Class Of 2012 - The Future Of British Speedway

[agdns]

Those of us who saw the British youth championship this year will know already the superb work done By Phil Morris and Neil Vatcher in bringing along the youngsters is starting to pay dividends. One look at the 250cc and 500cc racing and you know there are 6 or 7 boys who could go a long way in the sport. When did GB have as many talented kids coming through together?

 

We have a fabulous opportunity to build British success in the future but action is needed now to take them to the next level. In all other sports the top boys would be coached and developed and brought together for training... but unfortunately the funding just isnt there to pay for dedicated 'academy' style speedway trainig:

 

Track hire £300, paramedic £100, Insurance £80, and thats without helping the coaches with their travel expenses, methanol, oil etc.

 

We desperately need to provide dedicated training days, can you help? are you an enthusiastic individual who could pay for the methanol, are you in the health industry and will sponsor paramedics? does your company want to have the British Speedway Academy bearing your name?

 

If you want to help in taking the future of british speedway to the next level please PM me and I will pass your details on

[tonyk]

A speedway academy, would love to see it. Getting people to sponsor it, great. But along with that goes the other expenses. I was talking to a parent of one of the lads in the 500 youth championship this year and up to the end of September he had spent out in excess of £10,000, travel,equipment etc.. Great if you can do it. My lad would have liked to do it next year but we've had no luck with sponsorship this year, next year looks the same and I can't run to that sort of money. Best of luck to all those who are trying to get British speedway back to the top again.

[Great Central]

A speedway academy, would love to see it. Getting people to sponsor it, great. But along with that goes the other expenses. I was talking to a parent of one of the lads in the 500 youth championship this year and up to the end of September he had spent out in excess of £10,000, travel,equipment etc.. Great if you can do it. My lad would have liked to do it next year but we've had no luck with sponsorship this year, next year looks the same and I can't run to that sort of money. Best of luck to all those who are trying to get British speedway back to the top again.

£10,000 is a lot to spend on someone in the Youth Championship and you can do it for much less than that but it depends on where you live, how easy it is to get rides in 2nd halves, what training tracks there are in your area and what you have got already in terms of equipment. You don't need two bikes and there are enough of them around to pick one up relatively cheaply. Don't give up on your goal, but do realise that track time is important and if it is available locally your expenses won't be as much as those unfortunate guys from say the south west, who now have to travel 2 to 3 hours or longer to get to a track.

PM me if you need more information.

[steve povey]

I totally agree with everything said , so where is the help from the BPSA . Of course Neil and Phil do a fantastic job but where is the incentive to go for a championship when the prize is a voucher for £20 for oil!!! SO LETS GET REAL.... speedway is expensive, like all motorsport. So BSPA well done dor Neil and Phil they are great BUT ...... give the boys some financial help too YOU CAN AFFORD IT!!!!!!!!!

[orderly]

I totally agree with everything said , so where is the help from the BPSA . Of course Neil and Phil do a fantastic job but where is the incentive to go for a championship when the prize is a voucher for £20 for oil!!! SO LETS GET REAL.... speedway is expensive, like all motorsport. So BSPA well done dor Neil and Phil they are great BUT ...... give the boys some financial help too YOU CAN AFFORD IT!!!!!!!!!

 

Maybe when the promotions pay there annual fee to the BSPA perhaps a figure of say £100 per promotion in all three levels could be set aside to help finance the youngsters, you never know if potential sponsors see that the sport is trying to help themselves then maybe they would chip in with a few pounds through out the season, and lets face it £100 is nothing compaired to the money that is wasted during the season.

 

I know that a lot of the promotors will want all the good riders in their squad, well nows the time to pay for what you want

Edited October 27, 2011 by CMO

[wizzer]

I'm Happy to help answer any questions you guys may have but here are a few points which need explaining.

 

Does anyone know of any other youth Motor sport where they do not have to pay an entry free to the British Championships? Grass track, Moto X, Road Racing, Go Karts etc. to be able to do this the BSPA pay over the course of a season over £7000 to finance the British Youth Championships and British Youth Training days, this covers Medical, Insurance etc.

 

the £20 oil voucher wingnut mentions was in fact £800 split with Trophies and £50 , £30, £20 for top 3 in each class to spend on spares, this was kindly sponsored by Wessex Marina. All riders at the final round also received £15 worth of lubricants.

 

Each rider who raced in the British Youth Championship will receive a small amount of help from the BSPA for each round attended (again this is not provided in any other youth Mororsport as far as i know.)

 

Of course a pot of money would be great to set up an Academy etc and Myself and Neil are trying to achieve this but the BSPA are only 25 business men and firstly they all have to balance the books at there own tracks before spending out.

 

Lastly £10000 seems crazy money to race in 6 meetings (thats GP kind of money) anyone could buy a second hand 500cc bike and kit for £1500 easy, use if for the 6 British Championship rounds and have no major outlay apart from Fuel and Oil for the bike and Fuel for the van, and if you found the sport was not for you then sell the bike back for the same kind of money you bought it for, now thats an easy and low cost way of racing in a 6 round British Championship.

 

Each rider also keeps there race jackets which are kindly Sponsored by Friends of Speedway Magazine.

 

Kind Regards

Phil

[orderly]

I'm Happy to help answer any questions you guys may have but here are a few points which need explaining.

 

Does anyone know of any other youth Motor sport where they do not have to pay an entry free to the British Championships? Grass track, Moto X, Road Racing, Go Karts etc. to be able to do this the BSPA pay over the course of a season over £7000 to finance the British Youth Championships and British Youth Training days, this covers Medical, Insurance etc.

 

the £20 oil voucher wingnut mentions was in fact £800 split with Trophies and £50 , £30, £20 for top 3 in each class to spend on spares, this was kindly sponsored by Wessex Marina. All riders at the final round also received £15 worth of lubricants.

 

Each rider who raced in the British Youth Championship will receive a small amount of help from the BSPA for each round attended (again this is not provided in any other youth Mororsport as far as i know.)

 

Of course a pot of money would be great to set up an Academy etc and Myself and Neil are trying to achieve this but the BSPA are only 25 business men and firstly they all have to balance the books at there own tracks before spending out.

 

Lastly £10000 seems crazy money to race in 6 meetings (thats GP kind of money) anyone could buy a second hand 500cc bike and kit for £1500 easy, use if for the 6 British Championship rounds and have no major outlay apart from Fuel and Oil for the bike and Fuel for the van, and if you found the sport was not for you then sell the bike back for the same kind of money you bought it for, now thats an easy and low cost way of racing in a 6 round British Championship.

 

Each rider also keeps there race jackets which are kindly Sponsored by Friends of Speedway Magazine.

 

Kind Regards

Phil

 

Thanks Phil for the information you gave re the funding of the British Youth Championship I, for one did not realise that the BSPA put so much into it.

but I still believe that various tracks could afford the youth of today a lot more track time, I understand that there are the constraints of curfews medical cover etc but I have been to some tracks where the main action has been finished by just after 9pm they could have let the young lads out for 30 minutes practice.

[steve povey]

I'm Happy to help answer any questions you guys may have but here are a few points which need explaining.

 

Does anyone know of any other youth Motor sport where they do not have to pay an entry free to the British Championships? Grass track, Moto X, Road Racing, Go Karts etc. to be able to do this the BSPA pay over the course of a season over £7000 to finance the British Youth Championships and British Youth Training days, this covers Medical, Insurance etc.

 

the £20 oil voucher wingnut mentions was in fact £800 split with Trophies and £50 , £30, £20 for top 3 in each class to spend on spares, this was kindly sponsored by Wessex Marina. All riders at the final round also received £15 worth of lubricants.

 

Each rider who raced in the British Youth Championship will receive a small amount of help from the BSPA for each round attended (again this is not provided in any other youth Mororsport as far as i know.)

 

Of course a pot of money would be great to set up an Academy etc and Myself and Neil are trying to achieve this but the BSPA are only 25 business men and firstly they all have to balance the books at there own tracks before spending out.

 

Lastly £10000 seems crazy money to race in 6 meetings (thats GP kind of money) anyone could buy a second hand 500cc bike and kit for £1500 easy, use if for the 6 British Championship rounds and have no major outlay apart from Fuel and Oil for the bike and Fuel for the van, and if you found the sport was not for you then sell the bike back for the same kind of money you bought it for, now thats an easy and low cost way of racing in a 6 round British Championship.

 

Each rider also keeps there race jackets which are kindly Sponsored by Friends of Speedway Magazine.

 

Kind Regards

Phil

Thanks Phil for putting me right on the amounts, also i had no idea that the BPSA put 7k into the fund, when i see the money put in by Sky it does still seem chicken feed, like i said i admire what you and Neil do , i was at a couple of rounds and witnessed first hand how good you both are at encouraging the kids. So keep it up and see you soon at next years meets.

[blade2001]

Thanks for this info Phill, was starting to get put off, was thinking about entering my boy into them next year and it was abit off putting reading that people spend £10000 to compete. This sounds abit more encouraging for me to enter my boy. We already have a 500 bike which my boy has just moved up to and he is 15 next year and was hoping to ride it in the U15's.

[steve povey]

Thanks for this info Phill, was starting to get put off, was thinking about entering my boy into them next year and it was abit off putting reading that people spend £10000 to compete. This sounds abit more encouraging for me to enter my boy. We already have a 500 bike which my boy has just moved up to and he is 15 next year and was hoping to ride it in the U15's.

Just remember it is NOT cheap fuel(for the van),tyres, fuel oil clutch plates chains, oil lube etc etc

[Lord Skid]

Just remember it is NOT cheap fuel(for the van),tyres, fuel oil clutch plates chains, oil lube etc etc

Just go and politely ask riders after a meeting you'll be surprised how much they will be willing to help, with info and bits and pieces which are more than good enough to keep you riding, and keep your expenditure down.

[Great Central]

Those of us who saw the British youth championship this year will know already the superb work done By Phil Morris and Neil Vatcher in bringing along the youngsters is starting to pay dividends. One look at the 250cc and 500cc racing and you know there are 6 or 7 boys who could go a long way in the sport. When did GB have as many talented kids coming through together?

 

Some interesting and not widely known facts came from Phil Morris later on in the topic, and I wish Phil and Neil all the best in trying to promote British youngsters in speedway. Several people have tried before and it is not easy without some cash and the facilities that the youngsters can use. Having an ex rider like Phil on board is a great advantage because he has been there and done it, and having seen him coaching a few riders, he can put the message across very well.

My main reason for posting was in reply to the comment: When did GB have as many talented kids coming through together?

Try 2004 and 2005 when we had: Josh Auty, Shane Waldron, Simon Lambert,Gary Cottham, Matt Bates, Kyle Hughes, Scott Campos, James Humby, George Piper, Sam Hurst, Lewis Bridger, Ben Hopwood, Grant Hayes, Aaron Baseby, Trevor Heath, Ben Thompson, Joe Reynolds, Connor Scott, Ben Hannon, Tim Webster, Dean Hargreaves, Chris Widman, Shawn Taylor, Andrew Braithwaite, Gavin Wrigley and Dan Kirkman.

Additions in 2005 were:

Ben Taylor, George Jarvis, Dan Greenwood, Brenda Johnson, Scott Meakins, Joe Haines, Rickylee Beecroft, Ryan Goodger, Jack Butler, Ben Johnson, Ben Reade, Kye Nortan, Tom Davies, and Richard Franklin added as the older ones dropped out. And now the real question, how many of those have actually made it onto the world stage, or even up to EL standard and how many are actaully still riding. Not that many in comparison to the numbers that were taking part in a very well organised championship and that is why Denmark does so well. Not sure if the numbers have changed this year but they had around 150 riders in the U15 age group last year so it is all about %'s. The more we have riding the better the chance of finding the next British World champion but it also about guiding them from here through to the next phases. Peter Oakes tried it with the Academy concept but it wasn't sustainable.

I am ever optimistic and best wishes to all those planning the 2012 Championship and those riding in it but somehow "British Speedway" has to raise the profile of the sport to encourage more to take part, and to get more funding(from outside of the sport) to make it as big as it is in Denmark, Poland and I am sure Russia will be next following their lead.

[IAN2]

It must have been talked about before but why can't a percentage of the sky money no matter how small be ploughed into Youth development surely the subject has been discussed at BSPA meetings or is it a step too far?

[steve povey]

As you say Ian surely its in the promoters best interests to encourage the youngsters after all THEY are the riders of tomorrow!!!!

[blade2001]

The way i look at youth speedway is that the youngsters should be doing motocross for a while at least. This year i tryed to get my lad into speedway after doing a little bit of motocross. We found i was forking out money to ride at the tracks to get at the most 10 mins worth of riding, when i could pay £30 to get my lad riding for at least 100 mins a day, and because it is alot more cheaper than speedway, we now find i can get him riding alot more for alot less money. I look at it that riding a bike is riding a bike, he can go riding all day and get 100 mins riding, for the amount of money. I think alot of these youngsters should get themselves having time out of speedway to get alot more riding time at motocross which will improve them as a rider and they could go back to speedway when they are old enough to ride professionally. My lad is now riding at motocross for 1-2 years, and going back to speedway at a later date, and he can now get alot more riding time under his belt.

[W9 Lion]

The problem is surely track time, with very few of the promoters also owning their track outright. We need to encourage more new purpose built stadiums like Somerset, Redcar and Leicester, where the promoter also owns the track and as a result should be able to secure more track time for young people who wish to try the sport for the first time or gain greater tracktime to improve their skill level.

 

More track time will obviously mean more expense in terms of consumerables but the fixed costs, bike, safety equipment do not increase that musch with track time at this level

[Great Central]

The problem is surely track time, with very few of the promoters also owning their track outright. We need to encourage more new purpose built stadiums like Somerset, Redcar and Leicester, where the promoter also owns the track and as a result should be able to secure more track time for young people who wish to try the sport for the first time or gain greater tracktime to improve their skill level.

 

More track time will obviously mean more expense in terms of consumerables but the fixed costs, bike, safety equipment do not increase that musch with track time at this level

Unfortunately you picked on the wrong track with Somerset since planning restrictions rule out any practice sessions. Scunthope falls into the category you mean.

[conk98]

Having reading all the post,I did think it was hard to get into speedway and very expensive

But it seems it's not that hard and expensive

 

My son is 13 and we are going to ride in the Fga next season it's cost us about £1000

 

We will prob do this until he is 15 and then move onto speedway

[steve povey]

Track time is at a premium in this country. the last two posts are right it si not easy to get plenty of track time for our youngsters AND not cheap.Just see what tracks charge for practice . Now i understand they have to cover costs like everyone does but we do not give our youngsters enough track time. Just have a look at Sweden and Denmark thats how to bring on the young talent.