MattK

Why did he choose not to ride in the Aus U21s, therefore making himself ineligible for the World U21s? I'd have thought a rider with ambition would want to compete against the best in the world in his age group.

Also not riding in the World U21s.

Every season I think this is the one where Morris will struggle - yet he continues to improve. It's a shame he doesn't have more ambition/better advice as he could have been a world class rider by now.

The trouble with speedway is that it's literally run be amateurs. Let me give you an analogy. The company I work for pays millions of pounds to employ professionals to run its IT systems. Now, they could save this money by getting amateurs to design, develop and maintain these systems, but very quickly the systems would become outdated, unreliable and ultimately customers would take their business elsewhere. Speedway uses plucky, but often hapless amateurs to do everything from track preparation to meeting presentation. The argument for this is cost, but as I have displayed above, amateurs often cost more in lost revenue than it would actually cost to employ professionals to do the job properly.

Very good question. The Workington site says "Luke Crang has been called in to replace Kenneth again as this is the only option the Comets management team has as Poland is not Kenneth's home country" Will be intertesing to see what happens on Tuesday. Maybe Swindon will be granted a facility "in the best interests of the sport"?

You'd think Ward would be sick of the sight of Vodka after the last incident.

Swindon already got stung a few seasons ago by offering a similar discount on GroupOn and openly admitted it was only regular fans who purchased the discount tickets. Now they are doing the same thing again? Five pound entry is a great offer, but heavily promote it in the run up to the meeting and then offer it on the gate. Why force people to buy tickets in advance?

But that's not going to help attract new fans, which surely is the point of any offer? The only people who will buy tickets in advance are regular fans who would have paid full price anyway and if anyone turns up on the gate having seen the offer on the web site will be disappointed by having to pay full price.

The web site definitely gives the impression that admission is a fiver, regardless of whether you buy a ticket in advance or not.

I've always wondered why clubs don't offer free entry to the first meeting of the season to get people "in the habit"?

You have to hand it to Belle Vue, they are the masters of marketing.

Isn't the actual reason that both Poole and Coventry have strong reserve who's point obviously count towards winning a meeting, but not towards averages? Not if a team's total points is below 34. Poole effectively have 0.84 in the bank, plus the average of the rider they wish to replace.

Does anyone know when the plans displayed a few weeks ago will actually be submitted for planning permission?

That's the point though, isn't it? WWE is massively popular due to the hype and atmosphere of an event, even though it is not classed as a "sport". Speedway on the other hand is a proper sport yet is dying on it's feet (at least in Britain) and your average meeting is about as riveting as a visit to the local morgue.

I think charging a local news outlets for the "rights" to cover your sport would be the dictionary definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face. Either way, I don't think live text updates has any inherent value, certainly not compared to live TV or even radio, therefore it would be unlikely any outlet would pay for the privilege.

Where was Nielsen today?

Presumably the same as all the other sites and Twitter accounts which provide live updates?

I agree. Given speedway's target market, maybe they should spray bottles of carbonated energy beverage at one another?

Rules don't make any reference to starting line-ups: 16.1 Fixtures shall take priority as follows: FIM SGP, SWC, SGP Qualifying Meetings, FIM Junior Speedway Championship Meetings British Championships (Senior, Junior), BSPA Shared and Fee Events Official Competitions: 1. Elite League; 2. Premier League; 3.National League. NB. Non-Official Competitions have no priority over any of the above. A Rider must be released to take part in a higher priority Meeting, unless he is “Doubling Up” or on the “Elite Draft”, in which case the priority for a clash of Official Meetings is as follows: 16.1.1 The “owning” Club (ie. on Club’s Retained List) or before the start of the Season was transferred with the full Transfer Fee being paid. 16.1.2 If neither Club has “ownership”, then it is determined by the League status of the Club that does “own” the Rider. If that Club is a NL Club then agreement can be made otherwise SR 16.1 applies. 16.1.3 The Original Fixture if there is a clash with a re-Arranged Fixture 16.1.4 A Transfer during the Season does not change this priority.

Have we concluded why Grajczonek, as a Poole asset, is riding for Somerset rather than his parent club?

I don't think so. 17.6 FACILITIES a) Absent Rider (1 – 5) G or ARR Absent #6 or #7 G (EDR Rider only) c) “No Facility” for Absent 1-5 PL G (PL MA of 6.00 or less) 17.6.1 When an ACU licensed Rider is nominated by the ACU to represent the ACU in an FIM Speedway Championship, or is selected to ride Speedway for Team GB or GB U21, then irrespective of the Rider’s MA a choice of Guest or Rider Replacement facility is available. 17.6.2 Where a Team uses the ARR Facility, they may nominate an additional Rider (#8), who is eligible to take any rides that could have normally been taken by the Absent Rider during the Meeting, provided that the nominated Rider is another contracted Rider, but not included in an Elite League Team's currently declared 1-7 and whose MA does not exceed EL 3.00. 17.7 A GUEST RIDER (G) replaces an absent regular Team Member subject to the following: 17.7.1 If the absent Rider is in the Top 1 – 5 of the Team, then the Missing Rider’s MA will be enhanced by + 5% at a Home Meeting to determine the allowance for the Guest Rider. 17.7.1.2 A Rider may ride as a Guest (in an Official Meeting) at a Track only once in an 8-day period unless replacing the Home Teams #1 or is a NL Rider guesting for the Home Team. 17.7.1.3 The Guest must be in a current Team Declaration and have an MA that is the same or lower than that of the absent Rider. If a replacement PL Rider also has a current EL MA then the higher of the MA’s will dictate the eligibility. 17.7.1.4 The Guest assumes the position and MA of the Missing Rider.

Yes, there are greyhounds on this morning

Nothing in the rules about signing for clubs in any particular order: 16.1 Fixtures shall take priority as follows: FIM SGP, SWC, SGP Qualifying Meetings, FIM Junior Speedway Championship Meetings, British Championships (Senior, Junior), BSPA Shared and Fee Events Official Competitions: 1. Elite League; 2. Premier League; 3.National League. NB. Non-Official Competitions have no priority over any of the above. A Rider must be released to take part in a higher priority Meeting, unless he is “Doubling Up” or on the “Elite Draft”, in which case the priority for a clash of Official Meetings is as follows: 16.1.1 The “owning” Club (ie. on Club’s Retained List) or before the start of the Season was transferred with the full Transfer Fee being paid. 16.1.2 If neither Club has “ownership”, then it is determined by the League status of the Club that does “own” the Rider. If that Club is a NL Club then agreement can be made otherwise SR 16.1 applies. 16.1.3 The Original Fixture if there is a clash with a re-Arranged Fixture

So if Grajczonek is a Poole assets, why isn't he riding for Poole tonight, instead of Somerset?

Is Grajczonek a Poole asset?