manchesterpaul

Got to agree that was the first thing crossed my mind when they said that it was not to be re-run

Uh Oh! did warn you that this card was not guaranteed lol. Lack of time for bleary-eyed proof reading in the early hours and lots of changes has shown up mistakes in a column. All the heat line-ups etc are still correct so far. However, in the column next to the riders name you will have to correct the odd team name in that column only. i knew heat 9 on was problematic. Glad Belle Vue are doing as well as i hoped they might. Some great 'fights' or handbags at six paces in the football match too.

All are welcome and thanks for the thanks! But i'd suggest holding back the thanks until it's proven it doesn't contain a massive blunder lol. It really shouldn't though if the sources i based it on are correct. Yep i'm allotting blame in advance on the scapegoat sources. However, bear in mind it was very much a one-off rush job and no format available etc so it's not guaranteed like the SGP cards. It's fingers crossed from now on as i'm logging off to watch the meeting and also Real Madrid v Barcelona at the same time. I'm also viewing the meeting on a basis of just so glad to be able to watch the SPORT of speedway on tv. I certainly hope everyone who has shelled out their £20 entrance fee and far more in travel expenses etc are provided with a meeting of great racing.

Ok looks like the meeting is all sorted now and i've made a racecard available as a direct download at the top of the racecard page. When i say 'looks like' that is of course not allowing for rider's van breakdowns, sudden onset of 'elite league pairs i can't be bothered with that flu' outbreak and of course the probably now likely to happen biblical plagues of varying sorts. ELITE LEAGUE PAIRS RACECARD Ok i've done my best despite all the confusion. I've gone for the 2009 format in the speedway regulations and with the line-up as per 'Skybet' less than two hours before the meeting starts. Now if anybody has to have the correct riders listed it is them. I've never had a racecard wrong before, however, this one is not guaranteed, but should be ok. I pity the specatators at the track if the meeting programme has a pre-printed line-up from even a day ago. I should have gone to the meeting armed with pens, pencils and erasers to sell. I'd never have to work again i'd make so much money lol. Please note that unlike the SGP racecards this one for the pairs is to be printed landscape as opposed to portrait. It's a nice large print version to be printed both sides of a single sheet or on two separate pages. It's a direct download with no advertising etc.

Thanks to Screamer reminding me of the existence of Skybet i'll definitely go with that line-up. After all clearly they more than anyone need to have the correct riders listed. Only thing i'm hesitating on now is that i need to be sure they are using the format in the 2009 regulations. The actual teams per heat is obviously correct but i have a slight reservation over helmet colours still particularly in heat 9. This is due to after scouring several reports from the Premier Pairs last year (same number of teams) i can't find any referencing helmet colours and they give differing order of line-ups pre-heat. If the 2009 format applies all is good. I'll give it another twenty minutes of searching around and publish it as per Skybet line-up and format of 2009 regulations. Had some helpful PM's but no 'from the horses mouth' confirmation of the format.

Just got home and......well i'm certainly holding back the racecard for a couple of hours. I was really looking forward to this event too. I did hope this wasn't going to turn out to be a farce i strongly feared it would become with regards the line-up. I think all club supporters should ask their promoter for clear explanations as to why riders and next in line replacements will not be appearing. Certainly some of them are obviously injured but each absence should be clarified. This meeting by rights should be an absolute feast of top racing and great fun and carnival atmosphere. Hopefully it still will be so, we shall see. I do worry that with the second rider on some teams being far from that high a grade, we won't get a load of 5-4's and a side barely having a race winner (or none) coming on top of the pile.

Good News It's taken a couple of hours coding and trying to 'reverse engineer' the line-up/format from last years Premier Pairs event, however, i've made a super scorecard. Bad News I'm reasonably confident i have the match-ups done correctly. Unfortunately, unless someone can confirm that i have also worked out the helmet colours for each race correctly, i'm not prepared to put it out there for download. I'm perfectly certain i'll be printing it out using it as i'm reasonably confident i have it sussed. I'll be waiting until late afternoon anyway in case any more riders drop out of the meeting. If anyone has a programme from last years Premier Pairs and can check it for me, i'll come back tomorrow early afternoon to see if the following test questions have been answered. 1. Did the King's Lynn pairing Kevin Doolan and Kozza Smith wear Red and Blue respectively in heats 5, 11 and 17? 2. Did they wear White and Yellow respectively in heat 1? This part has got me worried if i've figured it correctly lol. 3. Did the Newcastle pair of Kenni Larsen and Mark Lemon wear Red and Blue for all of their heats, namely, 1, 7, 13, and 19. If anyone does have access to such info please feel free to throw a few more examples of riders helmet colours in the races. In the absence of a detailed helmet list of the meeting last year or a link to one on a webpage, i'll probably still make it available if the above all match positive. It seems a shame to hog it all to myself if i do have it worked out. I'm trusting of course that the line up of teams advertised all over is indeed the draw order of them too. It isn't alphabetical so i presume it is indeed in draw order. GOOD NEWS UPDATE As Victor Meldrew would say 'i donnnn't believe it' I could have saved myself a good hour's toil. I decided to check Google's cache for previous years 'Speedway Regulations' as the 2011 version doesn't contain the format for the meeting. Lo and behold in the 2009 version is the format for the ten pair version. There would have been a few errors in the one i was trying to work out backwards. So hoping that they haven't (1.) tweaked that formula and (2.) the line-up is listed in draw order, i'll make a race card available. I'll wait until late afternoon before putting it online so i can try and include late rider changes. Unlike my Grand Prix race cards this one is provided at your own risk. Only on grounds of possible errors (two mentioned above) and not because it will self destruct and explode Also, i should point out that unlike the GP cards this is to be printed in 'landscape' mode. It's a good clear large print size and printable on both sides of a sheet or two pages obviously. It should therefore be available later tomorrow on the race card page, no advertising, direct download etc. etc. http://speedway.manchesterpaul.net/racecards.html

Fortunately my girlfriend is a nurse and i'm used to being awake at odd hours. I've just spent a good few hours doing a 'Jimi Hendrix' (burning the midnight lamp). Noooo you thought wrong, you thought as i, forlornly dreamt, (groupies!!!!!). Ok i managed to code and compile in the nick of time this seasons promised larger version. Cue website babble........... "MiniMax Update SUPERCESSION I am so absolutely delighted at my larger version that i have now made it as my default race card. My website email box, despite repeated capacity expansions, is still considerably overloaded with requests for my larger version of the SGP racecards. After displaying it to several interested companies i have crazily turned down considerable sponsorship offers because i want to leave it as a quick free download without any external surroundings." So roll on Saturday and i sincerely hope it pleases and fits the job. I've based it on my MiniMax league tables in that one can view/fill in as little or as much info as one desires. It certainly is designed to be viewed with ease and comfort in mind.

Chuckle Chuckle

Too be honest, i hate to break it to you, but i'm fairly sure it was the Speedway Star Don't sue me if i'm mistaken or i'll have to cancel my subscription to pay for the damages. Do all the GP programmes manage to have the rider grids printed for every GP in time for the meeting still? It would be an awful situation if one had to laboriously fill in the whole scorechart and race grids. I'd consider it amateurish and embarrassing if it is the case. Unfortunately, i've never been able to be free to attend a GP (these straitjackets are soooo hard to get out of when your surname isn't Houdini)

Ok i've Googled until i gone goggle-eyed to no avail. Anybody know when the draw is for the meeting? The Facebook and Wikipedia pages just say draw is "on at 1300 CST"!!! Are we still stuck with the awful day before scenario?. It was supposed to be a grand new procedure this year, making the draw a week in advance and possibly at the end of the previous week's GP. We are one week in advance of the meeting now.

Sad to hear. Incidentally your 'Slovenian News' thread was out of sight when i posted this thread. I would have used that if i had seen it. I hope publicity and attendances improve for the sport. Also hope that it isn't a case of more people read the slovenian news on your thread here than read of it in Slovenia!. Is it just that particular track struggles or the sport as a whole. Only i'm sure a couple of years ago when replying to a thread in the SGP section, i pointed out that the SGP attendances for tracks in eastern europe compared favourably with those nations international football attendances. I'll have to grab the time to do a search. Many thanks for the news updates and results. I'm always very interested in the well being of the sport in other countries.

Do any of our international correspondents know if this photo was taken during or before the meeting? Slovenia versus Croatia crowd? Ideally anyone know the attendance for the match?

Thanks for the link and it's a nice little design for a live scorechart etc. I'll check the site out in general when can grab some time. Got two football matches to watch at once now though lol. So will have to give this meeting a miss as i only have one pair of eyes and ears. I'd like to see Latvia do well and i'd love the Speedway Star to do a feature on the sport in that country (as well as Argentina).

How is it a last minute change? In the SGP press release i pasted in my post above, which was issued on the 26th January, it states the 17th April. "FRENCH TARGET SWC France will bid to win a place in this year’s Speedway World Cup when they enter the qualifying round at Italian track Lonigo on April 17. The host nation will also be in action, but the Czech Republic and Slovenia start as favourites to reach the main competition. Meanwhile, the United States of America will bid to reach the last eight at German circuit Landshut on May 7, where they will be up against Germany, Finland and the Ukraine. Last year's winners Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Team Great Britain, Australia and Russia are all seeded into the main tournament after progressing beyond Events One and Two in 2010." Or are you saying it was subsequently changed after January and then changed a second time again? In which case i guess it is speedway hee hee.

Isn't this the round that originally was supposed to have France!!!!!!!! competing? Or was that some wierd dream? I think it was announced at the start of the year somewhere or other. Anyway clearly Latvia are a far superior team and i much prefer for them to take part. UPDATE AND I AM NOT DOING A 'BLACK SABBATH' (aka....am i going insane) Was coming back to post to say i fear am losing my mind because the first couple of pages from a Google search gave no joy. However, i put the word France first and tried again which led to this press release on the SGP website (26th January); "FRENCH TARGET SWC France will bid to win a place in this year’s Speedway World Cup when they enter the qualifying round at Italian track Lonigo on April 17. The host nation will also be in action, but the Czech Republic and Slovenia start as favourites to reach the main competition. Meanwhile, the United States of America will bid to reach the last eight at German circuit Landshut on May 7, where they will be up against Germany, Finland and the Ukraine. Last year's winners Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Team Great Britain, Australia and Russia are all seeded into the main tournament after progressing beyond Events One and Two in 2010."

With respect this thread is now bordering on the insane. It's in a loop with several contributors clearly not going to accept what the others state no matter how well put. Surely everyone has stated their case and views multiple times now and those views are clear to all who read the thread. In view of the time spent by Philip Rising having to repeatedly address the same allegations etc. i hope there is going to be a Speedway Star magazine published this week lol. Obviously the phrase give them enough rope and they'll hang themselves comes to mind on occasions. I know who and what i believe in regard to the various matters. However, if this loop has to continue, can we not have a separate Gelsenkirchen conspiracy thread (or the old one renewed)? That will allow this one to return to the original main subject matter. Peace maaaaan (says me pulling on my NATO helmet and flak jacket etc)

Some very interesting info above and thanks to all for it. I've always watch the Argentinian clips on You Tube every so often. They certainly seem to attract good crowds too. I so wish the Speedway Star would take a leaf out of the 'World Soccer' magazine and do a feature over several pages on the sport in a particular country once a month. First one ARGENTINA!

Just a slight diversion from the topic. Got to say i'm impressed that the Star seems to be producing 'exclusives' as in fresh unpublished news most weeks now. I'll always buy the magazine as it's a fantastic state of the art publication for the sport, but nice to see one can often expect a new story. Also, well pleased that someone at the highest levels of the magazine is becoming considerably more active in the forums of late. I don't think people realise the importance and significance of the magazine to the health of the sport. Oh yeah! what's with unambitious Olsen only wanting 18 lol.

I wish i knew who to thank for making the tables a 'sticky'. I'll see if it's possible to mass PM the mods a 'much appreciated' note. I did indeed contact the Speedway Star - turns out it was nearer four years ago. Whilst they took on board my request for an amendment to their SGP sheets they said that changing the software for their league tables would be more difficult. They said they would look into it and contact the person who wrote their software. I was a little surprised because whether your league tables, and stats of any kind, are database or spreadsheet based it only takes a couple of minutes to reposition the column orders (and transfer associated formula) be it for working or printing/publication purposes. There would be no redesigning costs that i could see. The most laborious and hardest part of constructing a software program is in the initial designing of it. It should be a relatively easy and speedy task to change the display order of the columns. I just presumed that they decided they wanted to keep the traditional look and myself being one who holds the Speedway Star and it's layout (league tables aside) as a superb product i left it at that. All i can suggest is that if anyone really prefers the layout of the tables i designed then pop the Star a note showing them the tables and asking them to look into the idea once more. Got to admit i do wish they had at least adopted the matches raced and points gained as the first two columns. Ok AND the race points to be shown as a match average too lol. If one is to be able to make instant sense of the two most important values in a table one would need to possess panoramic vision. As it stands, one loses track trying to align the points with matches. Your eyes have to flit from one side of the page to the other when comparing each team. They are the two features that everyone seeks out when glancing at a league table. All the other info is appreciated and looked at from time to time, but you need to be able to scan up and down in one narrow sweep in order to speedily comprehend the important stuff. Thanks for mentioning the page to others. Don't forget the percentage column will become far more useful and meaningful as the season progresses. Also, i will likely add the 'projected points' feature later on in the year, or slightly sooner if matches ridden and/or home away imbalances becomes too silly.

Going to pick your brains if it's ok. Great to hear of good crowds in Belguim. How well or poorly attended are the dutch meetings?. Is grasstrack racing popular in both countries, and considerably more so than speedway? If so, is there not any big crossover of fans to speedway meetings? How aware are the grasstrack fans and the general public of speedway itself and of any meetings that are staged?

Many thanks heathen79. If you know of anyone who might like the page by all means pass on the link. As i can't really bump the topic myself and it will very quickly disappear out of sight on each of the Elite, Premier and National league forums. Therefore anyone who hasn't been around this couple of days will be totally unaware of it.

Note to Moderators. Whilst i personally avidly read as many sections of the forum as time allows, it is clear that a lot of members tend to only use the league section specific to their team. Therefore, i'm posting this thread in each of the three sections for the leagues that the tables cover. I trust and hope that's ok. There is no advertising or any personal gain from the table pages being viewed, it's just a service for supporters. I've set up a page on my speedway site for what i call MiniMax league tables. 'MiniMax' indicates that you can see the crucial information within your eyeline at an instant glance. Additionally, more detailed information/stats follow the first couple of columns of which you can peruse at leisure. As with most sports tables nowadays - in view of the numerous categories needing to be included - it's more instantly informative to have matches ridden and points gained as the first two columns. After all, they are the two key fields that matter with the others just being additional information. If you picture the Premier table as the season progresses you'd need to switch your eyeballs to a widescreen mode to make for easy and instant comprehension. This alteration i make to the traditional sports table means that the vital information is available at a glance. There is detailed explanation on the page itself as to the presentation of the various stats. But to touch on two categories, firstly the percentage of available points acheived. It's a telling stat in view of the way speedway awards league points nowadays. For example if a team wins all of it's home matches by 7 points or more it will have a 100% record. If a team wins all the matches by only 1-6 points it would actually have a true average of 67%. Therefore, displaying the percentage figure gives a far more accurate output than both teams being listed at 18 wins, 0 draws and 0 losses which is what a lot of tables show. When comparing teams records it also saves one from having to engage in mental arithmetic adding up the varying points for margins of victory. A simple glance at the percentage shows which team is performing better. Secondly, rather than display the total race points earned i show the average per meeting AND rounded up to whole figures, such as home 55-38 and away 46-45. That's far easier to grasp than the usually published four figure numbers which is made worse by the wide variance of matches ridden by teams. All of which makes the traditonal table layout not much use until the final table of the season. Even then, it is clearly preferable and comprehendable to have it in the form of a match average that one can make more sense of. I strongly proposed this in various speedway forums and suggested it to websites and publications years ago. Also added a nice little coloured graphic at the top of the page that i wish someone like Sky would use when referring to how league points are earned during their broadcasts lol. Minimax Tables

There have been several comments added to the link i gave and all extolling the virtues of Polish racing. Premier sports are responding quite positively and ALSO taking an interest in the Swedish league. Only slight downside is the Polish racing would unlikely be shown live on the Sunday afternoon because of other commitments. However, not a bad thing in my eyes as it is extremely rare i see meetings from Poland due to the multitude of other major sports taking place on a Sunday.

Sincere thanks for a speedy reply, much appreciated. dziękuję