one night the meeting v the Aces getting 'fogged off' yet it was all clear at turnstile level when we all walked out.. The fog basically 'sat in the bowl' ...

No words.. One of a kind.... Truly Unique is an age of bland same old same old.. God Bless.. RIP Danny You burned bright, but sadly for nowhere near long enough.. Condolences to your family and friends..

The BDO darts did it last year with their 'World' Masters.. An organisation which is light years behind an ultra professional rival organisation that runs within the same sport... And is constantly ridiculed on social media for its amatuerish marketing, lack of clear leadership, dreadful crowd levels, unfit for purpose operating model, poor integrity, and has zero credibility in the wider sporting world media.. Any punchline can be added if required..

Unfortunately not running certain meetings can work out more profitable over a season than running them..

Agreed, And If some meetings are going to be guaranteed "loss makers" then they could just play 'rock, papers and scissors' instead to decide who goes through.. The positives are no loss making meetings. And the Cup could be done and dusted well before the cold nights of October.. Obviously it would be better to play 'rock, paper, scissors' in person rather than over the phone, to maintain the sports high reputation for integrity and credibility, (and make it more exciting) which will incur some travelling costs for the relevant team managers, but overall it would be a positive move forward for me.. Maybe even dip their toe in technology and use Skype and stream the 'matches' around the country to the thousands awaiting the results with baited breath? NB Best of Three home and away on the 'rock, paper scissors'.. No Tac Sub for double points if behind.. No guest 'rocks, papers, or scissors' allowed.

To be fair, with the sport allowing all riders to ride on an adhoc basis for any team, at any given moment, the changing of a draw won't devalue any competition too much.. Given the low level of kudos, publicity and financial reward in winning any Speedway title, saving money on travel whilst facilitating more 'local' derbies, which may produce larger crowds than riding against a team from hundreds of miles away, seems to be a sensible decision...

Yes they have, and it always struck me as strange that in this H+S litigious world cars and people could use pretty much the same strip of land.. Especially given both tracks had almost 'grass tracks' which the cars followed and no designated separate walkways adjacent..

Umfortunately the H+S laws dont make safety allowances for certain differences around each individual venue.. It will be solely based on 'risk assessment' with control measures then listed to be used, and followed, to reduce that risk and provide a safe environment.. If it's deemed having pedestrians at risk by being in a designated vehicle movement area, then there will have to be restrictions to reduce that risk.. As there will be if any pedestrian right of way is possibly impacted by moving vehicles.. It could only take one serious accident to close the facility down if proven they didn't follow the risk assessments and the owners could face criminal charges,.. Not to mention the possibly devastating impact to the person and family concerned. Sadly when it has an emotional impact, rather than just a functional one, you can very easily, and understandably, feel extremely aggrieved, even though those implementing the rules have no choice and are not targeting you personally.. Unfortunately, sometimes you simply cannot 'win' and, willingly or not, have to accept its the way it is..

I believe the pigeon is currently being prepared for its journey to HQ.. To be fair, it cannot be easy planning in fixtures when some teams haven't even got seven riders yet.. "Well, the ones I've got can be there on that Monday at the NSS, but the riders I haven't got yet might not".. The transfer window sounds like a move forward. Maybe a deadline for teams being announced should be brought in too? Sweden had their fixtures announced in the first week of December 2019.. They race on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Yet Thursday is a GB priority night? So surely GB should put the fixture lists for Thursdays out first and Sweden work around that? You can only suppose the Swedes think "sometime towards the end of January" is a bit late to inform riders, sponsors and fans of their fixture list..

When I go to other sporting events all round the world I never see cars adjacent to the playing surface.. In football for example clubs have to designate a certain % of the overall crowd level for disabled customers but that doesn't entail them parking on 'the doorstep' from the section they are allocated... All disabled bays are 'as near as possible' to the entrances but don't grant instant access. (With the sheer size of stadia logistically preventing that from happening).. The law states 'reasonable adjustments' must be made to cater equally for all, which covers access.. Having cars in areas with pedestrians would be classed as very high risk I would imagine (especially as by definition those who are disabled will be less agile and mobile to avoid any issues that may occur), and any H+S risk assessment will clearly not allow that... As someone whose work life is directed by risk assessments covering 'moving vehicles in public spaces' I was always surprised Stoke and Buxton for example, could allows cars to pass within yards of pedestrians in a 'shared space'.. 'Reasonable adjustment' is very subjective obviously but in this situation parking bays as near as possible (and enough of them), would be a minimum requirement you would think (eg like supermarkets do)... You could argue that maybe having wheelchairs available to be used might be another adjustment but the counter argument would be that if someone cannot walk a 'reasonable' distance then they should probably provide their own transportation as they would need this assistance every day of their life not just for the Speedway. It is always more difficult when something is 'taken away' as you become used to having it and relying on it. And when emotions are involved it resonates even more.. As has been mentioned previously contacting the Showground for the definitive answer will be the best course of action.. Bottom line though is that they will have to follow all H+S and Discrimination laws like any other entity so will no doubt have covered off all angles legally if they are a professional organisation..

Maybe they have only ran with the Premiership because you could end up with several riders riding for four different teams if they get dropped by their two current teams in both leagues.. ?.. Might look a bit daft given so few teams overall..?

I would suggest that Scott will be in pole position for the first change made across all teams, if he doesn't start the season with a place.. Especially if the change will be at reserve.. If it is at reserve he would be in a strong bargaining position I would think when it comes to terms as well..

Maybe the local councillors can visit the NSS..? The back straight stand certainly does its job as a noise barrier... The houses that back on to the place must be no more than 75 yards from the actual track yet you can walk behind the stand during a meeting and not hear either the racing nor the sound system.. Unfortunately 'noise pollution' laws don't recognise 'who was there first', it is simply measured as being either noise pollution or it isn't when investigated.... However, I am sure if there was a will, the decibel levels hitting the estate could be kept well under control..

Correct... A positive, well ran, entertaining Speedway experience, which gives riders opportunity for track time and to make money, and makes money for whoever is putting on the show can never be a bad thing surely? Shouldn't that be the aim for every track?

Why run two National Comps together in the same weekend? They have done the same in the past with League play offs and cups, cramming them all in at the end of the season... Which, if you are successful, results in people picking and choosing what finals to attend due to cost.. Spread out the National finals through the year.. It maintains interest across the season and will help the punters affordability... And also means teams who start the season well but then maybe have injuries and tail off, or teams that invest and make changes mid season can still be in the running for some success..

As strong as an ox.. And as mad as a box of frogs... Fear less and Box office... RIP Roman..

And Cradley rode at Stoke in the top league... And Coventry rode at Leicester in the NL It does take itself very seriously doesn't it? Pity it's operating model doesn't do the same.. Lets face it, loads of meetings will take place next year with 'select' sides, particularly at NL level as the higher leagues get priority, so does it really matter what the body colour says? Letting developing riders have more rides has to be nothing but a good thing surely? And if you can keep an old name in the public eye then so much the better for anyone's future quest in trying to find a permanent home you would think..

Put it in a black bin bag and take the bag to the local tip with all the others you have once a month.. First World problems eh?

A volleyball player won it last year so football fans can hardly moan that a Speedway World Champ wins it.. Hammer throwers, Canoeists, and a Cross Country Skier have all won over the past ten years with a footballer (Lewandowski) winning once.. Footballers don't seem to win the UK one very often either... I would imagine the Polish Speedway authorities will use this award well to push their sport even higher. .

Wow.. Sometimes I do believe those within the 'inner sanctum' see this sort of thing as 'perfectly normal'.. Whilst those who pay the wages (the fans) also known as 'those who really matter'... Think.. "What a load of bollox"....

If the British Championship was held over seven rounds at every track in the Premiership, I would suggest Cook would win it by some margin... Had a higher away average than both Lambert and Bewley And a home track he had ridden regularly for less than one season suggests he could improve this in 2020 now more dialled in..

As I say, It doesn't really matter, but interesting sometimes to know some of the inner workings of how clubs operate.. And also may help fans understand some of the various costs they have to asborb.. Which may go some way also in lowering their expectations of what their team can deliver and provide more understanding of what promoters go through.. But, quite rightly, if they want to keep certain things amongst themselves then no drama... It is only a very tiny minority sport after all so won't impact too many what the promoters do or don't..