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Peterborough v Kings Lynn 5th August


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15 minutes ago, KeirStarmerFan said:

Just arrived at the Showground.

Not much happening.

Go and have a pint with chrismorton.

He is the one stood next to you in the queue.. 

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4 hours ago, iainb said:

If you're going to talk about me, at least have the decency to @ me so I can know

When you see Speedway like that there's not a lot wrong with the sport is there? It's a good job the forecast was a good one on the Thursday :lol:

If you could guarantee a race like that once a meeting instead of once a season, I suggest there would be far more people on the terraces.

To be honest, although I don't like it, I'm not so concerned about the Peterborough postponement... The Eastbourne one does worry me though, just because mystic meg has seen some cows sitting down in a field and the "promoter" has leafed through the radio times they've postponed the match. This sets a dangerous precedent in my opinion. Matches never used to be called off based on forecasts, now they are with more regularity, and now 2 and half days ahead of start time. The BSPL should not allow clubs to call meetings off until the day of staging without penalty, probably a match forfeit. It causes fixture congestion not just for the home side but the away side also and with riders doubling up and stadium availability there are limited opportunities to restage matches on regular race nights... even with a 6 team league in Peterborough's case.

How early is too early to call a match off based on a weather forecast? At the moment it's 2 and a half days... next a week?

Some clubs don't seem to want to go to any effort to get matches on these days, gone are the days of packing the track down to take the rain, working it after rain has passed and spreading sawdust to soak up the moisture if it was particularly wet.

Iain the problem with the clubs appearing to not want to go to any effort to get the meeting on, is not so much about getting the meeting on, its about who will come if they do get it on? A lot of people will simply not bother going if they think there is a liklihood of a postponement once they get there. And also, who wants to watch riders sliding around, not being able to see, basically a processional mud fest?  This is one of the reasons Ian Jordan at Eastbourne gave. He said that last weeks meeting was the lowest gate since that promotion had been there and why? Because there was rain all around, which had been forecast and people simply didn't bother to risk it, coupled with the GP on the telly, it was an easy decision for a lot of folk. And who can blame them?  There are other race nights, hopefully barmy warm evenings, where the crowd would be much more healthy and the conditions fantastic for some good racing.

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16 minutes ago, scotty2hotty said:

Iain the problem with the clubs appearing to not want to go to any effort to get the meeting on, is not so much about getting the meeting on, its about who will come if they do get it on? A lot of people will simply not bother going if they think there is a liklihood of a postponement once they get there. And also, who wants to watch riders sliding around, not being able to see, basically a processional mud fest?  This is one of the reasons Ian Jordan at Eastbourne gave. He said that last weeks meeting was the lowest gate since that promotion had been there and why? Because there was rain all around, which had been forecast and people simply didn't bother to risk it, coupled with the GP on the telly, it was an easy decision for a lot of folk. And who can blame them?  There are other race nights, hopefully barmy warm evenings, where the crowd would be much more healthy and the conditions fantastic for some good racing.

Yes, I totally get what you're saying. I was brought up in an era of speedway when clubs tried all they could to get meetings on, so all this canceling based on forecasts, as I've said before especially in this country, I don't like to see. Speedway is always at the mercy of the weather, we all know that but the Eastbourne postponement takes things to a new level. I was looking at my met office app at 7pm and it said the sun would be shining at 8... it p1ssed it down!

As Eastbourne have set a new precedent in calling a match off 2 and a half days in advance, would anybody who does think that cancelling based on a forecast is acceptable care to comment on how far in advance it is acceptable to call a match off?

I do accept with current crowd levels it's something that's now part and parcel of speedway, much as I dislike it, surely you've got to leave it to the day of the event to give yourself a chance. And if you think you can't compete against a TV programme unfortunately there really is no hope for the future of a club in that promoters hands. 

Just my opinion

Edited by iainb
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3 hours ago, iainb said:

They could be riding away, they could be riding in a rearranged fixture due to one of their own postponements or they could be riding away due to another clubs cancellations. 

This is not just a Peterborough problem, anytime any match is postponed it has knock on ramifications. 

Not in the UK, that's the whole point of fixed race-nights and the only realistic way doubling-up can work at all.....

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5 minutes ago, NeilWatson said:

Not in the UK, that's the whole point of fixed race-nights and the only realistic way doubling-up can work at all.....

If every club starts to call off based on forecasts, which you find acceptable, to only run on a night when the forecast is favourable, there's only going to be a limited number of acceptable nights for any club to run and that leads to fixture chaos

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4 minutes ago, iainb said:

If every club starts to call off based on forecasts, which you find acceptable, to only run on a night when the forecast is favourable, there's only going to be a limited number of acceptable nights for any club to run and that leads to fixture chaos

As far as I am concerned the cancellation was a good call, although probably an easier decision in view of both clubs under same ownership. As far as race nights are concerned it is Hobsons choice having sold our souls to Poland

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33 minutes ago, wealdstone said:

As far as I am concerned the cancellation was a good call, although probably an easier decision in view of both clubs under same ownership. As far as race nights are concerned it is Hobsons choice having sold our souls to Poland

There's only Jack Holder who rides Ekstraliga isn't there? Race nights, like Neil Watson has said,  its to enable doubling up. But if postponing on forecasts becomes common place there's no way other clubs will be able to complete their fixtures

Edited by iainb
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6 hours ago, Daniel Smith said:

This thread has got more pages than if the meeting had gone ahead, the future of Speedway

tenor.gif

 

This thread has only taken off since Michael Fish joined in the conversation .

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47 minutes ago, bigcatdiary said:

No Dave, if you look at IainB,s earlier post that was his quote of racing at Leicester

I've said before, if you're going to quote me have the decency to @ me. If you don't think that was a good Speedway race you don't like Speedway! That was a better race than anything served up in the gate and go fest of Peterborough's last home match... which was so long ago I can't even remember who it was against.

... And I'm still waiting for anybody to suggest a cut off time of how early it is acceptable to call a Speedway match off based on a weather forecast.

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22 minutes ago, iainb said:

I've said before, if you're going to quote me have the decency to @ me. If you don't think that was a good Speedway race you don't like Speedway! That was a better race than anything served up in the gate and go fest of Peterborough's last home match... which was so long ago I can't even remember who it was against.

... And I'm still waiting for anybody to suggest a cut off time of how early it is acceptable to call a Speedway match off based on a weather forecast.

48/72 hours can be justified depending on the forecast and other associated local administrative issues. That doesn't mean that it's right and should be seen as a normal course of action because the first priority is to make sure that the fixture goes ahead if possible. I can't speak for speedway generally, if that's what you're getting at, but Peterborough have had to make a call a few times this season and based on the available evidence at the time they did what they had to do without the benefit of hindsight.

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2 minutes ago, Crump99 said:

48/72 hours can be justified depending on the forecast and other associated local administrative issues. That doesn't mean that it's right and should be seen as a normal course of action because the first priority is to make sure that the fixture goes ahead if possible. I can't speak for speedway generally, if that's what you're getting at, but Peterborough have had to make a call a few times this season and based on the available evidence at the time they did what they had to do without the benefit of hindsight.

3 days out in a country notorious for its inclement weather, Wow! You'd never get a season completed if every club were allowed to do this unless they were to forfeit the match.

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4 minutes ago, Crump99 said:

48/72 hours can be justified depending on the forecast and other associated local administrative issues. That doesn't mean that it's right and should be seen as a normal course of action because the first priority is to make sure that the fixture goes ahead if possible. I can't speak for speedway generally, if that's what you're getting at, but Peterborough have had to make a call a few times this season and based on the available evidence at the time they did what they had to do without the benefit of hindsight.

It is a weird contradiction in terms isnt it?

Promoters spend all kinds of time, trying to get meetings on at any cost, using often random septets after lengthy scrutinising of averages and riders' performances at either their own track or the track they visit, ringing round to check availability of riders, moving fixtures around to accommodate rider's other commitments, even if it means their crowd potential isnt maximised..

Almost like "come hell or high water, we will run"..

Then call off meetings days in advance...

Damned if they do, and damned if they dont, I suppose..

And a thankless task in so many ways as what they then present, due to their very own operating infrastructure, simply isnt then taken seriously by enough people to part with hard cash..

So much effort for so little reward. (But it also has to be said that 'little reward' is often the result of their own self inflicted issues)...

A very strange way to run any business never mind a "professional national sport"..

However, that is probably down in many ways to it being ran by "well meaning amatuers" who are fans of that club first and foremost and prepared to put money (and lots of it), in to see their club thrive/survive...

Rather than being ran by clear headed sports administrators who have zero emotional involvement, and would ensure so much of the nonsense that pervades wouldnt be allowed to take place, and that clubs were "saved from themselves" by way of financial controls..

Difficult to see a way out without true radical change is it?

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5 minutes ago, mikebv said:

Difficult to see a way out without true radical change is it?

The way out is for the cancelling club to forfeit the match 0-75, 4 league points to the opposition if called off more than a specified time before the event.

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33 minutes ago, iainb said:

3 days out in a country notorious for its inclement weather, Wow! You'd never get a season completed if every club were allowed to do this unless they were to forfeit the match.

Which bit of exception and not the norm don't you understand. It's not about allowing, it's an attempt at an explanation that you said that you wanted. Get all promoters to evidence and justify their call off decisions to the powers that be and then they can decide a way forward.

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6 minutes ago, Crump99 said:

Which bit of exception and not the norm don't you understand. It's not about allowing, it's an attempt at an explanation that you said that you wanted. Get all promoters to evidence and justify their call off decisions to the powers that be and then they can decide a way forward.

I understand both exception and norm. At the moment as I see it there is no rule, so a club can cancel a meeting at the drop of a hat, it might work for them but what about the away team? Look at Eastbourne vs Birmingham, what if this cancelled fixture is the deciding factor in whether Birmingham make the play-offs and survive as a club? What if other clubs take a leaf out of Eastbourne's book and don't want to host Birmingham? So without some kind of forfeiture this could well become the norm and not an exception.

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