arnieg

After last year's 14 heat fiasco this always had the capacity to be a bad tempered affair. Yet despite all that happened the Kent crowd still managed to give warm applause to Bacon and Davey. I wouldn't disagree with any of the unsatisfactory starts - in each case the rider penalised was clearly moving. (So was Bacon in heat 15, but as it was 8.29 there was no time for a re-run). The trainee referee coped well with a tricky meeting, perhaps Stoneman was lucky to survive in heat 12 (- but all 4 was still a tenable decision). I thought crowd should have been higher. Good to see Anders Rowe looking very solid. And can I add that teaboy's updates were excellent - completely impartial when there were plenty of points at which a more partizan texter could have been tempted to tell a different story.

He did indeed - good job I listed a couple of 'spares'

Poland 1 Zmarzlik ## 2 G Laguta 3 Kolodziej 4 Kasprzak ## as a Polish under 21 reserve Sweden 1 Zmarzlik 2 Dudek 3 N Pedersen 4 Przem Pawlicki Great Britain 1 Jonsson 2 Kasprzak 3 F Lindgren Denmark 1 N Pedersen 2 H Andersen Or using Dolgin's rankings: 1 Zmarzlik 2 Dudek 3 G Laguta 4 Sayfutdinov 5 Milik 6 Vaculik 7 Kasprzak

Italy are the reigning champions - that should be a clue!

Smallmead - Joy and Edna sitting in the supporters Club kiosk on the third fourth bend. Racers' very own version of 'Waldorf and Statler'. Edna went on to work in the speedway office for many years (Tony - you have her picture here: http://www.retro-speedway.com/extras/autogallery/autogallery.php?show=1.British%20Club%20Teams%20and%20Riders%2FReading%2FGLANZ%2C_Peter%2C_BLISS%2C_Pat_%26_CHANDLER%2C_Edna_84-1.jpg&start=80 ) I believe Joy's ashes were scattered on the first/second bends at Smallmead - the second meeting at Smallmead when there was a PA announcement asking the driver of the 'speedway special' to return to the car park because his bus was sinking (built on a rubbish tip subsidence was a significant risk at Smallmead) - the Reading Evening Post 'speedway specials (basically a 4 page wrap around of the normal 'Post') - the huge queues back to the M4 for the opening meeting - the never completed back straight bar, which sat on the back straight (at the back of the stand) half completed for many years - the 'Whitley Whiff' ( a bit about it here - note the photo with both Smallmead tracks in the background: http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/ten-years-whitley-whiff-vanished-7226754 )

Here's an extract from the 2007 Marketing Report which the BSPA commissioned: 3.30 What do we know about the fans? A couple of years ago a consumer research project was commissioned the BSPA and clubs were asked to distribute questionnaires. Again, many clubs were not particularly co-operative so the results will have to be taken with a pinch of salt. However, they do give a rough guidance: 70% of people who attend speedway meetings are male and 30% female. 20% bring their children 81% attend 10 or more meetings per season confirming that the sport is down to its hard core fans. Speedway fans are not particularly high earners with 31% earning below £20k and 39% earning between £21k – 40k. Their relatively low socio-demographics are also confirmed by the fact that 63% read The Star, The Sun or The Mirror. Also 31% have no qualifications and another 45% are educated to GCSE/O Level. Only 9% hold a university degree. 17% are 19-24 years old, 21% 25-34 years old and 23% 35-49 years old. All in all, this does represent a segment of society which is not particularly interesting to sponsors. Around 20% of people attend meetings with their kids, 63% with family adults and 72% attend with 1-3 other people. What is interesting is the response the respondents gave when asked why attended speedway meetings: Support the home team 30% The atmosphere 23% A good night out 20% Quality of the teams 10% Family night out 6% Other 11% Total 100% Where speedway differs significantly from other sports is the relatively little importance support for the home team actually plays, whereas the actual evening out, the smell, the noise etc is much more important. Having discussed this with die-hards, casual and lapsed speedway goers and never-beens it is quite interesting that, despite the inadequate facilities, catering and all the other issues watching live speedway can engender an excitement that developed and marketed the right way could be one of the key strands in the turnaround of the sport. What is also interesting is that the die-hards have a strong support for the sport as such and not necessarily for a particular club. “But how does speedway become "corporately" acceptable, so that a night at the local track is an alternative to other options such as horse racing? Until you've been, it's hard to appreciate how the smell, the noise and the excitement create one of the most vibrant atmospheres in all sport, but empty stands and dilapidated stadiums have trouble matching a nice marquee at Haydock. I'm not suggesting that speedway is on a level with paintballing, but perhaps it needs to be more imaginative in the way it targets work-related parties who want to go out for a good time.” John Inverdale, The Daily Telegraph

Absolute tosh When these two teams were named only Bradley Andrews and Luke Harris had NL places.

Team looks legal. Woolley replaces Mason/Bowtell and Whitmore replaces Hampshire from team that rode on the Island. I would expect Wallinger to be at reserve with Whitmore.

Yes the Swedish set up looks very vulnerable at the moment. With a succession of rising stars (Jonasson, Sundstrom, Dennis Andersson) failing to fulfil their potential and a lack of quality at the under 21 level (Joel Andersson apart) the future doesn't look good. Add in the lack of opportunities for young Swedes and the likely extinction of the Alsvenskan and I think your concerns are justified.

Would that be at Fjelsted? - hard to see any other track close enough to work.

Ah ha! I hadn't considered the guest replacements. My guess is that someone at Swindon assumed a 5% uplift for home guests, but doesn't understand that 18.12.1 does not apply to the NL (or NT)

Don't think the team is illegal. As you point out they were under 39 when originally declared - and that is all that matters. The 55 figure is however a better reflection of the team's real strength, not surprising given they had the pick from all the NL riders whose teams are not involved in the competition. (It was the same with Leicester when they entered the Trophy three (?) years ago.)

Also the fount of knowledge on Norwegian speedway and the man principally responsible for bringing Per Jonsson and Jimmy Nilsen to Reading and Swindon respectively. [The SCB in their wisdom wouldn't issue work permits believing they weren't good enough] Oh and a lovely person too.

Or Masters/Wells get 6 pointer and there is a 3-2 heat result at some point

Looks like I now have 8 hours unexpectedly free tomorrow.

Anyone spot a problem?

I was there and confirm all parts of that statement.

Most of the cost is in the set up so the marginal cost of extra programmes will he much less than that - probably nearer 50p a copy.

How inhospitable of you. Not a very welcoming way for a track to treat its customers.

Without the older amateurs there wouldn't be enough riders to keep the competition going. (Look at how often r/r is used in MDL matches) Without the development leagues there would be less meetings for younger starters. So it's a win/win - older riders get their fun and younger riders get more varied opportunities to learn. More and more riders are participating in the British Youth Championships, and both the NL and CL are now providing plenty of opportunities for younger riders. Let's be positive.

Another excellent night on the Island. Georgie Wood particularly entertaining, and 18 races completed in one hour 50 minutes. ...and a last heat decider determined by a pass. A fitting tribute to Bryn.

But will that be the case after the four week gap until the next PL meeting?

I assume that is a rhetorical question?

Extraordinary fact about this meeting - there was another one in Coventry on the same day at Foleshill (a 2.45pm start) see 'Coventry's Two Speedways' by Colin Parker

Racing wise it was one of the poorer meetings I have seen at Monmore, however the closeness of the scores kept the meeting interesting. Thought the crowd looked thin. Much speculation about Skornicki's form, while Bewley continues to impress.