The recent conference of the British Speedway Promoters Association appears to have achieved the impossible and pleased everyone! For a organization noted for making incomprehensible decisions this is progress indeed.
It is not hard to find examples of silly decisions to have emanated from the BSPA annual meeting in recent years. Many decision undoubtedly came from ill thought-out hobby horses of BSPA members. It is fair to say that many of the dafter decisions applied only to the Elite League as the Premier League had the sense to opt out of. Many of the decisions never made it into the rulebook after protests.
For example the 1996 annual meeting it was decided to abolish helmet colours. This appeared to be in oorder to allow riders to have customized painted helmet. The decision was criticized from all quarters. The decision was still defended by Elite League promoters, the Premier League had wisely opted out, on the grounds that helmet colours were not necessary. Such disregard for the paying public was Eventually the decision was quitely buried.
A similar situation came up last year when one promoter, believed to be Neil Machin of Sheffield, suggested that rider's numbers should reflect their position in the averages rather than race order. This may sound a good idea after a couple of pints but clearly had not been thought through. This suggestion would have required another set of numbering to determine race order. This proposal disappeared without trace and nothing further was heard of it.
Unfortunately certain of the daft decisions did find their way into the rulebook. The six-rider heat format used in 1997 comes to mind here. Few liked the format and after one year it was dropped by the Premier League in favour of a return to the current seven-rider format.
Many consider the 'golden double' to come into this category. It was originally introduced into the Elite League 'Speedway Star' Cup in 1997 but was rarely used. Then in 1999 it was introduced to all competitions except the Cup! Critics argue that it is a gimmick. While it can liven up matches, any rule that makes it advantageous to 'throw' a heat in order to be able to play the 'joker' is bad.
This year, things are very different. Sensible decisions appear to have been made on all issues. No silly reduction of the point limit, no new gimmicks, no tinkering with things for the sake of change. There is absolutely nothing for supporters to complain about which must be frustrating to some!
Perhaps the most sensible decision taken by the Conference was to return Monarchs' chairman Alex Harkess to the Manangement Committee. Alex is one of the most respected figures in British Speedway. He served on the Committee until a couple of years back when pressure of business forced him to stand down.
Read how the Edinburgh Evening News reported this issue:
The fact that the BSPA has pulled in a multi-million pound television deal with Sky to screen Elite League and Premier League speedway may have helped turn this year's Conference into one of the most successful ever. Maybe this is idicative that speedway has turned the corner?