Sings4Speedway Posted July 24 Report Share Posted July 24 After the spineless actions against Kent last season the weasel is back. This time shutting down the Mercians Amateur Speedway club. They had opted to run under a different governing body (who can blame them) but the Leicester venue have been told its SCB events or non so the club has been forced out. We are talking about good honest people who have done far more for the sport without ever seeking the praise that Vatcher clamours for. The sooner he steps aside and allows someone to act in the overall interests of the sport rather than a select few the sooner the slim chances of a recovery will be. As it stands its another big nail in the coffin of British speedway. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundTheBoards Posted July 24 Report Share Posted July 24 Think you may well have the wrong end of the stick with half the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sings4Speedway Posted July 24 Author Report Share Posted July 24 1 hour ago, RoundTheBoards said: Think you may well have the wrong end of the stick with half the information. Vatcher told Leicester they cannot run any amateur events unless its run via the SCB, its just more unnecessary bully boy tactics that continue to force out those who are/were a genuine benefit to the sport in this country. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris116 Posted July 24 Report Share Posted July 24 (edited) I find it interesting that Scunthorpe Eddie Wright Raceway are affiliated to NORA for Flat Track, Speedway and Oval racing, practice and training. I wonder what the difference is between Leicester and Scunthorpe other than where they are situated in the country. Edited July 24 by Chris116 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundTheBoards Posted July 24 Report Share Posted July 24 31 minutes ago, Chris116 said: I find it interesting that Scunthorpe Eddie Wright Raceway are affiliated to NORA for Flat Track, Speedway and Oval racing, practice and training. I wonder what the difference is between Leicester and Scunthorpe other than where they are situated in the country. You'll find people tell half-truths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Smith Posted July 24 Report Share Posted July 24 Not sure I see the issue to be honest. Speedway clubs know the rules. Isle of Wight knew the rules & withdrew from the SCB & went their own way. Saying that, not sure where it would stand legally. I'd assume, as long as those running amateur meetings are disassociated from all things SCB they can run what they like, when they like. If they're associated in any way with Leicester Lions (or any other club) then the ban is adequate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted July 24 Report Share Posted July 24 (edited) Yet it's okay for riders to compete in both NORA & SCB events... where's the consistency? Edited July 24 by iainb 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sings4Speedway Posted July 24 Author Report Share Posted July 24 3 minutes ago, iainb said: Yet it's okay for riders to compete in both NORA & SCB events... where's the consistency? A member of the SCB board competed in a NORA meeting so just goes to show the views there. The major issue is why are the SCB/Vatcher being so petty? Why not let an amateur club run, let amateur riders enjoy themselves and if any current or future league riders develop through it then all the better for the sport plus along the way it adds a few quid to Leicester's coffers with track hire fee's etc. The petty my way or no way approach is doing nobody any favours, its not like the sport is flourishing in this country anyways. Perhaps the weasel needs a bigger look at himself to work out why more ventures want nothing to do with the SCB. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Smith Posted July 24 Report Share Posted July 24 What's the whole story anyway? It's a pretty ambiguous thread to be fair. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 (edited) On 7/24/2024 at 3:33 PM, Daniel Smith said: Not sure I see the issue to be honest. Speedway clubs know the rules. Isle of Wight knew the rules & withdrew from the SCB & went their own way. Saying that, not sure where it would stand legally. I'd assume, as long as those running amateur meetings are disassociated from all things SCB they can run what they like, when they like. If they're associated in any way with Leicester Lions (or any other club) then the ban is adequate. Don't think the SCB can legally prevent a venue from staging racing under a different sanctioning body or none at all. Would be considered a restraint of trade, and I thought this had been accepted certainly in other motor sport disciplines. There are of course potentially insurance and public liability considerations, but that's a matter for the staging club/promotion and to extent the track owners. So presumably there's more to it than meets the eye. Edited July 25 by Humphrey Appleby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY69 Posted July 26 Report Share Posted July 26 (edited) On 7/24/2024 at 2:55 PM, Chris116 said: I find it interesting that Scunthorpe Eddie Wright Raceway are affiliated to NORA for Flat Track, Speedway and Oval racing, practice and training. I wonder what the difference is between Leicester and Scunthorpe other than where they are situated in the country. One is run by Rob Godfrey, the other isn't. SCB/BSPL have been doing this for years. The Southern Trak Riders amateur group were forced out because they weren't allowed to run under another body at any existing SCB tracks and those tracks then priced them out of existence. Edited July 26 by SPEEDY69 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortythirtyeight Posted July 26 Report Share Posted July 26 Neil Vatcher is a very nice man but you have to accept he got his position because he is a ‘YES’ man, he does as he's told by those above him and we all know who’s pulling Vatchers strings. Vatcher does a lot of very good things but when the man above speaks, Vatcher has to do his dirty work. There is no consistency, no transparency and some times, no logic. This is how our sport is being run now and why very few kids are taking up the sport and crowd numbers are diminishing rapidly. The NDL is only running this year because the chair and his side kick cobbled together a side to make the numbers up and its still totally inadequate. What happened to the promise that every track in the country will run some form of NDL standard or junior events this year ? The really bad news is that it isn't going to change anytime soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sings4Speedway Posted July 26 Author Report Share Posted July 26 25 minutes ago, Fortythirtyeight said: Neil Vatcher is a very nice man but you have to accept he got his position because he is a ‘YES’ man, he does as he's told by those above him and we all know who’s pulling Vatchers strings. Vatcher does a lot of very good things but when the man above speaks, Vatcher has to do his dirty work. There is no consistency, no transparency and some times, no logic. This is how our sport is being run now and why very few kids are taking up the sport and crowd numbers are diminishing rapidly. The NDL is only running this year because the chair and his side kick cobbled together a side to make the numbers up and its still totally inadequate. What happened to the promise that every track in the country will run some form of NDL standard or junior events this year ? The really bad news is that it isn't going to change anytime soon. Its only going to get worse next year with the 2nd attempt at introducing rev limiters again, namely an expensive ignition upgrade per engine that renders all current stock virtually worthless and silencer age limits being reduced to 4 years old adding on further expenses to all riders and ultimately end up passed on to the paying public. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk127 Posted July 26 Report Share Posted July 26 7 hours ago, SPEEDY69 said: One is run by Rob Godfrey, the other isn't. SCB/BSPL have been doing this for years. The Southern Trak Riders amateur group were forced out because they weren't allowed to run under another body at any existing SCB tracks and those tracks then priced them out of existence. What I do not understand is that most clubs do not own the stadia and rent them from independent landlords. For example, if I approached Spedeworth to run a Nora meeting at Foxhall Heath on a date when the stadium was not being used by anyone else, Spedeworth say OK, how can the BSPL then stop the witches racing claiming it is an exclusive venue for SCB meetings only (unless the SCB have entered into an exclusive covenant with every stadium regarding speedway which is highly unlikely as the landlords would undoubtedly no want to tied in to something like that unless they are receiving from the SCB a financial incentive). Or another scenario, what if the stadium owners at Mildenhall were to host Nora meetings in 2024 and agree a deal for 2025 and then the Fen Tigers applied to enter a team under the SCB/ BSPL arrangement in 2025, would they refuse the application? All seems crazy to me when the sport is on its knees and needs as much publicity and rider participation as is possible, the last thing it needs is a cartel. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted July 26 Report Share Posted July 26 And now Vatcher is going to war with Peter Oakes! https://www.scbgb.co.uk/news.php?extend.193 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk127 Posted July 26 Report Share Posted July 26 1 hour ago, iainb said: And now Vatcher is going to war with Peter Oakes! https://www.scbgb.co.uk/news.php?extend.193 What a total little pip squeak he is and he should have been ‘strangled at birth’ metaphorically speaking to save the sport from his ilk. If he is the mouth piece for the top table, he is a sad case, if he is doing it off his own back then what a w….. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY69 Posted July 27 Report Share Posted July 27 On 7/26/2024 at 4:55 PM, Hawk127 said: What I do not understand is that most clubs do not own the stadia and rent them from independent landlords. For example, if I approached Spedeworth to run a Nora meeting at Foxhall Heath on a date when the stadium was not being used by anyone else, Spedeworth say OK, how can the BSPL then stop the witches racing claiming it is an exclusive venue for SCB meetings only (unless the SCB have entered into an exclusive covenant with every stadium regarding speedway which is highly unlikely as the landlords would undoubtedly no want to tied in to something like that unless they are receiving from the SCB a financial incentive). Or another scenario, what if the stadium owners at Mildenhall were to host Nora meetings in 2024 and agree a deal for 2025 and then the Fen Tigers applied to enter a team under the SCB/ BSPL arrangement in 2025, would they refuse the application? All seems crazy to me when the sport is on its knees and needs as much publicity and rider participation as is possible, the last thing it needs is a cartel. Even as an amateur club you have to fun with scb licensed officials etc. and if under another body the promotion would not let us ride there. Rents got higher to make it unviable in the end as we would have to charge £60 per rider, and that's with 35 of them turning up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyretrax Posted July 27 Report Share Posted July 27 (edited) Colin Mackie walked away from Ashfield Giants juniors partly because of the decision of Vatcher and McGregor to strip the league title, after it had been awarded, from them and give it to Edinburgh. Edited July 29 by tyretrax 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortythirtyeight Posted July 31 Report Share Posted July 31 On 7/27/2024 at 11:29 PM, tyretrax said: Colin Mackie walked away from Ashfield Giants juniors partly because of the decision of Vatcher and McGregor to strip the league title, after it had been awarded, from them and give it to Edinburgh. Redcar juniors stalwart and former promoter, Kev Keay did the same , said the interference from those two ruined the ethos of the league and thats cleaning up the words he actualy used. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sings4Speedway Posted August 1 Author Report Share Posted August 1 On 7/27/2024 at 11:29 PM, tyretrax said: Colin Mackie walked away from Ashfield Giants juniors partly because of the decision of Vatcher and McGregor to strip the league title, after it had been awarded, from them and give it to Edinburgh. 13 hours ago, Fortythirtyeight said: Redcar juniors stalwart and former promoter, Kev Keay did the same , said the interference from those two ruined the ethos of the league and thats cleaning up the words he actualy used. Obviously now adding Russel Paine to that list (again) and there are/will be countless others. These are people who gave untold hours to the sport for zero in return and were still driven out. What hope has the sport got if it punishes and penalises genuine volunteers whilst feeding the self interest of a selected few. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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