Four changes that need to be made at the BSPA 2019 AGM

Winter is coming which means that the inevitable British Speedway Promoters Association annual AGM is here, with season-defining decisions already being made for the year ahead. As the AGM now enters its second day of talks, Total Sport Swindon's Chief of Sport Ryan Walker gives his expert analysis on changes that should be made to improve British Speedway.

Increase or scrap the points limit

How crazy does it sound to punish a team for being champions in their selected sport? Imagine if in football the European champions were told to change their squad at the end of the season because they were too good. Unfortunately, this is the problem that is currently facing the Swindon Robins as leaders of British Speedway clubs enter the second day of the BSPA 2019 AGM. 

The current pre-season points limit stands at 42.5, and if this were to stay the same prior to the 2020 Premiership season, then the Swindon Robins and other teams such as the King’s Lynn Stars would be forced to make changes to their current existing squad. This just doesn’t make sense because speedways controlling body is, in essence, punishing teams who’s riders have performed well. 

The solution is to either increase the points limit or scrap it entirely. Not only would this make sense to speedway fans, but it would also encourage more riders from abroad to come and ride in Britain because teams would be able to incorporate more higher point scoring riders into their teams.

Install transponders on bikes

This season brought to light the issue of heats being pulled back for good starts more than ever. Countless heats throughout the course of the year saw heats incorrectly pulled back for riders jumping the start despite replays showing perfect gating from the rider in question. 

The solution to this problem is a simple one. Install transponders on bikes with the timings then being relayed in real-time up to the referees. This way referees would be left in no doubt as to whether riders have jumped at the start-line and in turn, would stop teams being penalised unnecessarily. 

The installation of transponders would have an initial upfront cost but seeing as they are used in the Speedway GP series, this would unlikely represent a large financial blow. 

Have two referees in the box

There is no doubting that referees have a tough job, being required to make big decisions based on a split-second piece of action unfolding in front of them. However last season saw some meetings full of poorly-made decisions as unjust exclusions and incorrect race stoppages cost teams points and riders money. 

In other sports, the officiating of a match or race isn’t simply left to one person. In Formula One there is a whole control board that come together to make decision, in football you have four officials at the game and now also VAR officials monitoring matches as well. So why in speedway, a sport in which you blink and will miss it, do we give the authority to make important referee calls to one person? 

Having two referees would offer two sets of eyes, meaning that in tricky situations there would be a second opinion to help make the correct call. This is a simple change that could be made almost instantly and would help improve the sport immensely. 

Fine teams for poor tracks

Given that club promoters are struggling enough already to keep teams afloat, this is a change that must be handled with sensitivity. But it is also one that I feel must be made. Speak to riders around the country and you will find that their number one complaint about British Speedway is the state of the tracks that they are made to race on. 

A poor track leads to poor racing which eventually results in poor attendance figures. Last season saw multiple occasions in which riders were made to race on below-standard tracks, which not only provides little action for paying punters but also makes it incredibly dangerous for riders to perform at their best. 

Speedway is meant to provide excitement and entertainment of the highest order as racers tear around the circuit cutting up shale and contesting for the lead every time they take to the shale. But if they aren’t given the quality of track needed to do this then it results in a boring spectacle.

If the BSPA were to be harder on clubs that fail to provide a decent racing surface by handing out fines, then it would make improving the tracks a necessity to club promoters, not a luxury. 
 

Speedway is the rawest form of motorsport entertainment that there is. But unfortunately, drastic changes are needed if the sport we all love is to reach the heights of yesteryear. The sport can’t be fixed overnight but these changes would certainly go some way to helping make speedway more professional, enjoyable, and entertaining for everyone involved in the sport.