2006 - Rules ?

[Scarface]

So with another season coming to an end in a few weeks time, what changes will there be to the rules for next season ?

 

With a few teams struggling financially, will there be a reduction in the points limit ?

 

Will the T/R rule remain the same ?

 

What would people like to see change ?

 

Personally, i think the 45 points limit is about right, and that if it is lowered it would lower the standard of pl racing.

[BertHoven]

So with another season coming to an end in a few weeks time, what changes will there be to the rules for next season ?

 

With a few teams struggling financially, will there be a reduction in the points limit ?

 

Will the T/R rule remain the same ?

 

What would people like to see change ?

 

Personally, i think the 45 points limit is about right, and that if it is lowered it would lower the standard of pl racing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The abolition of the circus and the return of the sport of speedway!

 

This would be achieved, in my opinion, by the abolition of the Joker, Tactical Rides, Tactical Substitutes, double points and [of course] the abolition of the play-off system.

 

I realise that this may result in fewer matches but there would be compensation in quality would supercede quantity.

[AndyM]

Problem is that the BSPA will have a stack of occasionally conflicting proposals designed to resolve the known issues, some relevant and many not; they will argue the toss and end up with a package which has not been thought through and but will be votied in by consensus.

 

If they continue to bury their heads in the sand and think 5 minutes ahead, league speedway will have all but died within 5 years under the pressure of rising costs and reducing attendances. |Stark but true!

 

I really hope that what they choose to do this year is break the habits of a lifetime, appoint a subcommittee comprising management and speedway experts (eg. ex-riders), and give these people two or three months to conduct a complete review of all current circumstances in UK league speedway, including a vision of what the future will look like with and without change. They must make a programme of recommendations for the short- and long-term (at least 10 years) to propose how league speedway can be made to continue, grow and flourish.

 

Only then should the BSPA make decisions about where to go next and who should be responsible for its governance and strategic direction.

[BertHoven]

Problem is that the BSPA will have a stack of occasionally conflicting proposals designed to resolve the known issues, some relevant and many not; they will argue the toss and end up with a package which has not been thought through and but will be votied in by consensus. 

 

If they continue to bury their heads in the sand and think 5 minutes ahead, league speedway will have all but died within 5 years under the pressure of rising costs and reducing attendances.  |Stark but true! 

 

I really hope that what they choose to do this year is break the habits of a lifetime, appoint a subcommittee comprising management and speedway experts (eg. ex-riders), and give these people two or three months to conduct a complete review of all current circumstances in UK league speedway, including a vision of what the future will look like with and without change.  They must make a programme of recommendations for the short- and long-term (at least 10 years) to propose how league speedway can be made to continue, grow and flourish. 

 

Only then should the BSPA make decisions about where to go next and who should be responsible for its governance and strategic direction.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

There is much to commend that approach, Andy, but I fear those who control the destiny of speedway are to entrenched to consider such, to them, radical action.

[SCB]

What woud I like to see? A plan where they agree NOT to change the bloody rule for 5 years. Even if they are stupid. We need consistency. At worst we need slight tweaking.

 

Obviously, to do that, we need a whole new rule book and someone (a group of people? Riders, fans, managers, promoters, referees, SKY) should be working on this NOW!

Edited September 10, 2005 by SCB

[BertHoven]

What woud I like to see?  A plan where they agree NOT to change the bloody rule for 5 years.  Even if they are stupid.  We need consistency.  At worst we need slight tweaking.

 

Obviously, to do that, we need a whole new rule book and someone (a group of people?  Riders, fans, managers, promoters, referees, SKY) should be working on this NOW!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Instinct tells me that it would be unwise to allow 'fans' any involvement in deciding the rules of the sport.

 

As to the involvement of the televison company; the fact that they invest a fair amount of cash in speedway does, quite definitely, give them the right to a good measure of involvement. I personally wish this was not the case.

[AndyM]

There is much to commend that approach, Andy, but I fear those who control the destiny of speedway are to entrenched to consider such, to them, radical action.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Entrenched? Well, maybe so - all the more reason for their needing a fresh and independent set of eyes to look over the circumstances. This is why business makes extensive use of management consultants! I'll happily do an excellent job for the promoters, if called upon!!

[the kraken awakes]

Instinct tells me that it would be unwise to allow 'fans' any involvement in deciding the rules of the sport.

 

As to the involvement of the televison company; the fact that they invest a fair amount of cash in speedway does, quite definitely, give them the right to a good measure of involvement.  I personally wish this was not the case.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

in the end tho fans will be involved in any decisions because they will decide with there feet by not turning up to meetings because they are fed up with the sport being destroyed by stupid rules such as the 9 point tac rule

[SCB]

Instinct tells me that it would be unwise to allow 'fans' any involvement in deciding the rules of the sport.

 

As to the involvement of the televison company; the fact that they invest a fair amount of cash in speedway does, quite definitely, give them the right to a good measure of involvement.  I personally wish this was not the case.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hang on. I make it say an average of 1,500 fans per meeting, at £10 a person is £15,000 per meeting from the fans. ONE EL team is is 18(meetings) X £15,000 and there are 10 teams. In the PL it's 20 (or 21) meetings for 14 teams.

 

So in PL, PT, EL it's £15,000 X 10 X 18 and £15,000 X 14 X 20. TOTALS = 2.7 million for the EL and 4.2 million for the PL fans. TOTAL = £6.9 million. Thats not including play-offs, KoC, PT later rounds or Craven Sheild either. Do Sky pay 6.9+ million pounds per season? I doubt it. So the fans pay more so if by your reasoning, Sky give a bit of cash they deserve a say, the fans deserve an even bigger say.

Edited September 10, 2005 by SCB

[DW]

1500 fans!!! If Glasgow had that, we'd be looking to run EL never mind PL!!!!!We rarely top 800 adults!!!

[SCB]

You have 800, Newport have 400, Workington have 2000, Poole have 2,500. Is an average of 1425 I did say AVERAGE.

 

I guess I could go to every track and count the exact number of people, count there wallets and purses as they enter the stadium and count them again as they exit and see exactly how much people spend at spedway. Is it only £10 to get into Glasgow, or a little more? Don't you have challenege meetings too? What about a track shop where a little more money is spent?

[AndyM]

in the end tho fans will be involved in any decisions because they will decide with there feet by not turning up to meetings because they are fed up with the sport being destroyed by stupid rules such as the 9 point tac rule

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Fans are key stakeholders who have been ignored or certainly taken for granted by the vast majority of promoters in recent years. If our views aren't taken into account you can hardly blame us for voting with our feet and taking our hard-earned cash elsewhere, can you? Fans may not appear very grateful for what you do right, but they're very quick to complain if things aren't right, so it's pretty important for the clubs to respond to constructive criticism (remembering the disdain if not contempt with which we were held by the Perrin regime?)

 

Most good companies spend a great deal of time and trouble listening to the views of their customers before launching new products or changing existing ones, for the very good reason that the success or failure of the product can have a critical impact on the success or failure of the company. How come speedway clubs haven't cottoned on to this yet? However, rather than adopt tokenism it would be good if the promoters can think hard about how best to achieve effective fan representation so - even if decisions are ultimately taken with a complete disregard to our views.

[BertHoven]

Hang on.  I make it say an average of 1,500 fans per meeting, at £10 a person is £15,000 per meeting from the fans.  ONE EL team is is 18(meetings) X £15,000 and there are 10 teams.  In the PL it's 20 (or 21) meetings for 14 teams.

 

So in PL, PT, EL it's £15,000 X 10 X 18 and £15,000 X 14 X 20.  TOTALS = 2.7 million for the EL and 4.2 million for the PL fans.  TOTAL = £6.9 million.  Thats not including play-offs, KoC, PT later rounds or Craven Sheild either.  Do Sky pay 6.9+ million pounds per season?  I doubt it.  So the fans pay more so if by your reasoning, Sky give a bit of cash they deserve a say, the fans deserve an even bigger say.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I did not say that the views of fans should not be taken into account. I stated that, in my opinion, it would be unwise to involve them in drafting the actual rules of the sport.

 

My apologies if I did not make that clear.

[SCB]

Fair enough, I think a group of fans should be involved. I agree that the promoters would have biggest say, then the riders then the fans/Sky. I'm sure very few would agree with that order

[AndyM]

Your average promoter would sooner saw off his own leg than give fans any say over the way speedway is run - and therefore his means of earning a living. It won't happen, but as I said in my previous post the promoters do need to take the views of fans as the paying public more seriously into account.

 

Of course, you could always buy shares in the company running your club...but then again, what are promoters but fans who became shareholders and/or entrepreneurs? They certainly didn't enter speedway to become multi-millionaires (with the possible exception of Stuart Bamforth!)

Edited September 10, 2005 by AndyM

[the kraken awakes]

I did not say that the views of fans should not be taken into account.  I stated that, in my opinion, it would be unwise to involve them in drafting the actual rules of the sport.

 

My apologies if I did not make that clear.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

but surely if promoters listened to the fans they would be involved in the drafting of rules, take for instance the tac rule which has already been mentioned,nobody seems to like it and most people last year were hoping it would be abolished or severly altered but alas no what happened it went up from 8 points to 9 points, blimey the promoters really listened to the fans then didnt they. i bet the same happens this year people have been moaning about it all season but i bet it will be back next season, trouble is being a good speedway supporter i will have already bought my season ticket for next year before the promoters meeting so it will be a case another season of like it or lump it

[rabbit]

You would be surprised just how many promoters. team managers, riders etc actually read this forum and gauge (between the cr@p that's written) the feeling of the fans. OK, so maybe some things, like the tactical ride rule etc still come in that the majority of fans don't like, but then the fans aren't the ones paying the wage bills and trying to balance the books. I'm certain a lot of fans would have a heart attack to know the wage bills of the riders out there and the associated costs. It's OK to sit at home and whinge, but if you were the ones paying the bills you'd soon change your mind if only xxx number of people were coming in each week.

 

I'd agree that we need more consistency and less major changes, but I get the feeling that sometimes fans just don't like change whatever the reason behind it. Remember the outcry when it was suggested getting rid of helmet colours for God's sakes!

 

I'd just say, keep putting forward your suggestions and points of view. It does get read by those in the echelons of power. Whether they do anything about it, is another matter. So using that rationale...BSPA what on earth are you thinking with this proposal for the KOC next year?! I'm semi-intelligent and I don't get it! I'm going to be innundated with questions from people around me who seem to think I have the answer to life, the universe and everything! Thanks!

Edited September 10, 2005 by rabbit

[Tsunami]

rabbit

 

The most sensible and relevant posting on this subject so far.

Reality rearing it's head.

 

[iris123]

I'm semi-intelligent and I don't get it! I'm going to be innundated with questions from people around me who seem to think I have the answer to life, the universe and everything! Thanks! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do you know the line -up for Exeters last meeting,by any chance?.

Why did Walasek not turn up,but Ulamek did?

What really happened with Ferjan that weekend?

How do Newport manage to survive with crowds of 400!?

Whats the weather going to be like for the first weekend in October?

[Dekker]

I just wish that the bspa would communicate more so that if there are changes ppl could see the reasoning, so often stuff is just handed down from above with no reasoning. The rule book should be online in full with the infamous supplementary regs.

 

 

Anyway for 2006??

 

Points limit of 45 in all 3 leagues including bonus points. For the EL grade riders using the bands as before then introduce a squad system but use the grades to stop teams bagging all the top riders by limiting them to 5 grade A&B at any one time. Teams submitted for each match must conform to the 45pt limit so a team cant use all 5 A&B at one time. All non UK newcomers to the league to start on 6pts

 

PL and CL to continue as they are, but any rider who has extensive foreign commitments which means he will miss more than 15% of planned matches to be banned from the leagues, those riders should be in EL. In the PL return to the 9pt top limit for assessed averages for recognised speedway experience ie czecho, poland etc. All others to start on 6pts.

 

Run the CL as a proper league with a genuine 4th amateur league for 2nd teams. It should be a training ground for new tracks and new promoters with a restriction of present patriality kept. Over 15 age group only.

 

Amateur league to be just that with riders on 80cc bikes.

 

Keep the T/S and T/R rules as they are simply to reduce the amount of jumping around every year. Bonus points for aggregate win and if teams dont complete fixtures in time each team to lose 3 pts for each incomplete fixture come seasons end.

 

Any more will be added.

Edited September 11, 2005 by Dekker