False dawn

Well I went to 4 youth meetings this year and the behaviour of fans was good. The crowds were big enough that poor social distancing could easily have been a problem but it wasn't. In fact the conduct of fans was significantly better than many people I've encountered in the local supermarket.

i've been an advocate of one league. But, ironically, don't you need more riders to fill all the teams in one league as opposed to riders doubling up in two?

I am, like many I'm sure, very disappointed by this news. Elllis not only made history last year, but made a lot of fans by his never give up attitude. From a short conversation I had with him, he also struck me as a decent bloke. I am a little dismayed by Stewart Dickson saying he is unhappy about comments made by Ellis (?). I really hope that Ellis might return to the sport in the future and my sincere desire is that no bridges have been burnt with Leicester.

That's a clear and detailed analysis of Arnie's final years in the sport. Thank you. Are you able to give us a similar summary of his years at the top?

You have to have some sympathy. We've been doing that for years.

I know the scale is not the same, but this reminds me of Workington closing after winning three trophies.

Yes I remember that. Whatever next? Double points?

The "stadium" was full. The whole of the speedway world was watching on T.V.

So there are a set of rules and procedures covering possible postponements. These include the provision for a one day event and a reserve day on the Sunday. So why oh why did they start this meeting on the Saturday when it was clear that they only "hoped" they could get to heat 14? If that heat 15 accident had happened in say, heat 6, what then? Well, I suggest, the riders would have said it was too dangerous, the meeting would have been called off and a full 23 heat final would have taken place on the Sunday when the weather forecast had already suggested better conditions. Instead of that, in a year of precious little speedway, we all feel cheated.

Wouldn't it be ironic if we got an early fixture list for 2021. We've been shouting at the promoters to do this for years. Oh well, it only took a global pandemic.

Olly Allen came to a meeting of the Nuneaton Supportes Club in February. He has been very active in getting the Poultec apprenticeship going. It provides for recognised engineering qualifications as well as specialist speedway knowledge. This includes bike and engine training, track craft (regular track days under the guidance of senior riders) and other aspects of being a professional rider such as diet, keeping in good shape and dealing with the fourth estate. Olly brought several youngsters from the course with him to the meeting and their appearance, ability to speak, and thier overall demeanour was very impressive. Olly explained that he has been jointly recruited to the GB Team Management with Simon Stead because of his expertese with young riders. What he is bulding is a speedway academy and I, for one, wish him well in this endeavour.

Many years ago, I was also wrongly prescribed beta blockers. My experience mirrored your own. I also felt like I was unable to feel any sort of emotion, good or bad. I quickly stopped taking them and found better medical advice.

Bill had tremours for which he took betablockers. Unfortunately, the ruling body banned their use so Bill "used" multiple pints of lager instead. Some of which he managed to offset against his tax bill.

The nature of addiction eh? If we understood that, we could save many (famous sportspeople or not).

Then we need to tighten the rules. Miss a meeting where you're scheduled to appear where random testing takes place and you have 72 hours to present yourself for testing. Miss the test and you're automatically suspended pending further investigations. Can we, in any way, turn a blind eye to the possibility that a small minority of riders are endangering their peers due to drug or alcohol abuse?

Have the government cancelled the whole year then?

Thank you for further factual background. Reading between the lines, is it possible to be a drug user but it not be detected by tests with enough foresight and planning? And even if it is, the rider involved does not strike me as someone who could institute such a highly disciplined regime. I guess people have "assumed" hyper behaviour indicated drug use which in turn lead him to try and obtain money in an easily discovered way on his doorstep. Coupled with the vunerable nature of the victims has resulted in the less than sympathic response on here. You certainly don't get sentenced to 7½ years in prison for a minor offence. If funding a drug use wasn't the motivation, what the hell was the perpetrator thinking?

Sod it. I'm taking my referee exams. Then I can get that smell even if fans ain't allowed in.

Well even the 10 meeting one wasn't very good value this year, was it? I'll get my coat.

He's waiting till he's done a spell as GB team manager

You can't help but wonder if the tests could be made slightly less random. Surely if a rider is a persistent drug user, such knowledge will become well known in a tight knit community. It wouldn't be difficult to "arrange" a test. In fact, evidence of drug taking should be treated in just the same way as a rider smelling of alcohol. There must be provision in the rules for the Clerk of the Course to prevent a rider from riding.

Amen to that.

It's better than that. We (*) did win all of our fixture(s). And they were all away from home. A unique record I reckon. * It suit me to be included in the Leicester fan base at present, pending the return of the Bees to their rightful home at Brandon.

Freddie's not riding is he? Scrape through on 7, come 3rd in heat 21 and win the final. Simple. On a serious note. With 6 riders chasing the same piece of shale in turn 1, I do hope it's not wet.

This started out as a serious thread. Well semi serious. But now it's descending into total silliness. I love it!