old bob at herne bay

Sadly nothing I have seen from the UK speedway "management" amounts to anything but HOPE to run UK speedway in 2020 . They also appear to exhibit a great deal of FAITH, what is missing is CHARITY. Not one proposal about how they intend to operate a safe environment for spectators has been seen by me ......it certainly CANNOT be business as usual by the "hoped for" start date of August. No idea what sort of meaningful league programme they intend to run starting in August when they struggle to complete fixtures when they start in March. Would be interesting if Speedway Star could run some interviews with track promoters asking them some direct questions about the provisions they will be making to support spectator safety in their stadia for their hoped for start date in August ???

Ove Fundin Fan ...... you mention Leon Madsen (who's he? and what has he won? ) and Ove Fundin in the same sentence. LMAO. Different sport back in Ove's days. One bike with the front wheel removed, slung in the boot of a car, or on a makeshift bike rack. Not a sponsor sticker in sight.

Steady on Diamondboy ....... we dont want race-ism on this thread. oh and has Matt Ford got a statue in the Car Park.... given current issues it might end up in the harbour

If it's "training" - surely they can use the local park in Poole - some push ups, a bit of jogging ??? Riding around the track on their bikes - we always used to call it "practice " in England .

Richard, Thank you ... and for reminding about Danny Ayres RIP Danny.

Full marks to the TV team who produce the coverage of Eastbourne home meetings being shown on you tube. Good multi camera production. Who chooses which meetings are shown ? The one sided meeting vs Scunthorpe was not great viewing.

Rob, Regrettably, not sure that any of the points you make carry any weight without having on board a rich prospective speedway promoter or generous benefactor willing to take on the gamble and invest in speedway. Letting your land to a sport that operates 6 months of the year maybe once a fortnight just doesn't make good financial sense when you can get a regular income for a gym , a bunch of astro turf pitches for 12 months year ball sports. There just isn't any money in letting your land to a speedway in the UK compared to the potential £ millions for other options. Coventry and Oxford maybe still in existence as sites, but no one is going to stump up the cash to start up a speedway. Protests coninue but have they had any success ?? No. The sites will just lay dormant until the respective councils fall over for the extra income from business rates and award planning consent and allow the developers to move in. In no particular order ..... Rayleigh, Romford , West Ham, Hackney, New Cross, Arena Essex, Crayford, Wimbledon, Wembley, Canterbury. All gone. Dont think any of petition signing did any good at all. ..... they all closed. Just one track remains in the South East of England...... Sittingbourne....... which hangs by a thread due to the severe planning constraints. Letters supporting the changes to planning have made no difference.

So speedway with no spectators. Is it possible ? Could a meeting not be streamed online on a pay per view basis ? I cannot see regular "league racing" attracting much of an audience onlne (watched enough paint dry on the you tube offerings ) but if a series of open meetings were arranged with select teams representing a number of clubs maybe that woudl attract enough interest? Not an IT expert so dont know what would be involved - but there are already video companies out there doing speedway videos..... which can be paid for online so if they charged for a one time password to log on to the streaming service would that work ?

As cityrebel says, sad but predictable. Let's not forget that the speedway was effectively killed off by the BSPA decision not to allow Rye House to run on a Saturday evening. That was the beginning of the end. My only surprise is that the site hasn't been sold for new housing development, as did the Lakeside Bowl . Small crumb of comfort is that the local community will retain the land for a sporting activity albeit more b****y football.

Weather looks decidedly dodgy for this tonight ..... recommend you check with te track before setting off

It is hard to understand how any speedway club hasn’t got the same issues clearly highlighted in the Glasgow promotion’s statement. Speedway barely attracts breakeven attendances on a warm sunny evening .... to suggest they will be able to attract breakeven attendances under current circumstances ain’t going to happen. Parents aren’t happy to let their kids go back to school, let alone go out for the evening to a speedway track. As for the more mature sections of society many of them are still reluctant to leave their homes to collect groceries, let alone go out for the evening at a speedway track. All understandable of course .... but doesn’t make Speedway in the UK likely in 2020. I don’t see any proposals from BSPA on spectator safety being promulgated to build confidence........pointless statements saying they are ready to start the season as soon as possible.....so how about each stadium to be assessed for maximum attendance to allow safe distancing. Pre booked online tickets for meetings .. no at the gate ticket sales each ticket has a bookable allotted arrival and departure time window with allocated seating/ standing area.... no wandering around the track permitted. face coverings must be worn at trackside Management of riders/ mechanics to follow polish ekstraliga rules. NO IDEA how you manage toilet facilities. Some tracks have toilets with very cramped facilities ( Eastbournebeing one I know) with no means of safe entry/exit without bumping into people. Sadly the decision making will be like that of rain offs ..... yes the season is definitely ON ON ON and then suddenly it will be OFF. ☹️☹️☹️

WIll the Ekstraliga matches be available to view on any UK TV channels ? Either live or recorded highlights ?

Thanks Mike BV for your opinion. Yes I agree Running behind closed doors has a CHANCE of safely proceeding .... You mentioned F1 ......with its HUGE travelling entourage which has to somehow reach the worldwide venues. Still they have deep pockets and I am sure money will buy a lot of “safety systems. “ Not so for British Speedway which really ought to stop wasting effort on a dream of operating in 2020.

Thanks for replies ..... Oh dear, still some clinging to a dream of racing in 2020. Stuff the format of the league that’s not the issue. This virus isn’t just going to disappear overnight by July or August. ! No thought to how you safely accommodate several hundred spectators spaced 2m apart , allowing them safe access and egress to the stadium ... and safe use of basic welfare facilities ... or are they meant to cross their legs for 3 hours? I wait to see how the Polish Ekstraliga will safely run behind closed doors ....

Thought I would kick this one off early, as the realists amongst us realise that the 2020 British Speedway season will not happen. No clubs in the UK can afford to run behind closed doors. No clubs in the UK have the resources to safely manage crowds attending thier stadia under social distancing rules. No club in the UK can expect crowd levels approaching those of 2019 to come into their stadia, which will have no facilities open. With just the Polish Ekstraliga kidding itself that it can start in June, (heaven knows what happens when a rider is injured and requires medical supervision. ) If it goes ahead it will be like watching the timed SGP practice sessions. Surely now is the time for the BSPA to get together on a Zoom call and start planning 2021. They need to engage with all he riders and all the clubs to agree how the sport can rise from the ashes of 2020 and survive. ?

"Easy Jet have been brilliant" You must be joking. You have been done up like a kipper IMHO. Well, you might have a worthless piece of paper (an IOU ) so if Easyjet decide to remain in business you might get a flight from them form some airport to where you want to go at an inflated price - which will make their "£10" gesture worthless. I have put my refund into the hands of my credit card company for a refund under section 75.

The blue boy is correct. Self employed. Riders are free to negotiate contracts to ride for whoever they wish .... their “businesses” own their assets ( bikes) .

Good points “sings4speedway” i would suggest a club could say to season ticket holders we will honour your tickets for 2021. riders advances race suits - yes they have been paid for but the rider would be told you keep the money but no advance for 2021... race suits used for 2021. they ain’t going to be riding anywhere in 2020. Vans booked ? Cancel the booking . BSPA fees - that’s up to the BSPA if they want the sport to survive ... refund them Tough times and tough decisions but if the sport is to survive action is needed ... personally I am not hopeful that anyone in the BSPA is capable .........

With sporting events across the UK now cancelled until further notice, and Speedway surely set to follow once the BSPA has met tomorrow, can British Speedway put 2020 league speedway “on ice” , and possibly just run some ad hoc open meetings later in the year ? Surely with no meetings, the costs for a club are nil . No rent, no riders wages? These are extraordinary times and covid 19 and the consequential are surely a “force majeure” event ?

Horses cannot catch Corona Virus I guess ... the vets can treat any injured jockeys ..... one rule for some and another for the toffs who run “horsey“ sports.

“Will the premiership start on time ?” is the title of this thread. Hawk127 and The Third Man ......on another planet?

Very much depends on how many people turn out to watch, whatever the government advice. Given the age profile of the majority of supporters I would guess a fair number will stay at home and watch the TV. Personally it is hard to see the situation improving before Easter given recent actions around the World. It will surely put into jeopardy the SGP series with so many travel restrictions now coming into force. Looks like the roarin’ 20’s has started with a real roar. stay safe folks.

Iron Scorpion, apart from the Bank Holiday Monday fixtures, away support at Central Park is a very small number of fans. This is probably true at most tracks ? With the distances involved , and time taken off work to get to midweek meetings, the cost of admission is a relatively minor expense for away support.

Seems each year UK speedway continues its downward spiral to the bottom..... less entertainment and lower quantity teams for more money. Kent’s pitch at CL speedway is just a reflection on how few people are bothered to go and watch. Sadly it’s reflected in the sports magazine offering, with increased costs and less detail on match reports. The sport is slowly failing. Reducing attendances will continue to reduce still further ..... initiatives to attract a new generation of fans will fail unless the accompanying adults turn up with their kids. As for the OAPs .... they are a significant % of fans attending the sport, not sure it’s good business to not offer any concessions. Price comparisons with other tracks don’t mean much in speedway.....people who don’t go rarely to save money don’t suddenly start supporting another team. They just find other things to sped money/time. Not sure Kent can support Championship speedway at these prices with the draconian curfew still in place. Let’s hope the track delivers entertaining racing without the all too regular incidents seen at NL level last season.

Historically Kent have used Bank Holiday Monday afternoons in the NL