British Speedway Promoters Meeting

[Hunty]

Lets just say now that alot relys on the National League over the coming seasons. Ridersa are needed for the EL then we need to start brining in the young youngsters into the national league quicker and make it a more attractive sport to participate in!

[foamfence]

What a set of moaners on here! Just trying to nit-pick and invent snags. Tai likes it and so do I. It has come in and you have no option but to like it or stay away. If it produces some future internationals it will have been a good idea and if it doesn't....It was worth a try.

[Shale Shaker]

I wouldn't really call it nit picking.

 

There are several well put points here as to why it is a ludicrous idea and why the whole thing won't work.

 

I can't even see that it's an idea even "worth a try".

[Guest]

What a set of moaners on here! Just trying to nit-pick and invent snags. Tai likes it and so do I. It has come in and you have no option but to like it or stay away. If it produces some future internationals it will have been a good idea and if it doesn't....It was worth a try.

 

Is what Tai Woffinden comments to be the definitive future for UK speedway opinion? Not those whose cash makes the turnstiles jingle?

 

I wouldn't really call it nit picking.

 

There are several well put points here as to why it is a ludicrous idea and why the whole thing won't work.

 

I can't even see that it's an idea even "worth a try".

 

This looks more to be what matters in regard to the outcome of the BSPA AGM decisions. It's a view that seems to be increasingly put forward in this debate.

Edited November 18, 2013 by Guest

[FTM]

I wonder how many NL riders were asked if they wanted the opportunity to ride BL in 2014.

I guess not many to be honest -

 

I magine giving a 18 year old NL based in Cornwall (holding down a full time job ) the opportunity to ride for Belle Vue BL side in 2014.

 

No Brainer!

You beat me to it F/P I was thinking along the same lines are Phil & Neil going to pull names out of the hat or will the riders geographical home base be used in consideration of where they are sent .your point above highlights the problem straight away .If its a case of you go where we send you the selectors could find themselves with a vastly reduced squad of riders willing to take part .I can see the races involving N/L riders against each other being very important to the overall team results as I think the Swedish league (might have the wrong country could be Poland)operates a similar system of like for like abilities and as most 1 to 5 averages balance there selves out the reserve races could turn out to be the key to win .I hope there is a set precedent that only reserves can be used in said races and there isn.t a back door system to allow a top scoring rider to be used in a tac sub replacement if one team is way behind .I have seen polish matches where reserves may only get 2 rides and in 1 extreme case 1 ride when a top man had up to 7

[Blazeaway]

I wonder if any thought was given to adding in an extra reserves heat?

[The White Knight]

What happens if a youngster is allocated to a club and cannot agree terms? Surely for this to work there has to be a fixed pay scale so they cannot earn more by going elsewhere? what happens if you want to replace one of them or they get injured? Do you get free choice of any unallocated qualified riders?

 

 

There is always someone who will bung some Cash in a plain brown envelope.

 

People on here are still talking about SKY money. I doubt very much whether any new Deal will mirror the old one. I would guess that SKY will pay a lot less for Speedway this time round. THEY are in the driving seat in any negotiations.

[Hunty]

I wonder if any thought was given to adding in an extra reserves heat?

 

If all the reserve riders are going to do it ride against each other surely thats just like what they do in the National League!

 

The riders need to be riding with the better riders to push them on to being better riders!

 

I dont know how its going to work but I hope tht the youngsters get more of an opertunity in bigger races!

[skthecat]

Another benefit will be getting rid of the "Professional Reserve" you know the ones, the ones who can turn a match on its head with 7 rides and beating apposing heat leaders all night. That was never the intention of the function of reserves, it was manipulation and not fair most if not all the time, the teams will now be 3 heat leaders (riders expected to win races at home) 2 2nd strings (riders meant to finish 3rd in races at home as an expected minimum requirement) and 2 reserves (who are expected to battle it out for wins in the reserves race, and beat the odd 2nd string at home now and again, and gain experience along the way, not have 7 rides scoring 9/10/11+ points a meeting! !!!!!

Can anyone argue the point about the professional reserves of recent seasons (in both EL and PL racing) ????

Edited November 18, 2013 by Never to old

[arthur cross]

What a set of moaners on here! Just trying to nit-pick and invent snags.

Hardly nit-picking or inventing snags ... simply pointing blindingly obvious reasons why this 2 graded reserves project is almost bound to collapse

 

Tai likes it and so do I.

Well that's nice ... neither he nor you will have to pick up the pieces when it goes wrong ... I admire Tai Woffinden for winning this year's world title having been written off by many pundits before the season started but that doesn't make him any sort of expert on the viability of a project like this.

 

It has come in and you have no option but to like it or stay away.

That sort of "like it or lump it" attitude (in any walk of life, not just speedway) usually has only one outcome ... it makes up the mind of those who are thinking about lumping it and so they definitely do that ... speedway's been brilliant at this stupidity for years !!

 

If it produces some future internationals it will have been a good idea and if it doesn't....It was worth a try.

Very easy for you to say that when you're neither a promoter trying to balance the books nor a rider trying at least to cover his costs but preferably make a living.

[Phil The Ace]

There's more of an insight about the graded riders over on the speedwaygp.com website.

 

All sounds good to me.

 

Sounds like logistics will come into it

[ekimba]

I havent gone through all the posts on here but has anything been said about how the PL intend to add 3 extra home and away meetings , regionalised or drawn from a hat ?

[Phil The Ace]

BSPA vice-chairman Jon Cook hopes Team Great Britain can close the gap on their international rivals by fast-tracking promising riders into the Elite League.

 

Top flight teams in Britain next season will feature two home-grown reserves, allocated from a list of 20 fast-track riders selected by the Team Great Britain management.

 

Riders from the National and Premier Leagues, who have little to no Elite League experience, will be considered for the scheme.

 

The 20 riders will be graded on experience and ability to ensure clubs receive riders of varying abilities. But clubs who have a youngster on their retained list or living in their local area will generally be given priority on securing their services.

 

The Elite League race format will be altered to hand these riders two races against their opposing reserves instead of one, and easier outings against rival second strings. These riders will also stay at reserve for the whole season, regardless of their average or performance.

 

Having seen Polish clubs track two home-grown juniors at reserve, while Elitserien teams name three Swedes in every starting seven, Cook hopes British speedway can produce a flow of talent to rival the Ekstraliga and Elitserien in years to come.

 

"As a sport, weve got one eye on the fact that if we dont do this, we will forever be behind the Poles, the Swedes and the Danes."

- Jon Cook

He said: Were taking a leaf out of Poland and Swedens book. All of the countries seem to be going down this road of trying to bring their own riders on and its a hugely positive step for all the countries.

 

Its very good that we in Britain havent sat back and watched that happen. To be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Tai Woffinden and Darcy Ward will give these riders inspiration. Itll be an inspiration to be riding with your idol.

 

Its a great thing and those riders will learn so much more chasing a better rider than they will chasing someone who is not of that ilk.

 

To have the support top-level teams are able to give with all the mechanical knowledge really is the most fantastic opportunity. It really is akin to someone playing in the lower reaches of the Football League and suddenly being given the opportunity to go into the squad at Manchester United or Arsenal.

 

The talent is there. It needs nurturing and fast-tracking and thats what we intend to do. As a sport, weve got one eye on the fact that if we dont do this, we will forever be behind the Poles, the Swedes and the Danes. We have to do this.

 

Cook hopes other riders will be inspired to take up the sport and win places on the scheme in subsequent seasons.

 

He said: How exciting is it for riders entering this seasons National League to know that if they do well, perform, score a high average and capture the eyes of Team GB bosses or managers in the Elite League, they could be getting a phone call next November to say well done, youve got a fast-track spot. Its a fantastic opportunity for anyone who is considering throwing their leg across a speedway bike, whether they want to move over from motocross, grasstrack or start from scratch.

 

Some may question whether National League riders should appear in the same team as the likes of Woffinden and Ward. But Cook is confident the young Brits will join the SGP stars in stealing the show.

 

He said: These lads within that top 20 will be quality riders. Were not talking about people wobbling around. Were not talking about riders of that level.

 

Were talking about fairly accomplished young men, who are going to add greatly to the entertainment of a night out at our speedways.

[Guest]

Hardly nit-picking or inventing snags ... simply pointing blindingly obvious reasons why this 2 graded reserves project is almost bound to collapse

 

Well that's nice ... neither he nor you will have to pick up the pieces when it goes wrong ... I admire Tai Woffinden for winning this year's world title having been written off by many pundits before the season started but that doesn't make him any sort of expert on the viability of a project like this.

 

That sort of "like it or lump it" attitude (in any walk of life, not just speedway) usually has only one outcome ... it makes up the mind of those who are thinking about lumping it and so they definitely do that ... speedway's been brilliant at this stupidity for years !!

 

Very easy for you to say that when you're neither a promoter trying to balance the books nor a rider trying at least to cover his costs but preferably make a living.

 

I tend to agree with you.

[Phil The Ace]

Some people saying it's just the same as the PL

 

Well why don we have some Inter league challenges and see who wins.

Edited November 18, 2013 by Phil The Ace

[Ommer Mon]

I think that this is a positive reaction to the state that the sport, at 'Elite' level, is currently in.

 

We have to cut costs and the constant stream of poor quality bottom end foreigners being flown across Europe at great expense is an area to concentrate on.

 

Forget any notion of National League riders being lapped every race. This is not the 1970s where juniors could barely stay on for a lap. Some of the lads at the top end of the NL know how to ride and are lapping quicker than the likes of Mauger, Olsen and Penhall ever did. They have talent and for the good of the sport in Britain that needs to be encouraged and developed.

 

The NL has produced some excellent prospects over the last few years. Craig Cook, Kyle Newman, Kyle Howarth, Ashley Birks and expecially Richie Worrall are all climbing up the ladder.

 

NL racing is good entertainment and the two reserves races could remind us what passing looks like!

 

A bold step and I have my fingers crossed it will work on all fronts.

[SCOTLAND1314]

There's more of an insight about the graded riders over on the speedwaygp.com website.

 

All sounds good to me.

 

Sounds like logistics will come into it

 

That makes more sense. Although personally if they were intent on introducing this type of rule then it would have made more sense to have 1 UK rider at reserve in the EL and likewise in the PL.

[Dave Stummings]

 

 

The whole thing seems/feels ill thought out to me.

 

 

 

You had better change that to 'Elite League' place.

 

 

 

An excellent Post rmc. The Elite League are trying to run their League on the CHEAP.

 

Has precious little to do with nurturing BRITISH talent.

 

......................... and they have kept the bl**dy Double Points - if it wasn't so tragic - it would be laughable.

Similar artical on facebook/hacknespeedway. Done on the cheap, two tier speedway teams rubbish times ahead for the Elite[laugh] league, but i thought it wouldnt get any worse and it has, how wrong I have been.

[Tsunami]

Another benefit will be getting rid of the "Professional Reserve" you know the ones, the ones who can turn a match on its head with 7 rides and beating apposing heat leaders all night. That was never the intention of the function of reserves, it was manipulation and not fair most if not all the time, the teams will now be 3 heat leaders (riders expected to win races at home) 2 2nd strings (riders meant to finish 3rd in races at home as an expected minimum requirement) and 2 reserves (who are expected to battle it out for wins in the reserves race, and beat the odd 2nd string at home now and again, and gain experience along the way, not have 7 rides scoring 9/10/11+ points a meeting! !!!!!

Can anyone argue the point about the professional reserves of recent seasons (in both EL and PL racing) ????

 

Explain how either Richie Worrall or Lewis Kerr were manipulated.

[NJC71]

The BSPA really need to take more care with their press releases. They described the two reserves as being "National League" riders yesterday. From what is coming out now they clearly won't be 2014 NL riders, at least not all of them.

 

I still have serious reservations that many are being fast-tracked in well before they are ready and this is really about cost cutting and am also annoyed supporter feedback is contiunually ignored and some of the immensely unpopular regulations remain year on year (e.g. tactical rides), but if they'd explained their intentions properly in the press release maybe it would have had a more favourable response on here or at least less negative.