By the time this article is published, the British Elite League Riders' Championship (BELRC) will have been held at Poole (scheduled for 21 August). This represents a radical departure from its traditional end-of-season date in October, but the change is undoubtedly an attempt to revive this once prestigious event. The number of available dates in October were also limited this season thanks to the Australian Grand Prix being scheduled during that month.
At one time, the British League Riders' Championship (the original name of the current competition), was one of speedway's most important events. It was first staged in 1965 and was always held at Belle Vue (at the famous Hyde Road track until 1988, then Kirkmanshulme Lane until 1991). The line-up always featured most, if not all of the World's top riders, and indeed was often considered to be better than that of the Individual World Final, especially in the days when that event included a number of 'no-hopers' from the Continental rounds. It was almost certainly harder to get into the BLRC than the World Final as only the top rider in each team qualified, and the end-of-season date ensured that only the most consistent riders finished in these positions.
This meant that almost every rider in the competition had a chance of winning, as evidenced by the fact that few riders were able to dominate it over the years. Winning both the World Championship and BLRC in the same season was actually considered to be quite a feat, and only a handful of riders have ever achieved this 'double'.
The BLRC became the BPLRC when the British Premier League was formed in 1995, then the BELRC when the British Elite League was formed in 1997. Unfortunately, these changes in name have coincided with a decline in the status of the competition. In some respects, the rot set-in when the competition was moved away from Belle Vue for the first time, but in truth it had never really made a successful transition from the Hyde Road circuit to Kirkmanshulme Lane. That stadium didn't really have the facilities for big events and the track was never conducive to good racing. As a result, the event was moved to Bradford and since then has led a somewhat nomadic existence.
Whilst there's no obvious reason why a change of venue should have started the decline, the appeal of the competition has undoubtedly also been diminished by the fact that teams ride against each other much more often these days. In the past, a team might only visit another track once per season, so there was less opportunity to see the top riders in action. However, with teams meeting each other up to eight times per season these days, it's no wonder that fans have lost interest in seeing the same riders yet again. The Grand Prix has undoubtedly also reduced the novelty of seeing all the top riders competing in the same meeting.
Another problem is finding a date when all the qualified riders are available. Until recently, the speedway season in other countries usually finished in September which meant the BELRC didn't have to compete with other events. Unfortunately, the expansion of other national leagues (the Polish League in particular) means they now hold meetings well into October which obviously limits the choice of dates. The problem is also compounded by the need to find a couple of extra dates in case of rain-offs.
In addition, the manner in which recent competitions have been organised has not enamoured many supporters. The qualification rules (i.e. whether seasonal or rolling averages are used, and when the cutoff point is) are never published in advance, so it's impossible to work out who's qualified until the line-up is actually announced. This gives the impression that either the BSPA make up the rules as they go along, or the line-up is simply comprised of those riders that can be bothered to turn-up.
Even worse, the line-up is often not announced until a couple of weeks before the event which means there's little time to publicise it, and for supporters to arrange their travel. The final icing on the cake was the decision to change the date of the 2001 event from a Sunday to a Thursday with just two weeks notice! Such unprofessional organisation is simply unacceptable these days and it should be no surprise that supporters are voting with their feet.
Finally, the disinterest in this competition amongst the top riders is painfully obvious. Recent years have seen a number of withdrawals with the flimsiest of excuses, leaving much depleted line-ups. The most obvious explanation is the reportedly poor rates of pay, but presumably this is linked to the expected income from the event. It's unrealistic to expect a vast improvement in the level of prize money without a corresponding increase in attendances and/or sponsorship.
It's clear the BELRC is on a downward spiral and radical changes need to be made. One solution may be to revive the traditional open meetings formerly held at many tracks, and turn these into rounds of the BELRC. Individual open meetings such as the OSSC Trophy at Oxford were once staged at almost every track, and some of the more famous ones such as the Pride of the East at King's Lynn, and the Golden Hammer at Cradley Heath, were extremely prestigious and attracted high-quality fields. Unfortunately, although one or two tracks still stage open meetings (e.g. the Olympique at Wolverhampton), most have dropped them from their fixture lists due to lack of support. Again, this is partly because fans regularly get to see the top riders in league action, and also because it's become difficult to put together attractive line-ups due to international commitments. This said, it seems a shame to lose these historic events from the calendar.
These open meetings could be made more meaningful if they formed part of a wider series. If the top riders could be guaranteed to appear at each BEL track in turn, that might rekindle interest in these meetings once again. At the same time, turning the BELRC into a series, would bring it to each track and generate interest amongst supporters that might not normally bother to attend a one-off event elsewhere. The traditional titles could be retained for each round (Blue Riband - Poole, Brandonapolis - Coventry, Octagon Trophy - Peterborough, Olympique - Wolverhampton, OSSC Trophy - Oxford, Peter Craven Memorial Trophy - Belle Vue, Pride of the East - King's Lynn, Star of Anglia - Ipswich, Sussex Open - Eastbourne), but riders would be competing overall for the BELRC.
Qualification to each round could be determined by the currently applicable Green Sheet Averages, which would make it necessary for a rider to stay at the top of the team averages if they wanted to challenge for the overall title. Alternatively, the competition could be expanded to involve every rider in the league which might increase interest further. Assuming nine rounds (one per BEL track) and sixteen riders per round, it would be possible for the seven declared riders in each team to ride in two rounds each, with the remaining two places in each round being filled by wildcards from either the BPL or abroad. The top sixteen riders after the completion of these rounds could then progress to a one-off Final where they would ride-off for the BELRC title.
These suggested changes might go some way towards the much-needed revitalisation of the BELRC, because its status is little more than that of a glorified open meeting at present. If changes aren't forthcoming, it would be better to simply scrap it rather than continue to run it as a second-rate competition. That would be preferable to seeing such a famous competition become a parody of its former self.
Whilst on this subject, it's a commonly asked question how riders qualify for the BELRC. The riders that are No.1 by status in the 2002 averages (which are different to the rolling Green Sheet Averages) automatically qualify, with the remaining places being filled by the riders with No.2 status that have the highest averages. Should a No.1 rider withdraw from this competition, the rider from their team with the next highest average takes their place. Should a No.2 rider withdraw or assume the status of a No.1 rider, the next highest ranked No.2 rider takes their place instead.
This article appeared in the Cheetah's Chronicle, Volume 17, No.3