Post by davejarvis on Sept 10, 2023 12:47:22 GMT
Well that was the most peculiar season that I can remember since I first stared going to speedway in 1971, when it was normal for there to be around 30 home meetings in a season. The beginning of the season now seems a very long time ago, with the massive gap in the middle & then a mad dash to the line with 25% of the league fixtures in 5 days. Sadly, because of that it seems that there won't be an opportunity to say farewell to this year, so just to say
THANK YOU!!
Firstly to Mark Phillips & Mattie Bates. It's not been easy this year, with results on the track, various things coming out in the media, rumours on the terraces & probably other stuff behind the scenes. Hopefully Mattie will make a full recovery from his illness soon.
To Garry May, his little black book & breakfast bar. I wonder if there may have been times when he could have thrown in the towel, especially given him living near Poole? It was great to see him jumping up & down like a 5 year old after heat 15 against Berwick! That race alone should get us all through the Winter
To Mark, Mattie & Gary's partners, who perhaps had to hide the breakables in the house after a meeting & asking 'so how did it go this evening?'
To all the Sponsors, big or small, for their money
To all of the volunteers, helpers, first aiders, catering staff, etc that turned up when meetings were on
To the Live Streaming guys (I'm told it was very good) & 'Greenlander' for his update texts
To the Bar Bandits for following in the footsteps of 'Devils on Tour' & representing the club so well all over the Country (even if we could never hear what Garry May was saying on the PA at home
To the various riders that have represented the club this season. Sadly the planned make up of the team with 3 strong heat leaders (especially at home), 2 improving second strings & 2 reserves that would chip in with important bits & pieces again at home, didn't come off & that unfortunately probably became a bit of an albatross. Having said that, of course they all tried their best. Interesting to note that majority of the injuries came at other tracks or for other teams.
To the fans that, despite the usual question of 'when's the next one?' continued to come, even if it wasn't in the numbers that the Promotors needed, which will always seem odd to me given the catchment area.
So now we go into the Winter break & await news of what is or isn't happening next year. As ever the sport in general is in turmoil with Wolverhampton having already closed, Peterborough, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Kent in question & Leicester up for sale, so what will happen is anyone's guess. It's all a bit worrying that should Plymouth not continue then the nearest tracks to where I live could be Poole (185 miles), Oxford (255 miles), Belle Vue (343 miles). A former rider who comes to Plymouth once told me that speedway folk are daft enough to travel 100's of miles to see a race, which is true since he used to travel to Birmingham every Monday evening in the '70's just for a couple of second half rides (that was before the M5 Motorway!), but those sorts of distances are a bit of a trek.
It sounds like it's possibly a big gamble of sticking with Tuesday OR twisting & trying Saturday with all the major risks that brings with the SGP, Plymouth Argyle matches, tourists not being interested after a long day driving, riders getting stuck on the motorway system, other attractions, etc. Either way foreign leagues could probably also have a big impact.
Anyway, hopefully we will all meet up in the Spring, or mid-Summer, or early Autumn, depending on the number of teams so enjoy Xmas & New Year.
Lesley & I hope that we will be able to keep coming as it's played a major part in our lives since we met on the coach to Halifax in 1978 & we love speedway!
THANK YOU!!
Firstly to Mark Phillips & Mattie Bates. It's not been easy this year, with results on the track, various things coming out in the media, rumours on the terraces & probably other stuff behind the scenes. Hopefully Mattie will make a full recovery from his illness soon.
To Garry May, his little black book & breakfast bar. I wonder if there may have been times when he could have thrown in the towel, especially given him living near Poole? It was great to see him jumping up & down like a 5 year old after heat 15 against Berwick! That race alone should get us all through the Winter
To Mark, Mattie & Gary's partners, who perhaps had to hide the breakables in the house after a meeting & asking 'so how did it go this evening?'
To all the Sponsors, big or small, for their money
To all of the volunteers, helpers, first aiders, catering staff, etc that turned up when meetings were on
To the Live Streaming guys (I'm told it was very good) & 'Greenlander' for his update texts
To the Bar Bandits for following in the footsteps of 'Devils on Tour' & representing the club so well all over the Country (even if we could never hear what Garry May was saying on the PA at home
To the various riders that have represented the club this season. Sadly the planned make up of the team with 3 strong heat leaders (especially at home), 2 improving second strings & 2 reserves that would chip in with important bits & pieces again at home, didn't come off & that unfortunately probably became a bit of an albatross. Having said that, of course they all tried their best. Interesting to note that majority of the injuries came at other tracks or for other teams.
To the fans that, despite the usual question of 'when's the next one?' continued to come, even if it wasn't in the numbers that the Promotors needed, which will always seem odd to me given the catchment area.
So now we go into the Winter break & await news of what is or isn't happening next year. As ever the sport in general is in turmoil with Wolverhampton having already closed, Peterborough, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Kent in question & Leicester up for sale, so what will happen is anyone's guess. It's all a bit worrying that should Plymouth not continue then the nearest tracks to where I live could be Poole (185 miles), Oxford (255 miles), Belle Vue (343 miles). A former rider who comes to Plymouth once told me that speedway folk are daft enough to travel 100's of miles to see a race, which is true since he used to travel to Birmingham every Monday evening in the '70's just for a couple of second half rides (that was before the M5 Motorway!), but those sorts of distances are a bit of a trek.
It sounds like it's possibly a big gamble of sticking with Tuesday OR twisting & trying Saturday with all the major risks that brings with the SGP, Plymouth Argyle matches, tourists not being interested after a long day driving, riders getting stuck on the motorway system, other attractions, etc. Either way foreign leagues could probably also have a big impact.
Anyway, hopefully we will all meet up in the Spring, or mid-Summer, or early Autumn, depending on the number of teams so enjoy Xmas & New Year.
Lesley & I hope that we will be able to keep coming as it's played a major part in our lives since we met on the coach to Halifax in 1978 & we love speedway!