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JOCK STROP TELEVISION – THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD Wil's Death a Big Loss With other foreign events in cycle speedway taking place last year, apart from the American World championships, team matches between rival nations provided excellent racing both at home throughout the season and in Poland in August. Home Internationals Would Be Good Television The annual Home Nations match has been in the fixture list since the early Eighties. Originally a four-match series run over a week with fixtures taking place in Scotland, Wales and two English regions with major national brand sponsors, it provided the only international competition back then, apart from the biennial Lions' series against Australia. With England, of course the most powerful team, usually the victors of each series, although they lost back in the early times to Scotland and more recently were beaten by a very keen Welsh squad at East Newport in 2008 whilst whipping boys Ireland have not always finished in the wooden spoon position. The Celtic sides, of course, usually have to rely on a “Jackie Charlton” selection formulae to choose riders, not just by birth and traced back genealogy but often relationship to a certain dark Stout beverage, fondness for deep-fried Mars Bars and being able to pronounce that god awful long station name in the Principality or attempt to spell it, to complete their line ups. To be fair, the present England manager Pete Barnes and his predecessors, rather than field their strongest side, for example consisting of the past recent five British individual champions Andy Angell, Mark Boaler, Lee Aris, Gavin Wheeler and Phil Howells which would result in a no-contest tie, tend to choose a team to reflect the region the match is taking place in, based on two current top riders, two similarly skilled up and coming youngsters and reward a long standing previously un-capped rider who has been a credit to the sport to ensure the match will be a fair and entertaining spectacle. The actual meeting was bolstered by having support events for other age groups (youngsters, girls and Vets) both team and/or individuals. In recent years there has been enough interest and riders available to stage a proper junior equivalent match which, in some cases, was actually more competitive, exciting and entertaining than the senior version. In fact with the still blossoming Youth/Juniors, Women’s and Veterans branches of the sport to the fore, it is not inconceivable that this Home Nations tournament could increase in quality to be a full four or five match version starting with real youngsters, followed by girls, then the under-18 junior match, a very competitive Vets fours and finally the main senior fixture, giving a great day’s racing finishing under lights (if any still function!) on a perfect summer evening with accompanying socialising at any of the many underused ‘centres of excellence’ we now have nationwide. Indeed, if live TV exposure does materialise, apart from prestige World and European tournaments, the Home Nations’ fixture should rate just behind the improved British Individuals in the pecking order of priority, ahead of both the failing Team Cup and seldom stability in numbers of the ever changing Elite/Premier or other league versions with their predictable pattern of races usually won from gate positions, settling down to processional arithmetically race outcomes with the match result often determined long before the final heats are completed. Maybe it's absorbing for traditional participants but not necessarily an exiting spectacle for the new (first time) on-looking TV public. Celtic Cup Caught the Imagination Subsequent matches involving the stronger in class Welsh team were similarly welcomed by all who witnessed them and they were able also to combine full team adjacent weekend supporting matches against an under age England side, giving good experience for all involved. Hopefully these will become full time fixtures rotated between the different venues from now on with this year’s event, because of the crowded calendar, being run as a triple team match at Edinburgh on 19th May (provisionally). With the strange fascination league team racing has with the British participants ahead of other more important versions of competition in CS, this is it not time to re-introduce inter-region test matches which up to the 90s had been an excellent source of “racing of a higher standard”! Already the introduction of the Women’s League and not yet successful Vets equivalent if combined with Senior (and Junior) North v South, South-West v South-East etc could make for high profile Saturday ‘TVable’ evening dates, reclaiming some of the ground CS has lost to the “Terrible Torrent of Trivial Tracy Tearful Tabloid Tantrum Trauma Terrestrial Television” force fed indiscriminately to the culturally vacant population of these once great Isles. The Inter-County league replaced these regional tests in the 90’s with relative success in its first season but soon faded as others only saw it as extra racing for predominately Leicester and Wednesfield riders, with organisational problems coming to the fore in the other county sides. From out of this grew the Premier League but after more than a decade of competition, it still has not settled into the true professional series it intended to be, primarily discredited by its ever changing lesser ‘yo-yoing’ club members, selective unregulated merry-go-round of riding participants and free-for-all damaging transfer and rider licensing criteria, compromising other league formats. The sport’s organisers can’t seem to or because of misguided club loyalty first priorities, are reluctant to sort out properly. Highlights of these six regional fixtures of course would also make good TV viewing if it materialised too. Returning to a “touring party” format, the week-long series was surprisingly successful for the UK party. The GB seniors eventually lost out 2-1 to their hosts over the three ties, a much closer margin than predicted, whilst the junior side, benefiting from their Academy training reversed that outcome. The girls’ competitions included an individual and the British fillies dominated all the matches. This seemed strange as in the old Communist era the females of the Soviet block took great pride and superiority from their Olympic sporting prowess, primarily in events such as Weightlifting, Shot Putting and Ancient Greco Wrestling. Mind you, there has probably been a professional female Sumo Wrestling league taking place in Travelling People’s trailer parks (and unofficially outside Essex, Merseyside and Geordie night clubs on most Saturday nights) for the past 20 years operating in as secretive a life as Cycle Speedway which because of recent TV interest (The Greatest Loser/ Fat Camp etc instant voyeurism) will explode all over our plasma screens imminently to rival full no-holds-barred ultimate ring fighting by cocky Gypsy lad heroes which will fill the schedules of non terrestrial TV during the satellite subscription free Olympics. A repeat staging of GB v Poland as part of the European Championships in Norfolk this summer will hopefully cement the series as an annual occasion not to be missed from now on and of course perfect for the small screen. Norwich Finals Weekend a Huge Success Despite the dreadful rainy weather on the Saturday and Sunday at support tracks Hethersett and Harford Park, the racing was good and competitive and was not too diluted by non appearances, injuries and late call offs whilst the whole package received good local sponsorship.
The 20 minute broadcast was excellently put together by Rob Haywood’s production team, sensibly presented and narrated by Graham Sutton with short precise interviews with all the top riders, Cycle Speedway Commission representative Ian Brown, bike producer Karl Wilkinson who all provided insight into the sport, its history and future promises interspersed by great live footage, professionally edited with concise commentary in-between. It was completely devoid of the Rooneyesque one syllable comments other similar sport’s versions contain whose priority always seems geared to praise sponsors rather than the performance of the competitors. It certainly ticked all the boxes and there did not seem to be any adverse opinions aired on Spokesman, so a success it certainly seemed to be. Strangely the majority of comments appeared only to be concerned about the actual way Andy Angell became the 2011 champion. Opinion was divided amongst contributors concerning the final race refereeing decision, which continued over the sport’s media for some time. Trial by TV – Where will it end! The Norfolk organisers of these finals, along with everyone else involved with the broadcast, should be very pleased with the finished product. “However, But and Unfortunately”, the three words one never wishes to hear. suddenly appear. I have always said TV would never instantly change our sport and I still stand by that opinion. The “Achilles heel” of the Sky broadcast lies in the timing of the general release of such a fine product. No doubt not the fault of either the producers of the DVD or organisers of the sport, for logistical issues, the eventual showing three months later, after the end of the season, will no doubt have dampened and delayed any positive reactions from a new interested general public and we will have a very hard job to woo them back and reel them in so it may all have been in vain after all. In the final part these problems will be examined in detail along with Cycle Speedway’s tortured existence within the world of cycling and the unfortunate denied Olympic shared experience, which could have brought us some compensation. To go boldly on into the future…… Part three - coming soon. TELEVISION – THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD Another year ended for Cycle Speedway with the sport in a more buoyant mood than in previous seasons but still embroiled in a certain degree of problematic divisions and stalled promises for improvement. Ambitious plans for the future are still being compromised with long-term historical caution and ‘laisez faire’ attitudes dominating its political workings. Television coverage of the sport in the future is the main topic of discussion as the year comes to an end but this should be examined carefully as normal TV viewing has actually had more of a negative affect on cycle speedway participation, already explained in previous Strops. The anticipated breakthrough into live screening will not really come anywhere near clawing back that damage to the sport’s competitions and participants inflicted by the present culture of EsseX- factored saturated reality programmed exposure to Britain’s increasingly obese, lazy, debt-ridden and dubiously entertained population. Looking Back on 2011
In mid April that controversial US of A tournament took place despite the late onslaught of doubts and withdrawals of previously committed entrants, debated vigorously in the sport’s media, which appeared to criticise and devalue it considerably. Two years of planning by American organiser Brian White eventually seemed to turn out a brave but doomed promotion by a sole enthusiastic individual, despite possible interest from Portland in Oregon on the West Coast of the discovery of a brand (“Holeshot Racing”) of indoor Cycle Speedway very similar to our own British version aired over the internet and a possible avenue of portable instant racing appearing via the “Red Bull Mini Velodrome” which was also featured. However interest in both appeared to be stillborn after all, although the latter eventually appeared in Manchester in December with Lee Aris finishing a credible sixth in the inaugural competition for road and track fixed-wheel cycle racers but the Wednesfield ace rider deemed it too small and compact for Cycle Speedway use after all. Physical help with problems at the Edenton track was overcome by the visiting competitors aid, advice and innovation but less than anticipated riding and spectator interest from the locals, coupled with the low tourist reality of the rural setting, reduced the overall expectations of the event. Still all the same it was the World Championships of our sport and despite the obvious lack of quantity and quality entry it provided exciting racing and worthy winners of all the classes competed in. Success in the main individual competitions predictably went the way of the Polish and Australians with long overdue triumph for Lukasz Nowacki in the senior version and Aussie youngster Joel Chadwick claiming the junior title. Steve Harris added the World Vets crown to his 1999 senior Rawicz victory and the Sheffield girls dominated the reduced women’s event. Yet again disappointment for the British riders in the blue riband senior final was compensated by England’s victory in the team cup, proving this type of competition tends to mean more to them as international individual prizes seem once again to be beyond their expectations. Will it be remembered as an American Dream or North Carolina Nightmare? With little or no news filtering back since April, to say if it has left a lasting legacy of increased racing activity and participation there embracing the other former Stateside promotion area and any interaction with the Oregon Hole-shotters, possibly the latter scenario. If so it will act as a warning to future experiments of staging World events in New Zealand, Ukraine or any similar places where Cycle Spedway might have been discovered without proper prior investigation of suitable viability of staging such high profile competitions. Horspath Retain Premier League Crown Predictably the Premier League ran on as usual with Horspath winning yet again despite Leicester equalling their points tally but not overall race totals, prompting the sensible decision to stage a “race off” match if a similar situation arises in the future. Their large strong squad were not too affected by usual racing injuries to key riders and the loss on occasions of talisman Steve Harris to turn out for his Polish League club Kalety instead, which were easily covered by ever improving junior signings. The ousted Birmingham side were missed but all their riders of course appeared courtesy of secondary signings to other teams elsewhere but unsurprisingly a couple of the replacing clubs stated they would not be renewing membership in 2012. This of course led to cries by some to re-structure the PL into two divisions to give more riders a chance of racing of a higher standing and increased eight hour familiarity sessions of the UK’s crowded motorway system every second Sunday. Realistically there is little wrong with the PL as it was, save damaging secondary (first claim) transfer scenarios each year which the ruling body seems loath to do anything about and the reluctance to stage these high profile fixtures under floodlights on a Saturday evening rather than increasingly unsuitable Sunday afternoons. Even a compromise of staging 50% the fixtures then would free up dates for another level of competition and allow half the participants, officials and spectators to boost the attendance at matches they were not taking part in – “Simples!” However this will never happen as Slob Britannia refuses to do anything other than pander to the gurus of all hours shopping, superstar soccer and dreadful celebrity-driven live terrestrial TV entertainment instead. Deteriorating British Team Cup in entrants and usual repetitive finalists no longer needs explaining if continued to be organised as it is at present. Until correct decisions can be made about rider eligibility and entry participation, it will continue to decline in importance, with even sensible acknowledgement of some of these flaws voiced in Spokesman. It will now be staged in future earlier in the season as lack of entries leaves a gaping gap between qualifying rounds and mid-September finals, a sad reflection on the downfall of the sport’s oldest competition. The Club Championships attracted a larger entry but like the Team Cup is still tainted by CS’s main inequality rider eligibility gripes and selfish adherence to first claim licensing by certain clubs and individuals which deters other clubs from taking part. Regional leagues improved in the South-West and Midlands, stayed static in the North but declined again in the South-East. With the never-ending game of musical chairs in East Anglian CS, why were Kesgrave with proven riders in the calibre of Gary Brown, Paul Brinkoff and Peter Ingram in Division Two rather than One (or both). The once invincible Great Blakenham struggled to field a full team whilst Colchester’s team appearances also seemed to have evaporated and no league riders championships appeared to take place? Junior league racing, where it occurred, gave under-age riders additional racing but the seniors and vets appearances in the South-East Grand Prix were down in numbers, yet again, despite the usual complaints from these riders saying they have not had any ‘proper racing’ for weeks on end. There is more to Cycle Speedway than an expected bland menu of fractured team league racing that increasingly is not everyone’s cup of tea and other avenues of competition will have to be tried if TV coverage does increase our recruitment of interested participants! Predicted problems in splitting of Wossock Youth & Junior GP / League in two caused parents a degree of annoyance if offspring were competing at sometimes not so adjacent tracks but still a record amount of participants kept this competition as the most success-achieving tournament in the calendar, even although it meant very long days of racing and travelling for most. Women’s racing continues to grow in numbers, competing with the quality of racing improving all the time with many girls now taking part in normal league racing, mostly combination matches, but some even appearing in regional and Premier League proper on occasions as well. The indoor version was as exciting to watch as their male colleagues with some real nasty crashes with a serious injury to Birmingham’s Natalie Timms incurred at Manchester last month that has not dampened her enthusiasm. There was mixed opinions of other age-group categories for one-day team and individuals, which usually only just attracted the minimum of entries. There seems to be a lot of competition duplication via regional versions running parallel to national ones plus the Wossock Y&J, so an overall unification of them might be worth looking at in the future. Similarly the still expanding Vets scene prospered in the team and over-60s versions but again were poorly supported in the main over-40s event and the indoors individual while the Eurovets GP’s seventh series grew to nine rounds, only blighted slightly by constantly changing varied unadvertised (in the handbook) dates, prohibitive start times for some and venue confusion. Sadly it has lost its free website tenure after five years excellent production by Wednesfield’s Kevin Turley.
Disciplinary problems still exist in disarray within the BC umbrella and are not helped by continued spats by culprits and biased witnesses, both riders, supporters and officials over the airwaves. The Hull v Edinburgh fiasco turned out to be as appalling to the sport as a Millwall v West Ham local derby or the continuing tiresome sectarian spats Glasgow based football is and should be a lesson not to be repeated! Transfers and (First Claim) Secondary licence problems still remain a blot on sport along with the continued xenophobic treatment of non-UK passport holding residents insisted on. The last Commission meeting which was hopefully going to introduce Premier/Elite sensible licensing which would encourage original riders with not so fashionable clubs to remain with them to be able to boost the entry to the British Team and Club competitions. But this has now been delayed for another year, prompting already several first claim transfers strangely, by some riders who had trouble travelling to away matches in last year’s competition, now having to travel similar distances for home matches as well! With the new Elite League confined to six teams, the proposed four team second tier Premier league looks very fragile and possibly will not occur as opportunist first claim candidates conceal their transfer offers to the last minute, like late night TV poker players not wishing to end up in the lower speed version with ambitious clubs, instead targeting unaware easily influenced talented juniors on similar signings unconcerned about the damage they are causing to these targeted regional clubs now unwilling to enter BTC and club championships yet again. If all clubs followed Swindon’s sensible membership ideals the sport would not have the problems it has now in rider recruitment. Continuing to ban long-term resident foreigners from British championships just does not make sense at all whilst a two “foreigner” only rule for league teams has obviously not been thought through properly. If the anticipated influx of many new recruits from the 160 million TV viewers from the Sky finals broadcast expected in the UK, the obvious preferred choice as a place to come and try this new exciting sport, will still have to face these apartheid conditions. There will have to be change in these rulings as any budding residing Tommaz, Dick Van Dyke and Bruce (or Sheila) seems certain to be told to get on their bike back to where they belong by “Clipboard Charlie” (CS’s foreigner watch warden) or join the present Leper Colony alongside messers Nowacki, Rycharski, Bandosz and Ms Tamborska who are denied so many opportunities to race equally like their native club mates can. Increasingly likely but personally regrettable it seems Scotland’s current path of becoming full-time “Tartan, Shortbread and Bagpipes” could also cause no end of problems if full independence from the UK becomes a reality and Edinburgh Falcons are immediately banned from the BTC and Club competitions and all their riders likewise from individual competitions alongside all the Anglo-Scots riding in England who would also suffer the same fate unless they decide to do a Marcus Wadhams and sign up for England but then would have to endure a three years (I think) neutral period before being allowed to race. That would leave GB Cycle Speedway predominately an English only sport and they would probably find a similar by-law to dismiss the Welsh clubs as well. It is certainly no laughing matter. If these inequalities are not acted on correctly, it is not beyond the realms of impossibility that our sport could then splinter into two or three different organisations and the anticipated golden goose fortune of TV acceptance is lost forever. As an example the very television dependant sport (pastime?) of Darts has had two separate governing bodies for the past 20 years and Boxing (The Noble Art?) which was always “The Richest Prize in Sport” has been carved up by five differing World Organisations, dependent on American TV companies, obviously run by Mafia (US / Italian and now Eastern Bloc) bosses whose participants, once brain injury beacons retirement, turn increasingly to sinister religious beliefs and have been doing so for the last 40 years turning it into the joke sport it is now. FINALS WEEKEND - Part Two - posted 25 August 2011 Unfortunately around this time of year for the past few seasons, events outside our control have occurred which have had a significant affect on our sport. Starting with the 2008 financial collapse beginning in the USA but exaggerated by the greedy bankers in Britain a year later to be joined by the expense cheating MPs of all parties scenario resulting in this hung Parliament coalition’s punitive financial cutbacks affecting everyone (except the bankers!). The latest problem unearthed recently has been the phone hacking scandal in the News of the World which is tarnishing the now dubious News International Corporation’s reputation in its other avenues of business. It appears that the authorities have arrested the wrong red haired woman after all in this case. Poor Rebecca ‘whateverhernamewas’ is surely innocent of all charges, suffering obvious breakdown, stress and indecision after once been married to one of Eastender’s slap head Mitchell (yoou slaagg!) brothers and the real criminal here who created the breeding grounds, conditions and atmosphere these less than savoury characters prospered in, be they monolithical media moguls, fly by night airline owners, Scum Dog Scottish Billionaire bankers, Mafia Football club owners, vile TV entertainment gurus etc etc who have changed the UK society for the worse, should have been dealt with permanently 30 years ago. The news that Sky TV will be covering our Finals event worries me somewhat. The old saying that “Any publicity is good publicity” obviously rings a bell and “Beggars should not be choosers” regarding TV coverage is true but it is a shame that neither Eurosport or ITV4 could not be used instead as they are more honest broadcasters and much more versed in Cycle Sport coverage as anyone who spent more than four hours every day watching the excellent coverage of the Tour de France in July would agree. Also the recent news that Sky will now be the prime broadcaster of Formula 1 has upset the great majority of BBC viewers rightly as having adverts in F1 racing as ITV did several years ago ruins the coverage. However it is probably Ecclestone to blame for that change rather than Uncle Rupert! Nevertheless with the increasingly public disgrace NIC are in, I just hope British Cycling have safeguarded their reputed 30 million sovs Sky sponsorship money well by either careful spending (on CS hopefully as well) or sensibly and safely banked that pot of gold rather than see it disappear quicker than a Robert Maxwell pension fund in the early 90’s did! These problems above are however nothing compared to the mass rioting and looting we have been witnessing all over England, mirroring the Thatcher-inspired inner city civil unrest equivalents of a generation ago. These have been much more widespread, violent, aggressive and destructive than in the early 80s but this time any comparison with ethnic and cultural justifications are very weak, the troubles being opportunist copy-cat action co-ordinated by mindless thugs predominately black at first but soon joined in by low life white trash hoodies as well, encouraged by facebook/twitter planning that caught the Police and authorities wrong footed and they have been completely fooled, causing much embarrassment to them and the government. The worrying thing is that most of these hideous crimes were committed in areas that still are or used to be hotbeds of cycle speedway participation – all areas of London, the West Midlands, Manchester and environs, Bristol and the South-West and Leicester with only the extreme South, East Anglia (lack of pitchforks!), Scotland and Ulster where of course past events like that were in a very different league, being completely free of this needless violence. This asks questions that possibly CS could maybe have played a pacifying community role if it had expanded into a more all embracing membership base back in the 60’s & 70s before multi culturism ideals promoted by the Hampstead liberal lefties actually caused more harm than sensible generation integration would have had and has divided the various factions even further over the years in increased alienation from the indigenous population in the name of extreme religious followings of all sorts and creeds mostly. In retrospect Cycle Speedway’s biggest mistake maybe was not utilising the early 70s purpose built Westway track in Notting Hill near Shepherd’s Bush, viewed instantly from adjoining raised urban motorways, staging each year’s August Bank Holiday Finals there as part of the Notting Hill Carnival with a possible crowd of a million within a five minute walk away plus the BBC HQ just a stone’s (brick or petrol bomb!) throw away over the M40 spur road broadcasting our racing live long before the arrival of satellite TV and our pastime could have hit the big time 40 years ago! No Disco/Karaoke social event but everyone turned up at Old Meadowbank Stadium for the motor Speedway on the Saturday night. Ask Derek Garnett, Roger Ellis, John Whiting, Johnny Murphy or Colin Wheeler just how big these weekends were back then when you see them next. It is disappointing that we now live in an era where the only things that seem to matter to the great British population is total slavery to Consumer Retail Market Materialism (shopping) and of equal damage, complete addiction to lowest common denominator instant ‘must see’ television entertainment which has irreparably damaged the way we participate and spectate at our chosen sporting activity. Only a few years ago, the last in 2006, at Wednesfield’s European Championships, it was still possible to camp (or camper van) trackside over the entire weekend although it was mostly the travelling visiting Polish contingent who chose that option there. Over many similar events throughout the 90s until then, I remember memorable other occasions at similar big fixtures at Poole, Horspath, Astley, Sandwell, Great Blakenham and others where this was the normal preferred accommodation option of most riders and mirrored the similar ways I attended following “Le Tour” or motorcycling events all over Europe which I still do, creating an atmosphere of mutual cooperation and love for these sports. Sadly usual cycle speedway incidents of “high spirits” and nimbyism caused curtailment of these plus dwindling interest in the racing promotions. The ‘family sport’ idea is still strong in CS despite almost nationally 50% marriage failures now but like many I was drawn into this sport as a youngster keen to rebel from parental authority and go off with my mates using CS as a reason to do so. The opposite seems to be the case with “Young, dumb and still living off Mum” scenarios seemingly to be the norm now with the youth generation. Many of today’s good junior riders just seem to be content with a “Kevin & Perry” existence life of crap food, tabloid TV entertainment with lack of mechanical know how, leaving all their machine preparation to their dads and just sulk about playing with their game stations between races rather than rising to the challenges of the sport. I doubt if these al fresco meetings will ever return as the youth ‘don’t do camping’ anymore as canvas and nylon are not ‘plug in able’, so no electricity for boys hair straightners and girls Xbox facebooking chat up text lines. Apart from a single visit with an Asda throw away £5 tent at a rain ruined “V” Festival or Glastonbury equivalent, camping (and caravanning) is almost solely the preserve of pensioner couples these days although extreme bivouacking on an artic mountain gap year trek will entertain some that are more adventurous no doubt. This time in Norwich, instead of staying in a soulless “Holiday Lodge” concrete hotel or probably over regulated caravan sites (Families only, no dogs, no cycles - motor or otherwise, no single sex groups, no fires or barbeques, no ball games, no parking, no noise after 9pm = no fun!) our 500 to 1000 intrepid cycle speedway riders, officials, spectators and followers should just arrive at the Hethersett and the former Eaton clubs tracks and camp there ‘al fresco’ in a variety of camper wagons, caravans and tents for the weekend on the adjoining football pitches similar to the way the estimated 200,000 travelling fans of the Tour de France do each night in July over the channel and make their own catering and entertainment requirements creating an all embracing atmosphere of historical significance, like the religious crusades or gipsy horse festivals of days gone by and rival similar Polish town inclusive CS promotions in the 90s or family activated versions which Australian tracks still excel in. Repeating this again on the Sunday night with possibly more organised Vets or Fours racing for those not interested in the community centre Disco Social would keep everyone occupied and interested. In the past these Sunday night indoor events sometimes were spoiled by drink loosened tongues of officials and people of opposing views within the sport’s membership, noisily debating their corners, possible off track rivalries between riders going back many years ending up in fisticuffs in the car park or more embarrassingly lovers tiffs or marriage breakdowns being acted out in true Eastenders drama in hotel foyers come to mind. Even the Spixworth track could get in on the festival act perhaps being used as a shakedown practice facility on the Friday afternoon and early evening for arriving riders with a similar separate age group on going individual for all going on and even on the Monday morning could stage a consolation final for non qualifiers or Vets pairs meeting to whet the appetite for the afternoon’s finale. No doubt the grand final will still have the odd rider competing in it who has overdone the socialising the night before, returning shoeless from some nightclub worse the wear from 10 lagers, 20 shots of Jagermeister and a breakfast kebab but will still miraculously give a good display on the track despite his condition!
There will of course be shocks and unimaginable outcomes that may come from local residents, like Norwich GP winner Dan Chambers of two years ago and don’t rule out a third title from Phil Howells a few years on from his last. I would also like to see East London’s only entry Neil Lester qualify for the final, 18 years on from getting there in Thurrock colours in 1993. Of course congratulations to those I have obviously overlooked and not listed but will prove me wrong and also to the contenders in the supporting finals where there is sure to be many similar title claims. Best wishes and good luck to all the competitors, hard working organisers (who should deserve a free British Cycling paid for rewarding meal in a local pub afterwards) and hopefully contented spectators and hope the weekend goes onto be a true success encouraging others to further improve on in future editions in other parts of the UK. Steve Harvie FINALS WEEKEND - Part One - posted 22 August 2011 This year's British Individuals Bank Holiday weekend in Norwich bodes well for being the best one held in recent years. With an increased entry in the four classes involved, especially in the senior version, and a re-jigging of the event timetable to further promote the under-16s, under-10s and women’s racing as the support finals at the other two tracks. For too long now this weekend has focussed on competitive finals day colourful promotions, with rival clubs trying to outdo their predecessors, rather than the quality and quantity of the actual racing. You can only dress up an inferior product so much but the actual class of the racing is the proof of the pudding in success terms. With the three venues involved all within 15 minutes drive from the weekend’s hotel base and similarly situated official camp sites, plus the Sunday night social event being held at the community centre next to the old Eaton club’s track, it should provide the close knit tournament that former weekends always did where they were held in similar areas containing neighbouring clubs. Then these individuals were the conclusion of a season of qualifiers, whittled down to the best 64 senior riders bidding for a final place in the top 16 in Monday’s final after each racing in two qualifying semi-finals on the Saturday and Sunday. However, despite the increased amount of entries for the seniors, the actual riders who will contest the final at 3pm on the Monday will not necessary mean a higher class field than any of the last three early-season Norwich Grand Prix matches or last year’s doomed British Grand Prix equivalent final held on Norwich’s Eaton Park’s race circuit, due to the still discriminating entry criteria preferred by the Cycle Speedway Commission. First Class Setting Nevertheless, the setting of this final’s arena is probably only bettered in the UK by Poole’s Baiter track as an actual high profile public accessible stage embracing a passing general population unaware of our sport and not the usual out of the way amenity in a little used sports facility only known by cycle speedway’s own followers as is the norm. Given good August Bank Holiday Monday weather, this beautiful Victorian park should be full of holidaymakers of all ages, nationalities, types and a perfect audience for our sport.
Taking nothing away from the Norwich organisers who as always put on a good meeting, one of the few clubs who still insist on timing all the races unlike most who can’t be bothered anymore, it seems that these prime events are held purely for the CS brotherhood rather than for a wider church. Unfortunately cycle speedway still clings to this tortured belief that the whole cycling world is against them, be it British Cycling itself or being shunned by the Olympics but in reality we are a very small introverted sport or in fact even inbred in its thinking, only being interested in our own existence first and foremost, frightened of actual changes for the better and seem to do little to expand our horizons of activity to other cycling groups, sportspeople and the general public. Stumbling Spectators Too often in the past the new spectator who stumbles across our blue ribbon fixture will be discouraged from fully taking in the whole event for a variety of reasons. It is hard work for the promoting clubs to organise these finals with limited resources, not just financial, but having to rely on sometimes not enough people to help out. The curious first time Finals spectator may arrive early to witness the strange ritual of grading, sweeping, levelling and either watering the dry surface or removing excess moisture off of the track if it has been raining by all and sundry which seems to go on for hours which confuses them into thinking it is some kind of gardening or landscape planning competition instead of a cycle race and they walk on by before the action begins. Likewise the ignorant viewer will have walked through the car park to see cycle speedway bikes in all sorts of disrepair, being put together hurriedly prior to warming up. Usually some machines are being completely rebuilt from scratch. Surely with an event as important as this, mechanical problems should have been dealt with well in advance. Similar ‘put offs’ are overlong pre-match presentations, wrongly scheduled intervals, unending raffles and long drawn out prizegivings afterwards. Having the interval after heat 10 usually means the second half goes on for ever as the increasing competition results in incidents, injuries and re-runs or race offs expanding the actual time required to sometimes twice that of the first half. Give Us a Break Having the break after heat 12 as they do in proper speedway makes sense, as all riders would have completed three races each then. The critics would complain that it gives a rest advantage to the grid one rider in heat 13 but could this ‘advantage’ not be used as a “pole position” incentive offered to the highest points scoring semi-finalist to add spice and genuine competition to the qualifying process! Also during the interval of such a high profile event, it dismays me to see the riders, who of course are the most important ingredient on the day, wandering about, some smoking openly or perhaps drinking (alcohol) which gives a poor impression, animatedly discussing racing incidents and supposed referee misdemeanours with spectators friendly or otherwise, being unlawfully ‘coached’ by others or perhaps committing more serious sporting crimes which demeans their star quality. Confinement within the pits area save for ‘comfort breaks’, first aid or mechanical repairs should be adhered to by the race officials. You don’t see Wayne Rooney popping out at Wembley at half time for a fag and a chance meeting with his latest secret mature passion conquest (although he probably wants to!). The new weekend race magazine seems set to be a success and I hope it sells well but perhaps a similarly produced A4 sized finals advert card poster could have been marketed and sent off to each participant with their entry confirmation letter for them to display in the rear widow of their (or parents) car and a larger version to each club and other viable cycling and sporting outlets to instantly publicise nationwide these finals. Of course internet coverage via “Spokesman” and other sites are things we never had previously but old fashioned visual ways, either posters, newspaper adverts, national or local, still have an instant appeal as do local radio and regional TV mentions. Not wanting to put a dampener on the hard work the Norfolk clubs have obviously done prior to now, I still think CS is in the dark ages when it comes to try to publicise itself. In the initial years of these weekend promotions, despite the supposed sponsorship by the Daily Mirror, the only visible evidence of publicity was usually a badly attached lamp post display nearby of an old Daily Mirror poster with a felt tipped “Cycle Speedway” arrow pointing in the general direction of the venue track(s) which had usually slipped down to the ground, pointing the wrong way by the end of the first day and lay there discarded for the next few years! Remembering Norwich 1985 Back in 1985 I think, the Finals Weekend was in Norwich where I combined attendance at this as a spectator with a wedding anniversary stay at a nearby expensive country house hotel complete with accompanying push bikes for tourist exploration as Cycle Speedway then had not yet declined in size and quality participation enough to grant me the racing option which would see me taking part in it as a supporting rider to make up the field in years to come as the number of entrants shrunk dramatically. Mixing CS with marriage was obviously a mistake as well as it turned out eventually for me resulting in today’s sad man with a laptop and too much to say! Nevertheless we arrived in the city on the Saturday in glorious weather that lasted right through the three days. Cycling into this fine town to explore its various famous attractions, the first stop was the Tourist Board office where I informed the assistant I was here for the Cycle Speedway National Individual Championships and could she furnish me with the relevant information where they were taking place. I was met with a complete vacant stare of negativity as she knew nothing of them and asked of her colleagues who were all equally unaware of what I was talking about. An older one said that the speedway had closed down years ago when Ove Fundin and Olly Nygren had gone back to Sweden. Of course I had to go through the usual scenario of explaining our sport to them with still no joy only to be advised to ask at the two proper cycle shops that were in an interesting shopping street nearby. Both shops were of little help either. One said that CS had died off as well whilst the other indicated there might still be a track somewhere out the Ipswich Road direction. A pacifying drink had to be taken at a nearby pub, later visited regularly when attending future annual Lad’s Club indoor meetings! The Monday final was to be at Hellesdon Community Centre which I had actually been at as a racer with Newham four years previously but had forgotten its name or whereabouts (and continued to do so for the next 20 years until Norwich CSC moved to Eaton Park), only knowing it was near Asda and some really high trees. Enquiries to passing road cyclists proved fruitless as well so the Saturday and Sunday qualifiers wherever they happened to be were ignored in favour of pedalling up to the Broads and across to Great Yarmouth instead. Over 500 Attend Pre-Finals Party Night However we had tickets for the Sunday Night Finals Draw, Social and Disco sourced from Newham CSC and arrived there at 9pm walking into a nightclub dream scenario comparable to the “Ball Scene” in The Shining, where magically all the well known faces of British Cycle Speedway were present greeting us as long lost friends.
That was a Cycle Speedway problem foremost as I encountered similar at my inaugural visit to Poole for Finals Day a few years previous to that. Arriving when the supporting junior final would have been running, we parked at the Historic Quays area and inquired at the harbour side Tourist Office the same questions. This time we were told the Speedway was on Wednesday nights at the track next to the railway station in the town. Poole Pirates motor version, so I had to go through the same scenario explaining our sport. The office handyman, an elderly bloke, intervened and informed us there was a Cycle Speedway track in the neighbouring suburb of Hamworthy, over the bridge whilst one of the female assistants also said there was a kiddies circuit down along the promenade beside the paddling pool and boating lake. Setting off on foot in drizzling rain the 20-minute walk did end up at a track of sorts, obviously little used stuck out in a playing field devoid of any people. Returning perplexed back to the car, a passing-racing cyclist gave us the true location and said his daughter raced there occasionally so things were looking promising. With an hour till the start of the main event, the busy waterside pubs and cafes were miraculously now filled with all the usual CS people and after a drink we made our way to the ‘kiddies track’ after all! In complete contrast to Poole and Norwich, the big meetings held at Thurrock’s track, despite its secluded position in a rough1950s sprawling council estate, were always attended to capacity in an area of the country where a Tourist Board office is still surplus to requirements. 15 years since it’s demise, I still regularly drive along the A13 usually returning from long drawn out days of poorly attended (riders and spectators) away matches in East Anglia, wondering if these heady times in the 80s and 90s existed after all and were not just a figment of my imagination seemingly drawn to investigate further and stumble once more into these good times in a Dr. Who scenario. Bill Gill's Mecca Bill Gill’s tireless enthusiasm for this Mecca of Cycle Speedway however was not reciprocated by the rest of the club after he released his grip on the tiller when personal family bereavement diluted his commitment and the resulting fall was almost immediate and terminal with little evidence left of the ‘CS Wembley’ of its day. Instead of being remembered for these epic finals most see it only as an example of the “Boom and Bust” UK culture of the time in the “Lady’s” favourite electoral supported county constituency.
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