In
issue 24 of The Voice I wrote regarding the problems that both the Academy
League and the Bronze Helmet competitions had suffered in 2006 and expressed
the hope that the powers that be would address these problems out in 2007 and
things would improve.
As
the 2007 season draws to a conclusion, and being a Belle Vue fan it can’t come
soon enough, now may be a good time to see if my hopes have been fulfilled.
A
major change in 2007 was that the league was split into 3 mini regional
leagues, the
The
basic rules regarding who could ride in the league were very simple, SCB
Regulation 17-4-8, namely any British rider aged between 14 and 21 who was not
in a Elite or Premier League teams declared line up and riders could ride for
any number of teams.
Of
course being speedway it was not as simple as that. Another rule, SCB
Regulation 17-4-8-1, allowed teams to include 1 rider who was in a Premier
League teams declared line up as long as satisfied the other requirements of
17-4-8. If one accepts that this second
rule was needed, which I don’t, wouldn’t it have been much more sensible to
reword rule 17-4-8 to allow teams to use one rider from the Premier League
rather than having two rules which say different things. Maybe the BSPA/SCB
should remember the acronym KISS Keep It Simple Stupid.
It
was soon clear that different teams had different ideas about the league was
all about. Some teams consisted of entirely “second half” riders, some teams
consisted of a mixture of “second half” riders and riders with Conference
League experience and other teams include Premier League riders, in one case
the current Conference League Riders Champion. This mismatch of abilities and
experience resulted in a series of one-sided meetings with the more experienced
riders disappearing into the distance.
According
to the rules (SCB regulations 16-4-1) the league championship, like all British
speedway leagues, is decided on a play off system, which in this case involves
the winners of the 3 mini leagues, plus the best placed second team in 2 legged
semi finals and final. This raises some questions:
-
if a rider has ridden for more than one of the teams involved who decides which
team he rides for in play offs. Could he ride for two teams in both sets of
semi finals.
-
how do you decide which is the best placed second team.
-
how do you decide who races who in the semi finals.
One
of the major problems with the league in 2006 was the lack of interest shown to
it by both the BSPA and the Speedway Star and I am afraid to say that in 2007
if anything things got worse.
The
leagues first meeting was Belle Vue v
So
once again it is left to Joe Public, via web sites like www.academyspeedway.proboards105.com/index.cgi
to do the job that the Speedway Star and BSPA are unable or unwilling to do
with fans providing match details and general information on the league so that
in years to come speedway historians and statisticians will know that the
league existed and what happen.
If
the league is to continue next year it may be worth the BSPA considering the
following suggestions;
-appoint
someone to be in over all charge of the league
-
ensure that results, league tables and news item appear on the BSPA web site
and have words with the powers that be at the Speedway Star to see if they can
at the minimum print the results and league tables.
-
if you are going to have assessment days to judge the racing abilities of new
riders it may be worth considering holding these at the weekend or during the
school holidays rather than the first day that the schools return after the
Easter holiday as you did in 2007.
These
years there was one vast improvement its rules, or to be exact rule, are
included in the SCB regulations. This is SCB regulation 16-4-1 which says that
the highest scoring opponent challenges the holder of the title but no clue to
how you determine who is the highest scorer. Do you include all rides,
including the double points scored when wearing the silly hat, or just
programmed rides and are bonus points included?
The
holder at the end of the 2006 season was Ben Barker of the Stoke Spitfires. As
Ben is no longer riding in the CL a new holder was required and at the end of
the first CL meeting in 2007,
It
is clear from the events of the 2007 season that there is no method to or
consistency on when the helmet is raced for. In fact the only thing about when
is the helmet is raced for that is consistent is its inconsistently. It would appear that the powers that be look
at the fixture list to see where the helmet holders team is riding and decide
if the fans which one of these tracks deserve the honour of seeing a Bronze
helmet match race.
Wouldn’t
it be more sensible, and allow more riders to have a chance of winning the
helmet and more fans to see races for it, if some simple rules could be included
in the regulations on when the helmet is raced for. Would it not be better for
the holder to defend his title at every official fixture but due to the fact
that many riders in this league have other commitments outside the sport, allow
them to missed say 2 defences due to unavailability.
If
you think that the Academy League and the Bronze Helmet competitions are in a
bad way don’t get me on the subject of the under 15 championship.
S. Bear