chunky

I'm not looking for an argument either; simply trying to explain the way it is now...

Not just for ads. Working for 90 minutes twice a week is most unreasonable; players need all the rest they can get!

That's fine, but you will spend the rest of your life pissed off if you refuse to accept fact. Is that really what you want?

He didn't say he liked it, or it was what he wanted; he simply stated a fact. No matter how much you want to sit there and argue about it, it is 100% true. All televised sports today are controlled by TV. They arrange/approve schedules, they control commercial breaks, they control what you can and can't wear etc... You would be amazed at some of the things we have had to do in darts! No, it's not always fun, but the people who pay your wages make the rules. If you want to compete, you have to abide by the rules.

Most of us feel the same way, but as Tim said, it is what modern sport WANTS, and more importantly, what TV wants. With regard to your last sentence, it actually ISN'T a joke. It's the way that it has ALWAYS been! You just have to remember that the 20 heats are just a qualifier for the next round - the semis - in the same way that the Overseas Final was a qualifier for the Inter-Continental Final, and the Inter-Continental Final was a qualifier for the World Final. A rider could finish 8th in the I-C Final, and become World Champion. Remember, it's not just speedway. An athlete can take the last qualifying place in a heat or semi-final - and then win the final. Same with rowing, and they even have a repechage! Is that a joke? Of course not. You just have to remember that a "qualifying round" is just that, and not designed to count towards the overall result.

As we have said before, there are a number of other "team" sports and events (cycling, cross country skiing etc) where the standings are not decided by the person who crosses the line first, but when the LAST team member crosses the line. As it's a "team", that makes perfect sense. Otherwise, you are turning a team event into an individual event. Just because we have had the 3, 2, 1, 0 points system for most of our history doesn't mean that it has to stay like that. Did you object when footy changed from 2 points for a win to 3?

Right... For all those whining about the "stupid" scoring system, here are the points as they actually scored, and also as they would have been with the standard 3, 2, 1, 0 format. Actual Standard GB 32 22 SWE 30 21 AUS 30 20 DEN 28 18 CZ 27 18 POL 26 17 FIN 16 10 So, as you can see, the ONLY differences would be: Sweden one point better than Australia (but it wouldn't have changed anything) Denmark and Czechia would be level (but it wouldn't have changed anything) Is the scoring THAT crazy? Or are you just thinking, "We've always done it this way, so we should keep doing it this way!"

I'm confused... For many years, Britain struggled to provide genuine world-class riders - at any level. Currently, we have three SGP riders in the World's Top 11 - Woffinden, Lambert, and Bewley. We have one of the World's leading under-21 riders - Brennan. Woffinden, Lambert, Bewley, and Brennan were SoN Champs in 2021, and Lambert was top scorer on Day Two. Woffinden, Lambert and Bewley were second in the SoN in 2022. Woffinden was second highest scorer in the semi-final, and Lambert was fourth highest scorer in the final. Brennan led us to second in the SoN2 in 2022, and was the third highest individual scorer. Sounds good, eh? Until you read the BSF... Woffinden is an Australian has-been with a massive ego and no dedication to Team GB, and was putting on his "injury" that caused him to miss the final. Lambert doesn't even deserve to be riding in the SGP's, as he's not good enough. Bewley just gives up when he misses the start. Unacceptable, so I'm told. Brennan just "isn't on the pace". Team GB now stands for "GRUMPY BSF", and some people need to just shut the hell up, and go and watch another sport...

I doubt it...

WTF? You'd already said 'goodnight"!

Funny thing is, people still question all four finalists, and whether they are good enough to be in the GP's. I think that answers the questions...

And without our best rider - again...

I agree, but that's not the way most sports work these days. However, the team with the most points can still be champions!

So, does Woffy get gold AND silver???

People have complained about it, but I'm with you... Is there anything better?

Okay, who have we got that would genuinely have helped?

Who wudda thunk it? One race, and we could be retaining our title!

Who's your money on now?

True. I'm the cook/baker in our house! And eater...

Could understand it if it were an uncle flag...

Tellboy is...

Jealousy or stupidity True How long have you got?

I love all these experts on professional sports, don't you? Obviously had a lengthy professional career, eh?

Thanks for the confirmation!