With the British Speedway Annual General Meeting (AGM) rapidly approaching I thought I would discuss the topic of British Speedway and what rules and regulations can be implemented to improve what is one of the best and yet most underrated sports in Great Britain.
- Belle Vue, Birmingham, Coventry, Eastbourne, Kings Lynn, Lakeside, Peterborough, Poole, Swindon and Wolverhampton
Poole Pirates 2011 - EL Champions and KO Cup Winners
Below is an overview of the 13 riders that rode for the all conquering Poole Pirates in 2011 and their CMAs at the start and end of the season. Over the course of the season Poole made four team changes, or wait was it three? Technically Peter Kildemand never rode for them but he shows up on the Green Sheet averages list as a Poole Pirates rider, however more about that later.
Rider | Rider Replaced | CMA at Start of 2011 | CMA at End of 2011 |
1. Chris Holder | 8.55 | 9.30 | |
2. Darcy Ward | 7.04 | 8.94 | |
3. Davey Watt | 6.99 | 7.71 | |
4. Jason Doyle (D/Up w Gary Havelock) | 5.33 | 5.28 | |
5. Gary Havelock (D/Up w Jason Doyle) (Ass) | 4.70 | 4.70 | |
6. Renat Gafurov (Ass) | 4.52 | 4.42 | |
7. Dennis Andersson (Ass) | 4.00 | 5.14 | |
8. Christian Hefenbrock (D/Up w Kyle Newman) (Ass) | 3.23 | 3.81 | |
9. Kyle Newman (D/Up w Christian Hefenbrock) (Ass) | 3.00 | 3.00 | |
10. Mateusz Szczepaniak (Ass) | Christian Hefenbrock and Kyle Newman | 4.00 | 4.00 |
11. Peter Kildemand (D/Up w Jason Doyle) | Gary Havelock | 4.27 | 4.27 |
12. Kevin Wolbert (D/Up w Jason Doyle) | Gary Havelock | 4.78 | 4.78 |
13. Thomas H Jonnasson (Ass) | Renat Gafurov | 5.38 | 5.38 |
Take nothing away from that double winning Poole side it was filled with immense talent and the team deserved to win the Elite League and the KO Cup. However three cloudy areas surround the double winning Poole Pirates team of 2011.
- The first being that unsurprisingly a number of clubs were interested in Dennis Andersson at the start of the season and the British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA) had announced that Dennis Andersson would have an average of 5.00 as a category one rider due to the rulings within 17.2.1 and the conversion of Dennis's Swedish Elitserien Average from 2010. However on Poole announcing his signature these rules were ignored and Dennis Andersson was placed into Poole's 1-7 on an advantageous 4.00 average.
- The second being how did Poole submit and get authorisation from the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) to sign Peter Kildemand to replace Gary Havelock? This move eventually never happened and was referred to the SCB following accusations by the Coventry Bees that Matt Ford utilised his position at the BSPA to illegally sign Peter Kildemand from Coventry without approaching the rider and gaining his or his parent clubs permission (Workington Comets) to sign him for Poole. No details regarding the investigation were ever released by the SCB or the BSPA and it seems the issue was conveniently swept under the carpet.
- The third point being how did Poole replace Renat Gafurov who left on an average of 4.42 with Thomas H Jonasson on an average of 5.38? As per ruling 17.7.1 - A team must not exceed 40.00 points when re-declared (permanent or temporary) except where the CMA of the introduced rider is equal to or lower than the rider being replaced.
Maybe these theories and the mathematics within them maybe incorrect and I never expect the answers to these three points. But my main point here is that an independent governing body and independent appeals panel is key to the long term survival of British Speedway. The situation with regards to Matt Ford being Vice Chairman at the BSPA and promoter at Poole was an absolute disgrace and would be like Roman Abramovich being Vice Chairman of the FA. You cannot hold any position within a governing body of a sport if you interests are biased and your best interests have a directly negative impact upon your competitors. Sorry guys, that's my mini Poole rant over.
Will the Turbo Twins be split up? Or will rule changes take place at this winters AGM to allow them to continue their deadly partnership?
As previously stated the quality within the Poole team was clear from day one of the 2011 season and the majority of riders declared within their team increased their averages substantially. This in turn means the double winners of 2011 will have to make some changes to their 2012 line up, as under current rulings only one of the Turbo Twins (Chris Holder and Darcy Ward) can be re-signed due to both riders having an average of over 8.00. The Pirates are not the only team that has this issue as Peterborough and Wolverhampton have also ended the season with at least two riders having averages over 8.00. As I stated when the one rider over 8.00 rule was initially implemented I disagreed, as the younger up and coming riders such as Ben Barker, Troy Batchelor, Edward Kennett, Maciek Janowski, Kenni Larsen, Pzemyslaw Pawlicki, Linus Sundstrom, Darcy Ward and Tai Woffinden e.t.c are aware that if they end the season on an average higher than 8.00 they may not get a British team the following season. However the rule was implemented as a cost cutting procedure to ensure that all teams had the ability to obtain a world class number one rider and so that asset rich teams such as Poole and Coventry did not have a major advantage over teams that had fewer assets initially available to them. The 2011 season has now ended and we have a situation whereby there are currently ten Elite League Teams (that may increase or may reduce at the AGM, who knows) and we have twelve riders that finished on an average of over 8.00. Those riders being:
Rider | Team | Average |
Chris Holder | Poole Pirates | 9.30 |
Fredrik Lindgren | Wolverhampton Wolves | 9.21 |
Kenneth Bjerre | Kings Lynn Stars | 9.06 |
Darcy Ward | Poole Pirates | 8.94 |
Nick Pedersen | Peterborough Panthers | 8.61 |
Tai Woffinden | Wolverhampton Wolves | 8.52 |
Rory Schlein | Belle Vue Aces | 8.43 |
Hans Andersen | Peterborough Panthers | 8.27 |
Bjarne Pedersen | Eastbourne Eagles | 8.21 |
Troy Batchelor | Peterborough Panthers | 8.18 |
Peter Karlsson | Wolverhampton Wolves | 8.12 |
Lee Richardson | Lakeside Hammers | 8.06 |
So if the rules stay as they are we are going to lose at least two of these world class riders from the Elite League in 2012 my money is on Peter Karlsson and Nicki Pedersen. We also know that any of the current top 5 riders in the world: #1. Greg Hancock, #2. Andreas Jonsson, #3. Jaroslaw Hampel, #4. Jason Crump and #5. Tomasz Gollob are very unlikely to ride in Britain next year bar Cardiff and maybe a one off individual event if we are lucky. Evidently changes need to be made to ensure that once riders develop into top quality 8.00+ riders that they have a long term future in British Speedway and don't end up just making seldom appearances in Britain at Cardiff and at the occasional one off individual event.
The World's top three riders; Greg Hancock, Andreas Jonsson and Jaroslaw Hampel no longer feature within British Speedway but all previously rode for clubs in Britain including the Cradley Heath Heathens, Oxford Cheetahs, Reading Bulldogs, Coventry Bees, Lakeside Hammers and Ipswich Witches.
I have no doubt the AGM will bring up many talking points and many heated debates amongst Speedway promoters and fans, if you are interested in the on-goings at the BSPA, SCB and AGM why not take the time to join Speedway Fans United The SFU are aiming to bridge the gaps between the BSPA, SCB, Speedway Clubs and Speedway Fans to ensure that everyone is reading from the same hymn sheet and ensure that together as a team we can build British Speedway into the sporting success it deserves to be.
So what do you think needs to be suggested and implemented at this years AGM? We all have our own opinions and for what it's worth if I was a promoter attending the AGM here are some of the key points I would be suggesting for British Speedway in 2012:
- Establish an independent governing body to run British Speedway
- Establish an independent appeals panel to ensure all queries and complaints raised by clubs are dealt with legally and professionally
- Regular monthly meetings should be held with all members of the independent governing body, the independent appeals panel, promoters, representatives from Sky Sports and representatives from the SFU. All queries and suggestions can then be discussed in an open forum with the independent governing body and appeals panel dealing with all queries, suggestions, complaints e.t.c as necessary. These meetings would replace the AGM and lead to less carnage taking place in November when so many changes are discussed and implemented on a yearly basis.
- Change 17.7 so Elite League, Premier League and Conference League teams have an overall points limit of 43 (As a rough example that allows for one 9.00 Rider, one 8.00 Rider, one 7.00 Rider, two 6.00 Riders, one 4.00 Rider and one 3.00 Rider)
- Scrap the one rider over 8.00 rule within 17.7.2. Quality riders are available to promoters if they are willing to negotiate deals now. With the one GP rider rule in Poland being implemented some GP riders are going to have to look at dropping from the Ekstraliga to Liga I (Greg Hancock, Andreas Jonsson and Nicki Pedersen could be among these riders) therefore it may become more attractive to riders financially and competitively to choose the British Elite League over the Polish Liga I. This also prevents some of the arguments over average manipulation
- Change the category two foreign rider rule within 17.2.1 so riders with a CMA below 6.00 within the Polish Ekstraliga and Swedish Elitserien cannot join teams on a 4.00. This rule leads to much confrontation as the Polish Ekstraliga and Swedish Elitserien are currently superior to the Elite League and also means foreign riders are getting better opportunities on lower averages in the Elite League than young British Riders. To make the rule fair it should be changed to riders with a CMA of 4.00 and below within the Polish Ekstraliga and Swedish Elitserien join teams on a 4.00
- Change the doubling up rule within 17.7.2 so only one pair of doubling up riders can be used
- Minimum of two British licensed riders per Elite League lineup. Resulting in a minimum of twenty British Riders in the Elite League
- Minimum of two British licensed riders per Premier League lineup. Resulting in a minimum of twenty eight British Riders in the Premier League
- Minimum of one British licensed under 23 rider per Premier League lineup. Resulting in a minimum of fourteen British under 23 riders in the Premier League
- Minimum of four British licensed riders per Conference League lineup. Resulting in a minimum of forty British riders in the Conference League
- Minimum of three British licensed under 23 riders per Conference League lineup. Resulting in a minimum of thirty British under 23 riders in the Conference League
- Removal of 2.5% British licensed rider CMA reduction
- All Elite League teams to run a Youth League team the primary reason for this is to ensure that young Brits (10 - 17 year olds) have a local track they can learn at as this will lead to a larger amount of quality British Speedway riders in the future. The top averaging youth rider should be declared as the teams number eight the following season. The format should be teams of five (minimum of three British riders), ten heats so each rider gets a minimum of four rides and a nominated heat eleven. A similar points scoring system to the Elite League could be used with the top four teams taking part in the playoffs which can be televised by Sky (providing they are interested in televising the event)
- Each Elite League team to run a minimum of ten chargeable open training days to ensure that everyone gets the opportunity to get involved with Speedway
- Team re-declarations can only take place in the event of a rider becoming injured and during a two week transfer window in June. Preventing teams from making major changes to strengthen prior to the playoffs
- Say No to a European Super League containing the top two teams from Britain, Poland and Sweden. Due to the fact additional planning and squads would have to be agreed for this due to some of the top two teams in Britain, Poland and Sweden containing the same riders. Focus on improving British Speedway before focusing on a European Super League
- Change rule 18.6 so only one tactical ride can be taken by a team during a meeting. This can be taken when a team is twelve or more points behind after heat three
- Speedway promoters to actively market Speedway in local areas and provide more promotional offers and entertainment i.e. live local music, meet your favourite riders during the interval for the kids e.t.c during meetings
*All CMAs within this article are taken from EL Green Sheet Averages List available via the BSPA Website
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