AGM November 2018

[Midland Red]

1 hour ago, Chadster said:

I've recently been looking at the first 3 BL seasons (1965-7). Some things are the same; Fixtures incomplete, arguments over team make-up, new rules introduced mid season and flagrant breaking of rules, but one of the big differences is that most tracks ran the best part of 30 meetings. Given that there were only a maximum of 18 home league matches and one World Championship qualifier, it's obvious that there were a lot of challenge matches, Individual meetings etc. Yet people say they aren't interested in such meetings these days and most tracks, especially in the top two divisions won't put them on. Is this a failure of promotion or is it a wise recognition that in an era where many tracks see teams twice a season, such meeting represent overkill. Is a solution to devise more meaningful competitions, e.g regionalised cup competitions, Fours qualifiers etc?

The attraction in those days was the racing - the spectacle of speedway - and a challenge match was no different from a league match, it was a night at the speedway

It wasn't about winning at all costs - that didn't seem to matter anything like it does today - yes, happiness was 40-38, but results weren't the be all and end all

There were regional fixtures - eg Midland League, Midland Riders Championship - and as said over 30 meetings in a season

if it rained a bit, the sawdust went down and the riders donned overalls over their leathers, so there seemed to be less rain offs

[iwright71]

1 hour ago, Chadster said:

I've recently been looking at the first 3 BL seasons (1965-7). Some things are the same; Fixtures incomplete, arguments over team make-up, new rules introduced mid season and flagrant breaking of rules, but one of the big differences is that most tracks ran the best part of 30 meetings. Given that there were only a maximum of 18 home league matches and one World Championship qualifier, it's obvious that there were a lot of challenge matches, Individual meetings etc. Yet people say they aren't interested in such meetings these days and most tracks, especially in the top two divisions won't put them on. Is this a failure of promotion or is it a wise recognition that in an era where many tracks see teams twice a season, such meeting represent overkill. Is a solution to devise more meaningful competitions, e.g regionalised cup competitions, Fours qualifiers etc?

Unfortunately the decline in League crowds has become pro rata with other deemed seemingly less important matches such as KO Cup, 4 team tournament, individuals and friendlies. Which in large make these matches not financially viable.  I remember 20 years ago there was as many at Wolves on press / practise night as there are for some league matches last year.

[stevehone]

when i was a kid going to Wimbledon Stadium, so much of the evening was the excitement and anticipation of the racing, and it's things like that that have me hooked, but where is there ANYTHING to get the kids interest and keep it these days? Logic says it should be the racing, but so much more needs to be done.

the anticipation bit at Wimbledon was when the track lights were on but all the stadium lights went off so just a lit up track for attention.

why doesn't that happen now, is it health and safety, or is it that the track lighting at so many places is so bad if the stadium lights went out we'd ALL be in darkness.

 

and something Dean & Les mentioned .. riding speedway should be about enjoyment a lot more than it obviously is, so much is about money. when i rode in the first team i had no idea what i was getting and just took the envelope and that was that. i WANTED to race, simple as that.

bike on the rack on the back of the car Sunday night, early to work for BT Monday morning, half day holiday and off for a 3 hour drive to Exeter in the afternoon

[theblueboy]

On 11/18/2018 at 7:23 PM, PHILIPRISING said:

AND what other job outside of speedway would allow them the variable time off required to get to and from tracks let alone actually race? It is hard enough as it is to see why any one would want to be a speedway rider these days without making it even more unviable than it already is. The way to stop doubling up is to ensure that riders can make a living riding from just one team and that will only come about with more and regular meetings for the track they are actually attached to.

 

23 hours ago, PHILIPRISING said:

THINGS were very different then. Lots of riders were part time mechanics, often with their own small businesses servicing cars etc. They barely exist now. And the basic costs for riders is off the scale compared to 40 plus years ago.

Nick Morris is owed £28k by Rzeszow.

I am not sure how many people on this forum could afford not to be paid £28k and continue to do the job they are doing.

Suggests to me certain speedway riders aren’t doing so badly out of this game...

[Gemini]

2 hours ago, stevehone said:

why doesn't that happen now, is it health and safety, or is it that the track lighting at so many places is so bad if the stadium lights went out we'd ALL be in darkness.

Leicester's track lighting is pretty dismal. 

[iris123]

8 hours ago, Gemini said:

Leicester's track lighting is pretty dismal. 

Could that be a deliberate ploy,so nobody notices how bad the racing is?

[Buttons]

16 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

When I decided to ride speedway it was because I wanted to be a speedway rider (still do in my head )I didn’t care about the money, it was a nice bonus but just the Privalige of being a rider was everything to me, I run my own business along side speedway for most of my career often working around 60 hours a week and doing all the bike washing myself, yes there were times I was shattered and just wanted my bed but would I do it all again? Hell yes, I would often drive from Wolverhampton on a Friday do a couple of deliveries in London or Kent then on to Weymouth or Plymouth to race that night get back home at 2am and I loved it ,but I just don’t see that desire anymore from riders , it’s all about the money, I read “I’m putting my life on the line so I want big money “ I never thought I was putting my life on the line(except when I raced against roman matousek) I was just loving being a rider and racing my bike and to do that for a team was just amazing, where has that love for racing gone ? 

Absolutely right, great post. It's all about the money now.

[Big Al]

Agree with all of the posts about combining speedway with a job. Many of the "old days" arrangements sound like jobs in transport were useful to have. But are today's road conditions better or worse than they were, for enabling a rider to combine them?

[A ORLOV]

24 minutes ago, Big Al said:

Agree with all of the posts about combining speedway with a job. Many of the "old days" arrangements sound like jobs in transport were useful to have. But are today's road conditions better or worse than they were, for enabling a rider to combine them?

Years ago a few of the Swindon riders drove lorries for a local company, the boss of which was a speedway fan, and they could arrange time off for the meetings     

[greyhoundp]

24 minutes ago, Big Al said:

Agree with all of the posts about combining speedway with a job. Many of the "old days" arrangements sound like jobs in transport were useful to have. But are today's road conditions better or worse than they were, for enabling a rider to combine them?

As a driver that was on the road from 1976 till about 1984, and having come out of retirement in june of this year, i have to say without a doubt they are far worse now than what they were then, when i say worse there are far more drivers on the road, there are more road works, more bottle necks, Im talking about during the normal working day 7-00 am to around 7-00 pm, and in my opinion the driving standards themselves have deteriorated, by trying to drive overnight to avoid the congestion that can also be a pain in the butt, with numerous overnight road closures to do roadworks that are almost impossible to do during the day..in my Opinion right now the M6 is without doubt the worst motorway to drive at the present time, with its numerous road widening schemes being done, and not due for completion for a few more years. I would suggest on average a 3 hour journey back then would probably take an average of 4 hours now, and dont start me on about school runs, i have only one word to describe them, diabolical, there is a massive difference at School holiday times..

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

I’m not against riders earning a living but at this moment in time speedway can’t afford it. That is the simple economics of it, riders should be building up other business outside speedway anyway, Greg Hancock has business outside speedway so does richie worral and many others, it should be a priority but clearly with some it isn’t, in life just as in speedway you have to make it happen , it won’t come to you 

[adonis]

10 minutes ago, greyhoundp said:

As a driver that was on the road from 1976 till about 1984, and having come out of retirement in june of this year, i have to say without a doubt they are far worse now than what they were then, when i say worse there are far more drivers on the road, there are more road works, more bottle necks, Im talking about during the normal working day 7-00 am to around 7-00 pm, and in my opinion the driving standards themselves have deteriorated, by trying to drive overnight to avoid the congestion that can also be a pain in the butt, with numerous overnight road closures to do roadworks that are almost impossible to do during the day..in my Opinion right now the M6 is without doubt the worst motorway to drive at the present time, with its numerous road widening schemes being done, and not due for completion for a few more years. I would suggest on average a 3 hour journey back then would probably take an average of 4 hours now, and dont start me on about school runs, i have only one word to describe them, diabolical, there is a massive difference at School holiday times..

It would be worth suffering the m6 wideneing ,     if it was going to be of any benefit long term , but just like the M1 widening , mr and mrs lane hogger will simply spread themselves over 4 lanes instead of 3  and the 6 years of pain will have been for nothing , it would have been cheaper quicker and more succesful to employ a team of extra police officers to ensure the 3 lanes we have now are properly used . once a few people were nicked for hogging , and queue  jumping , the motorways would soon start to unclog

[ragdoll64]

16 hours ago, LesR said:

I agree with you Dean, the money wasn't the be all and end all of racing, it was the excitement, the adrenaline pumping going into corners fast and only inches from your opponent, the feeling of elation when you beat a more experienced opponent that you didn't expect to 70 seconds earlier. It wasn't just a means to make money or drive around in a sign written van, we used trailers or bike racks, saying " look at me I must be good my names all over my van " which is what I see from a lot of would be racers. The expense of all the trick bits that the GP riders use, throttles at £150 each, seem to remember Ivan used a Jawa throttle, longer so better for throttle control. Maybe some of the riders need to go back to basics and maybe improve their situation.

Yeah, got to agree with you there LesR.....sign written van and all the latest gear make many of them think they are superstars from the off.

[SPEEDY69]

12 hours ago, theblueboy said:

 

Nick Morris is owed £28k by Rzeszow.

I am not sure how many people on this forum could afford not to be paid £28k and continue to do the job they are doing.

Suggests to me certain speedway riders aren’t doing so badly out of this game...

You're right, some riders do earn a lot of money and there does seem to be loads who don't need to work at another job over the winter any more - good luck to them, it's not their fault is it.

[Big Al]

There must come a point, when a rider realises that he isn't going to become World Champion. Or even make it to the "big show". If he genuinely believes, during his early to mid 20's, that he can make it all the way and has the evidence to support that including realistic advice, then it's up to him but yes fair enough pour everything into it - but FFS accept the reality and shift the plans if it's not working. Question is, how many are carrying on under the delusion and for how long. And in these instances what is the sport doing and what could it do, to help riders to adjust although of course there is substantial personal responsibility to be realistic and make a change. Otherwise we have riders hitting reality in their mid 30's and having problems. It would be very interesting to see results of a survey among current riders, about their alternative sources of income and when they started to undertake it.

[adonis]

26 minutes ago, Big Al said:

There must come a point, when a rider realises that he isn't going to become World Champion. Or even make it to the "big show". If he genuinely believes, during his early to mid 20's, that he can make it all the way and has the evidence to support that including realistic advice, then it's up to him but yes fair enough pour everything into it - but FFS accept the reality and shift the plans if it's not working. Question is, how many are carrying on under the delusion and for how long. And in these instances what is the sport doing and what could it do, to help riders to adjust although of course there is substantial personal responsibility to be realistic and make a change. Otherwise we have riders hitting reality in their mid 30's and having problems. It would be very interesting to see results of a survey among current riders, about their alternative sources of income and when they started to undertake it.

problem with that is , if you accept that a certain level is all you will ever achieve and cut your cloth accordingly , you then get accused of having no ambition and because you have accepted you will never pull up any stumps  you then get overlooked , because team managers are always looking for that 3 pointer who can score 10 .

[Sings4Speedway]

16 hours ago, stevehone said:

when i was a kid going to Wimbledon Stadium, so much of the evening was the excitement and anticipation of the racing, and it's things like that that have me hooked, but where is there ANYTHING to get the kids interest and keep it these days? Logic says it should be the racing, but so much more needs to be done.

the anticipation bit at Wimbledon was when the track lights were on but all the stadium lights went off so just a lit up track for attention.

why doesn't that happen now, is it health and safety, or is it that the track lighting at so many places is so bad if the stadium lights went out we'd ALL be in darkness.

 

and something Dean & Les mentioned .. riding speedway should be about enjoyment a lot more than it obviously is, so much is about money. when i rode in the first team i had no idea what i was getting and just took the envelope and that was that. i WANTED to race, simple as that.

bike on the rack on the back of the car Sunday night, early to work for BT Monday morning, half day holiday and off for a 3 hour drive to Exeter in the afternoon

The crazy bit is that now the only riders who are genuinely working full time, booking time off to race and funding it out of their own pockets just because they enjoy riding are the development league riders and yet they struggle to get track time anywhere and often when they do arrive are treated like 2nd class inconveniences. Its clear people want these riders who do it because they care and doing it because of pure desire and yet they are largely chastised as time wasting wobblers.  

[Big Al]

1 hour ago, adonis said:

problem with that is , if you accept that a certain level is all you will ever achieve and cut your cloth accordingly , you then get accused of having no ambition and because you have accepted you will never pull up any stumps  you then get overlooked , because team managers are always looking for that 3 pointer who can score 10 .

They are, of course. But don't they also need the solid middle of the roaders and "bottom-end  specialists" (ooh, Nurse) as well ? That 3 pointer who turns into a match winner at reserve won't be doing that forever. And he's soon enough going to be casting around for the chunky signing on fee, whether its there or someplace else including Poland.

[SteveLyric2]

16 hours ago, theblueboy said:

 

Nick Morris is owed £28k by Rzeszow.

I am not sure how many people on this forum could afford not to be paid £28k and continue to do the job they are doing.

Suggests to me certain speedway riders aren’t doing so badly out of this game...

Is that still the case 'cos he's signed another (eleventh hour) contract for Poland!!?

[adonis]

3 hours ago, Skidder1 said:

Is that still the case 'cos he's signed another (eleventh hour) contract for Poland!!?

he'll probably decide he's Polish this week ,then he will be a priority for payment