21st century heathen

No, because... Under the authority of the Auto-Cycle Union The Speedway Control Bureau is the sole national body appointed to encourage and control the sport of motorcycle Speedway racing throughout England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Perhaps another organisation could petition the FIM if it felt the ACU didn't have the authority claimed in this statement, and/or perhaps go to court to challenge the ACU, I don't know.

You can't name an injured rider in your team so one assumes he's going to be ready to race in a couple of months (ish). --------------------------- Great to see Armo back in speedway. He'll get to good reception at Monmore 'Wood'. Solid team they've put together again. Should be second to IOW is my gut feeling.

The circuit would lose its licence therefore the club could no longer operate out of that stadium. In most, if not all, cases that would lead to the immediate closure of the club. Whether you're pro-FIM/ACU/SCB/BSPA or not it does not alter what's in black and white. All licensed circuits/promoters/officials/competitors have accepted the regulations. Rye, Lei and the riders named so far should not have accepted the invite to stage or compete in the series without it having SCB or ACU approval, which clearly it doesn't. Whether or not we, as fans of the sport, agree with the regulations is another debate entirely (and one that comes up about 5 times a week during any average season). *edit* I should state that I understand a rider's 'I just want to ride my bike' attitude but they all have to abide by the regulations and take steps to ensure they're seen to be doing so. In cases like this I'd have thought an email or letter to the ACU/SCB asking whether the meeting is officially sanctioned would suffice. The rider would be able to demonstrate he'd acknowledged the regulations and tried to gain an assurance that it was okay for him to accept the invite to ride. A simple yes or no reply from the ACU/SCB would let the rider know where he stands.

It was proposed for the Dudley Wood site (Gundersen and Penhall were mentioned if memory serves) but the fans were, as you suggest, furious. There was a 30,000 name petition at the time to save the stadium (and this was before the modern era Internet and social websites - so just old fashioned names collected on a piece of paper) so in the face of such opposition they dropped the idea. The blood-sucking leaches did go with Stadium Drive and Racemeadow Crescent though, which are no better really. As you say - a kick in the teeth rather than a genuine nod to speedway.

Anyone's opinion on whether or not it's a good idea, whether it would be run legally and/or competently etcetera really is irrelevant. It will surely come down to a statement of fact as to whether the proposed meetings break the regulations that the like of Rye and Lei are bound by. I refer you to an extract from section 4. OFFENCES of regulations which would appear, taken at face value, to clear it up. 5. competing for, accepting or offering to accept, or advertising an award, in the nature of a title or Championship, in respect of a motorcycle competition, unless such award is recognised by the ACU or SCB I note it states "...motorcycle competition" rather than using the word speedway so it doesn't matter what you call it. The SCB has made it's position in not sanctioning the series perfectly clear. So unless there's a right to petition the ACU to overturn the SCB's decision that's an end to it I would have thought. http://www.scbgb.co.uk/pdf/regulations/2012%20SPEEDWAY%20REGULATIONS.pdf

Tell you what mate I'll give you some leeway on the wooden spoon position and offer £5 says Cov finish 6th or higher. I would say we could give our fiver to one of our group to hold to the end of the season but I wouldn't trust any of them not to treat them as beer/burger vouchers. Well yes, but not a high number. The reserves are an unknown quantity, the top three have not reached their full potential yet though. I would accept an argument that Bren and Rich won't improve, although I think Bren will improve to over 6 this season. He lost his way a bit (that's probably not the best phrase ) for a couple of years but he's got potential to do much better at this level. With half the EL assets making a bid to make it as a PL rider as well as some of the NL assets you should have a great PL line up within a couple of seasons.

I'd guess around the middle of Jan but not heard anything official. Hopefully someone can fill us in. Re Cov. I do see JJ and Sarj improving to provide a potent spearhead, and I also think Greenwood should move forward again. A lot will depend on the last signing as well. Remember a handful of last season's big hitters will be missing from the NL in '13 so a few more heat wins will go the way of last season's 2nd/3rd heat leaders even if they don't improve a great deal.

Yeah there must be lots of riders in the MX and Grasstrack scene that have a natural ability to ride a bike and could make a successful move to speedway.

Next signing officially announced later today at the club's Christmas 'do'.

I don't think we'll be top, but we should be top 4 with a little to spare. The club have done a cracking job of re-building. Mildenhall will be strong and are also likely to be in the PO's. I fancy Cov to take a PO place too. Good top three should get them there, but where in the top 4 is down to the last signing I think. Stoke have a good team on paper but too many what if's for my liking. What if Smart can't regain his form from two years ago? What if Reade consolidates this season rather than stepping up again? What if Hughes doesn't step up to the plate? It'll be a tough season if they don't all do well. KL will be much more competitive in 2013, which will be good to see. Somewhere mid-table and very respectable for them. Kent and Buxton likely to be the bottom two, but shouldn't be shouldn't be cut adrift as much as KL and Buxton were last season. That leaves IOW who I expect to be the team to beat. Perry will be one of the top two in the league again I think, Bekker will be a good number 2 (he partnered Perry most of last season so his average doesn't reflect how well he rode - 8.69 with BPs and was in stunning form when he crashed out for the season), Ellis is an absolute steal and could easily end up as one of the top 5 in the league. Hopwood and Ritchings are a solid middle order and Freemantle should easily improve significantly. Stoneman should improve to over 4 next season and is another former Heathen so knows Tom and Darryl well I assume. I think that snapping up three riders from the Heathens' table-topping 2012 squad is a smart move because the banter in the team was fantastic last season and I think they will fit in well and that will help off track as well.

I don't think the club will be 'left behind' although there have been no announcements yet. Most clubs have a pretty good idea of where they're going so the back bone of the team is probably tied up, if not more than that.

Only amongst those that get it wrong though hey ghp. Whoever we do get in the last two places I think we'll be strong and PO contenders but I don't expect anything like the kind of 1-7 form seen last season so there could be some tricky home fixtures and some long trips home after away meetings. Still, on balance I think the team has been rebuilt well considering the mammoth task faced. I think a lot could depend on the two returnees. Ash sometimes tries to rush things or tries too hard, even a combination of the two. He's got a little experience at this level now so we need to see a really mature and stable season from him. The Captaincy should help focus him and get him to lead from the front. Second place is better than falling off and if he shows that it should help the like of Max and Nathan find the balance between going for it and securing a position to take points. Dan really needs to step it up for us after a successful return to the sport. Often the 'second season syndrome' means a rider finds it tough to improve significantly in back-to-back seasons. We need Dan to do what Boris did for us this season and back up the top two with a strong 7.something average. If Ash and/or Lewis have an off-day we will need Dan to fill in with a good score home or away. Looking forward to getting the next signing confirmed now.

I'd half guessed Hughes was heading for Stoke from a couple of things I'd heard. He should make an absolute mockery of his start average. Even if Smart finds it tough to get back into the groove and average over 9 I think a slight dip by him will be more than offset by Hughes recovery to something like what he's capable off. Priest will do a decent enough job in the middle order and just keeps the points ticking over. Decent start to team building but there are slight question marks over Smart after the best part of two years out and whether Reade can kick on or just consolidate.

WOW, what a line-up. That is going to take some beating. If Darryl gets to grips with the much bigger circuit quickly there are going to be some big home scores and that's a very good team to take to any away track too. It's a bit early to state outright but I don't think we'll see a better 'on paper' team come to tapes.

17.9.3.1 Riders qualifying by UK Patriality will be given an assessed MA of 5.00 The rules were different when Dyer, Heeps and Kurtz (T) rode NL so naming them as examples is not relevant.

His average from completed meetings in 2012 was around 9½. He and Morris should be a formidable heat leader pairing.

There does seem to be a bit of mix and match going on this time around. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jacobs end up elsewhere.

Brave call. My very best wishes to all involved in 2013.

The Heathens management want to make announcements in conjunction with what suits its media partners. Blackbird was due to be announced next week, but Mr Lee blabbed to the Speedway Star and it printed his comments. That forced the Heathens to make a statement yesterday confirming that Blackbird had signed. Also an independent speedway website yesterday announced that Birks had signed for the Heathens. Obviously it's not true as he is ineligible for the NL next season. The club also made this clear in the statement released yesterday. ---------------- So four down and three to go. The club expect to make a further announcement next Wednesday. I have to say that the extraordinarily difficult task of rebuilding a competitive team for 2013 is going quite well so far. The reserves are going to be so very important to us.

http://www.dudleyheathens.co/shop.php ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another signing with great potential to improve. Welcome Lewis.

I'd like to shake the hand of whoever wrote that press release. Good luck Darryl. Give it some ommer.

I also thought poor attendance was the reason for Bournemouth closing. I think the teens need someone their own age to tell them it's cool which is why having a rider around their own age could make a difference. As I stated you do need help from the Promotion/Manager too. I just feel that with teenagers speaking their own dialect you need someone who can speak their language.

Cov has signed Richard Franklin on a full transfer. http://www.coventrybees.co/news.php?extend.2114

The lads still at school could present to their own school with help from the club. Take a bike to the school, and a presentation on the sport by the Promoter/Team Manager with the rider dressed in his kevs talking about the bike and how cool it is to be chucking it around a track. The kids would listen and perhaps take it on board from someone their own age that speaks their 'language'. Have a DVD playing, perhaps the crashes and cock-ups being the most eye-catching to anyone not already a fan. Work closely with the school and maybe (slim chance but maybe) a school with a large enough playing field could allow the rider to slide a couple of imaginary laps (just enough to demonstrate sliding the bike). In areas around the training tracks they could even invite the schools along on a trip to see what's what when the track is actually being used. The young rider then has the opportunity to get out there and show them properly. It's all about how the club pitch it to the schools. Give it some 'look at what we are doing to get kids off the street and give them some sense of direction' spin. The whole sport needs to promote itself more and better. It doesn't always have to cost a lot. The above wouldn't cost anything really. Picking up on the main point made about clubs doing EL/PL and the NL - I wonder if it's worth a club being brave enough to say admission by donation of at least £5 for each adult, under 18's free? I think you'd get more of you regular fans turn up if it's made far more financially attractive. Using Cov as an example - if they come in and charge £10/£11 adult, £7/£8 concessions and kids at £2/£3 it's going to be a squeeze on their fans to try to sell a product that the fans are mostly unfamiliar with. The mindset is going to be can we afford it and what are we getting for our money.

I've commented on what was posted here and if there's a response to it here I shall probably comment on that too. I don't have the time or inclination to go chasing around every club forum/site/fan page/blog to see what may have been stated there but may not appear here. I very much doubt anyone does. If you want to be picky about the wording I could have worded the original post to thank Mr Greenwood for his version of events but I think pretty much everyone will have read my post to mean that anyway.